Feb. 12, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The 10th-ranked Auburn men's golf team (278-569) finished in second place following Saturday's opening 36-holes of the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
The Tigers gained four strokes on No. 3 Florida (282-563) in the afternoon round led by junior Kyle Kopsick's (68-145) 2-under. Sophomore Blayne Barber (69-142) and freshman Niclas Carlsson (70-142) lead the Tigers in a tie for fifth, trailing Florida's Andres Echavarria (70-139) for the individual lead.
Sophomore Michael Hebert (72-144) is tied for 14th followed by Kopsick and sophomore Dominic Bozzelli (71-145) tied for 20th.
No. 8 LSU (280-574) is in third followed by Central Florida (283-575).
"We made a lot of birdies today," said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. "We struck the ball above average. Our pitch game was a strong point for us today. We had some real nice up-and-downs. We had a few three putts. We left about four or five strokes on the greens that would have made a big difference heading into tomorrow."
Auburn was down 10 strokes to Florida after the opening round, but fought back carding 13 second round birdies for the lowest round of the tournament so far.
"Florida is going to be comfortable playing in this environment," said Clinard. "This is their home course. As long as we play our game and worry about ourselves, we will play well. We would rather be up six heading into the final round, but we are in great position to make a run at the win. Six strokes is very doable."
North Florida (288-579) is in fifth followed by Ole Miss (291-583), Florida State (289-584), Coastal Carolina (295-584), Lamar (291-587), Mississippi State (296-599), UAB (302-600), Georgia State (298-606), Georgia Southern (301-611) and Jacksonville (301-611).
Tee times and live results from Sunday's final round will be made available via www.GolfStat.com.
The Tigers gained four strokes on No. 3 Florida (282-563) in the afternoon round led by junior Kyle Kopsick's (68-145) 2-under. Sophomore Blayne Barber (69-142) and freshman Niclas Carlsson (70-142) lead the Tigers in a tie for fifth, trailing Florida's Andres Echavarria (70-139) for the individual lead.
Sophomore Michael Hebert (72-144) is tied for 14th followed by Kopsick and sophomore Dominic Bozzelli (71-145) tied for 20th.
No. 8 LSU (280-574) is in third followed by Central Florida (283-575).
"We made a lot of birdies today," said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. "We struck the ball above average. Our pitch game was a strong point for us today. We had some real nice up-and-downs. We had a few three putts. We left about four or five strokes on the greens that would have made a big difference heading into tomorrow."
Auburn was down 10 strokes to Florida after the opening round, but fought back carding 13 second round birdies for the lowest round of the tournament so far.
"Florida is going to be comfortable playing in this environment," said Clinard. "This is their home course. As long as we play our game and worry about ourselves, we will play well. We would rather be up six heading into the final round, but we are in great position to make a run at the win. Six strokes is very doable."
North Florida (288-579) is in fifth followed by Ole Miss (291-583), Florida State (289-584), Coastal Carolina (295-584), Lamar (291-587), Mississippi State (296-599), UAB (302-600), Georgia State (298-606), Georgia Southern (301-611) and Jacksonville (301-611).
Tee times and live results from Sunday's final round will be made available via www.GolfStat.com.