Athens, Ga. - The eighth-ranked Auburn women's golf team finished second round action at the Liz Murphey Classic on Saturday, carding a 23-over 311. The Tigers are currently tied for seventh with one round remaining at the par-72, 6,335-yard UGA Golf Course.
Two Tigers are in the top-25 with Cydney Clanton (73-149) leading Auburn in a five-way tie for fourth. Clanton was 2-over through 16 holes. A birdie on No. 17 took her to the clubhouse at 1-over for the day.
Candace Schepperle (78-150) is currently in a three-way tie for 9th. Margaret Shirley (78-157) is tied for 42nd, Abigale Schepperle (82-159) is tied for 56th and Mariana Macias (83-161) is tied for 70th.
Competing individually, Sarah Thread shot a 12-over 84 and is tied for 56th with a two-day total of 159.
No. 11 Georgia carded a 12-over 300 and is in the lead with a two-day total of 602. No. 7 Purdue (303-605) is in second followed by Alabama (307-609), No. 18 Kent State (307-610), No. 10 Arkansas (307-612), No. 23 LSU (316-613), No. 1 Duke (300-614), Auburn, No. 17 Tennessee (309-618), No. 13 Wake Forest (312-621), Virginia (310-624), Texas A&M (313-630), Furman (314-632), Florida State (316-633), South Carolina (319-635), No. 22 Vanderbilt (321-637), Central Florida (323-638) and Kentucky (323-662).

Tide's Michael Thompson Misses Cut at Masters

The senior lived the dream this week, playing in golf's greatest event

AUGUSTA, GA. - University of Alabama senior golfer Michael Thompson has spent the past seven days in Augusta, Ga., competing as one of three invited amateurs at the 2008 Masters Tournament. The Tucson, Arizona native drove from Tuscaloosa to Augusta on Friday, April 4 to begin the journey of a lifetime and his first steps into a world he hopes to re-enter come June or July when he turns pro. (He plans to play as an amateur at His trip to Augusta came compliments of his runner-up finish last August at the 2007 United States Amateur. Joined by family, who rented a house in Augusta for the week, his Alabama coach Jay Seawell, some of his Alabama golf teammates, his former Tulane golf coach Tom Shaw who was his caddy this week at Augusta National, and many of his friends, old and new, Thompson has created memory after memory each day, from the moment he first turned into the driveway at Augusta National for his first practice on the course this winter. On Sunday he moved into the sport of golf's most famous overnight accommodations, the Crow's Nest on the third floor of the Augusta National Clubhouse. On Monday night he and Drew Weaver and Trip Kuehne were the guests of honor at the traditional Amateur's Dinner. On Tuesday he played a practice round of golf with two-time Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. On Wednesday three of golf's all-time greatest, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player all came to shake his hand on the first tee and then Thompson, paired with two-time Masters Champion Ben Crenshaw, proceeded to go out and shoot 2-under par to finish T-4th in the Par 3 Contest.

Then came Thursday and the moment of a lifetime for a golfer, his first official round at The Masters. Paired with Crenshaw again, he out-shot the champion and finished the round at 1-over par and among a T-33rd, the best day for any of the amateurs and a better day than most of the field of professionals shot.

On Friday, the cut day, Thompson held strong to near the end, making birdie on his first two holes. In all the round would include the two birdies, eight pars and eight bogeys, the biggest of those bogeys coming at No. 15, a par 5. He was, at the time, 3-over and in contention to make the cut which was 4-over. He was on the green at 15 ready to putt, and the ball moved. He immediately stepped back and assessed himself a one-stroke penalty, calling in rules officials on the green. He bogeyed that hole and the next two but, in his final swing, birdied No. 18 to finish the round with a 78, a score that placed him 6-over for the 36 holes and in a tie at 71st in the standings.

Each night, no matter how many balls he hit that day, how many interviews he's done and how many social obligations he's met with the tournament hosts, officials, family and friends, Thompson has returned to his room at the Crow's Nest each night and called "home" to Tuscaloosa to report on the his experience that day. This will be his final report this week from Augusta, though he still has some major golf events in his immediate horizon. He will head back to the State of Georgia on Wednesday with his Alabama teammates who will compete for the 2008 Southeastern Conference Championship at Sea Island, Ga., April 18-20, and in mid-May Alabama, ranked No. 1 in the nation in collegiate golf, will begin its national championship quest at one of the three NCAA Regionals.

Let's go ahead and talk about it first: hole 15. Did the world see the Eagle Scout in you on that one? "Yeah. That's probably part of it. It's just something unfortunate that happened. But it's something that you've got to deal with. I had put my club down. I had completely addressed the ball and as soon as I put my putter down, the ball moved. And according to the rules, that's a one-stroke penalty and you try to replace the ball and you replay the shot. So that's what I did and I didn't make the putt. I was looking at about eight feet for birdie and ended up having eight feet for par. And I missed it and made bogey."

The TV announcers said no one may have ever even noticed it but you immediately spoke up. If you had to do it all over again, would you still penalize yourself? "Oh absolutely. Every time. There's no doubt. No question. It's the rules of golf. You don't break the rules of golf. Especially in a setting like this it can always comes back to haunt you and, if not from someone else, it will always haunt you personally and I would rather live with me giving myself a penalty than I would with me cheating."

How would you assess your overall play today? "I had a lot of really good shots today. I feel like I probably played 14 holes really good and then the other four I played just really bad. And some holes I got bad breaks, other holes I just didn't make the right decision. That's kind of the way golf is. You can't always be perfect all the time. Just look at Justin Rose today. He shot 68 yesterday and then he shot 78 today. It's the nature of the game. I didn't play my best today, I can tell you that. But I learned a lot from these last two days that will help me get better in the future."

Do you have a favorite hole at Augusta National now? "Number one. I play a fade naturally, so it just sets up to my eye really well. And it's just a great starting hole."

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