Feb. 15, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - No. 15 Auburn Men's Golf tees off at the All-American Intercollegiate presented by Coca-Cola Friday through Sunday at the par 72, 7,096-yard Tournament Course at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas.
The 18-team field includes No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 8 Baylor, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Charlotte, Houston Baptist, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, Samford, SMU, Southeastern Louisiana, UTSA and co-hosts Houston and Rice.
Seniors Will Long, Ryan Benton and Matt Gilchrest, sophomores Trace Crowe and Jacob Solomon and freshman Jovan Rebula will play the course for the Tigers this weekend.
Long, ranked as the No. 20 individual in collegiate golf, leads the team at 70.13 strokes. The Gastonia, N.C., native has finished in the top-9 in four out of five tournaments played this season, including at third place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate. He has carded a team-best seven rounds in the 60s and has counted all 15 rounds played.
Benton, a native of Dothan, Ala., is averaging 72.00 strokes. He has two top-4 finishes this season, including a tie for runner-up at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. Gilchrest, a two-time All-SEC selection, is averaging 71.80. The Southlake, Texas, native tied for fourth at the Inverness Intercollegiate.
Crowe, a product of Bluffton, S.C., is coming off a season-best finish at the Amer Ari Invitational where he carded a pair of career-low 67s to t-10th at 9-under. He tied for 11th at the Carpet Capital Collegiate and has four rounds in the 60s while averaging 70.56.
Solomon (72.33) has two top-20 finishes this season, tying for 19th at both the Carpet Capital Collegiate and Inverness Intercollegiate. The Dublin, Calif., native was a Freshman All-SEC selection last season. Rebula (71.83) has a pair of top-25 finishes, finishing eighth at the Jerry Pate National and t-25th at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. The George, South Africa, product has counted 8-of-9 rounds played this season.
The Tigers tee off No. 1 with South Carolina and Houston at 9:48 am CT. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.