March 1, 2011
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Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla - The No. 8 Auburn men's golf team (292-869) claimed second place at the John Hayt Collegiate Tuesday at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
The Tigers entered the day with a seven-stroke lead over the 15-team field, but were unable to hold off a surging Arkansas (283-867) squad. The Razorbacks, ranked 18th in the country by Golfweek Magazine, carded their second-lowest team round of the season Tuesday to claim a two-stroke victory.
"We got off to a slow start today, but fought back and tried to regain the lead in the later stages," said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. "Arkansas played a great round of golf today. Hats off to them. We have put ourselves in a position to win almost every tournament we played in. It's going to pay off in the long run."
The John Hayt marked the fifth consecutive event the Tigers have emerged with a top-two finish, each time entering the final day in the leaders group.
"The wind was blowing close to 30 miles per hour this afternoon," said Clinard. "It blew from different direction yesterday, making it a completely different golf course."
Sophomores Blayne Barber (73-212) and Michael Hebert (71-213) both earned top-five finishes, their fifth and third of the season, respectfully. Barber, who entered Tuesday with a share of the lead, finished the event tied for second with Arkansas' Sebastian Cappelan (73-212).
The Lake City, Fla., native now holds a 14-7 (.667) record against individuals ranked in Golfweek's top-25. Overall, Barber is 374-37-6 (.910).
Hebert, ranked 36th by Golfweek, carded the Tigers lowest round of the day for a fourth-place finish. The Orlando native carded the Tigers' lone eagle Sunday.
Junior Kyle Kopsick (72-222) jumped 15 spots in Tuesday's final round, tying for 21st with freshman Niclas Carlsson (72-222). Freshman Dan Stringfellow (79-233) tied for 68th. Competing as an individual, junior Cory Gilmer (78-223) tied for 28th.
Auburn improved its 2010-11 record to 65-8 (.890) and to 14-3 (.824) against SEC competition. At the John Hayt, the Tigers bested both No. 3 Florida (295-885) and No. 10 LSU (287-871) and are now 5-3 (.625) against top-10 foes.
LSU placed third followed by Central Florida (293-879), Tennessee (298-882), Florida, Mississippi State (292-885), Tulsa (292-890), TCU (306-892), Coastal Carolina (298-895), Mercer (301-898), North Florida (303-904), Georgia Southern (307-910), Jacksonville (308-912) and UAB (304-913).
Florida's Phillip Choi (70-209) earned individual medalist honors.
The Tigers return to action March 12-13 at the General Hackler Championship at TPC Myrtle Beach.