Bravo for Julie in Mexico

FORREST Little’s Julie McCarthy completed an excellent first year at Auburn University when she finished fourth in the Battle at the Beach in Mexico.

The two-time former Irish Girls champion (19) shot rounds of 75, 67 and 70 to clinch her best finish of the season and end the event just four shots behind Clemson’s Ana Paula Valdes and teammate Kaleigh Telfer at Club Campestre San Jose Golf Club in Cabo San Lucas.

Auburn streaked to a wirefinishing to-wire win in the team event, winning by 17 strokes from Texas Christian University.

It was a remarkable “fall season” for McCarthy (right) , who had a sub-par scoring average in the four autumn

events, in 22nd, 16th, fifth and fourth.

She only enrolled at Auburn in January, playing six events as a freshman with her best finish a tie for tenth at Bryan National Collegiate. Sunday’s win was a major milestone for Auburn, whose last victory came in 2014. “It’s huge,” Melissa Luellen said. “It’s what we’ve been working for. About three weeks ago, we finally started talking about how this team can win. And it’s like they just shifted into another gear, like ‘Hey, we’re supposed to be vying for a championship.’ “They really proved themselves how good they are. They really left a mark. This tournament had a really good field, and we just took care of business.”