April 17, 2011
ST. SIMON'S ISLAND, Ga. - The eighth-ranked Auburn men's golf team finished seventh in the SEC Championship after a final round 286 on Sunday at the par-70 Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club.
Blayne Barber fired a final round 71 to lead Auburn, finishing tied for 14th at 6-over par for the tournament. Michael Hebert tied for 21st with a 70-218 followed by Niclas Carlsson and Cory Gilmer each in a tie for 33rd at 222. Gilmer carded a 74 and Carlsson a 77. Kyle Kopsick tied for 41st with a 71-225.
"We didn't putt well,' said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. `It was probably the worst putting tournament all year. Our guys played better today, but we didn't have our best stuff this week. We definitely have to get better.
"We had a good year as we went 35-10 vs. the SEC this season and only had 18 losses overall with 125 wins. That's just golf. You just have to have a short term memory and move on. I think the guys put too much pressure on themselves to perform. We just never got our putters working this week."
No. 5 Florida won the SEC Championship with a final round 281 for an 8-over 848 total, six shots ahead of No. 3 Alabama (278-854). Tennessee finished third at 283-856 followed by No. 15 Georgia (282-862), No. 11 LSU (282-865), No. 13 Arkansas (290-870) and No. 8 Auburn (286-872).
Ole Miss was eighth at 290-884, ahead of Kentucky (295-885), South Carolina (298-887), Mississippi State (293-902) and Vanderbilt (299-906).
Florida's Andres Eschavarria and LSU's John Peterson tied for the individual lead at 1-under par 209 as Eschavarria shot a final round 69 and Peterson a 70. Florida's Phillip Choi and Tennessee's Robin Wingardh tied for third at even par.
Auburn takes a month off before playing in the NCAA Regional from May 19-21 at a site to be determined.