May 30, 2015
Junior All-SEC Michael Johnson and the Tigers jumped nine spots and had the fourth best round of the day at 2-over.
BRADENTON, Fla. -- The No. 8 Auburn men's golf team climbed nine spots into 11th by firing a 2-over 292, an 11-stroke improvement, for a two-round 15-over 591 total after the NCAA Championship second round at The Concession Club on Saturday.
The Tigers, who had the fourth best round of the day, are inside the 15-team cutline by three shots, which will be trimmed after Sunday's third round. The top eight teams after Monday's final round of stroke play will begin match play for the NCAA Championship on Tuesday.
A trio of Tigers carded even par second round 72s including first-team All-SEC and SEC Freshman of the Year Ben Schlottman, who is tied for 30th at 2-over 146, senior Dan Stringfellow, who is tied for 40th at 3-over and junior All-SEC Michael Johnson, who is tied for 60th with sophomore Ryan Benton at 6-over. Benton drained a 90-foot birdie putt with a triple break on the 18th hole to shoot a 74.
First-team All-SEC sophomore Matt Gilchrest is tied for 124th at 12-over, including an 80 on Saturday.
"The guys came out and played solid after continuing the momentum from our closing holes in the first round," said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard of the Tigers, who played the final two holes 5-under in Friday's first round. "This is a very demanding golf course as only one team is under par, and I was happy with the way we competed.
"The second round is moving day, and we moved in the right direction. We have put ourselves in position, and it is going to be fun tomorrow."
No. 13 Southern California leads at 2-under 289-285--574 by three shots over No. 1 Illinois (286-291--577) followed by No. 9 Georgia (288-293--581), No. 7 LSU (292-289--581), No. 13 South Florida (294-291--585), No. 4 Vanderbilt (301-284--585), No. 9 Georgia Tech (293-295--588), TCU (296-293--589), San Diego State (290-299--589) and No. 1 Florida State (298-292--590), who is a shot ahead of No. 8 Auburn (301-290--591).
No. 18 Oklahoma State (298-294--592) is in 12th ahead of Charlotte (298-295--593), No. 10 Oregon (300-294--594), No. 2 Texas (294-300--594), No. 13 Washington (301-294--595), No. 22 UNLV (302-294--596), No. 16 UCLA (294-304--598) with No. 6 South Carolina (301-298--599) and No. 21 SMU (296-303--599) in a tie for 20th.
UAB (308-292--600) is in 22nd followed by Florida (293-309--602), No. 3 Arizona State (299-306--605), Duke (297-309--606), No. 5 Stanford (310-297--607), No. 8 Texas Tech (304-305--609), No. 11 Oklahoma (312-299--611), Houston (301-213--613) and Clemson (306-309--615).
Auburn will tee off the No. 10 tee at 11:50 am Central with No. 1 Florida State and No. 18 Oklahoma State.
SMU's Bryson Dechambeau leads at 7-under 70-67--137, two shots ahead of Illinois' Thomas Detry (68-71--139). The top nine individuals not on the 15 teams that make Sunday's cut advance to play in Monday's final round to decide the 72-hole individual champion.
The match play quarterfinals and semifinals both take place on Tuesday at 6 am and 12:30 pm Central, respectively. The NCAA Championship match is on Wednesday, June 3 at 1:10 pm Central.
Golf Channel will televise the NCAA Championship live on Monday from 3-6 pm Central, Tuesday from 9:30-11:30 am and 2:30-6 pm and Wednesday, June 3 from 2-6 pm.
The Tigers are one of only eight teams to appear in four consecutive NCAA Championships. It is Auburn's 20th overall appearance.
Auburn is destroying the school's team single-season stroke average record by averaging 281.80 strokes per round. The current record is 285.30 set in 2011-12. In fact, Clinard-coached Auburn teams have the four lowest averages in Tiger history.
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