SAVANNAH, Ga. – Auburn concluded its regular season with a third-place finish Tuesday at the Ford Collegiate in Savannah, Georgia. Sophomores Jackson Koivun and Cayden Pope led the lineup with a pair of seventh-place finishes at 1-under apiece.
“Today was an overall struggle,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “We didn’t drive it well, hit some poor shots, and had too many three-putts. Certainly, we did not play to the level we’re capable of. Now we’ve got a week to learn from it before it’s win-or-go-home from here on out.”
A costly 8-over final round saw the No. 1 Tigers take bronze at 4-over overall. No. 2 Texas captured the team title at 2-under. No. 7 LSU finished second at even par.
Auburn’s low scorers, Koivun and Pope, return home as two of just nine men in the field to shoot below par. Koivun’s cards consisted of a 69 (-1) and 67 (-4) followed by a final-day 73 (+3). Pope opened with a 67 (-3) and 73 (+3) on Monday before delivering a 69 (-1) on Tuesday.
For Koivun, it was the 19th top-10 showing of his career, already cementing himself second in the program record books behind teammate Brendan Valdes.
Pope picked up his fifth top 10, and his fourth of the season. He’s now finished 18th or better in each of his previous four starts.
“I played pretty solid this week,” Pope said. “Happy with the way I putted, and it was nice to see the work I’ve been putting in at home show up in competition. Looking forward to continued improvement for both myself and the team. We’ve got more to show this postseason.”
The senior duo of Carson Bacha and Brendan Valdes earned 14th and 19th, respectively. Bacha shot 71 (+1), 70 (E), 72 (+2) to finish 3-over while Valdes shot back-to-back 70s (E) before closing with a 74 (+4) for a 4-over week.
Freshman Billy Davis finished one back Valdes at 5-over. While playing as an individual, Davis carded an opening-round 71 (+1) followed by consecutive 72s (+2). Sophomore Josiah Gilbert finished the tournament at 10-over.
Next, Auburn turns its eyes to the postseason as the reigning SEC Champion looks to defend its title at Seaside Golf Club April 23-27.