March 10, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - No. 19 Auburn Men's Golf begins play at the Bandon Dunes Championship March 10-12 at the par-72, 6,893-yard Old MacDonald Course at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
The 16-team field consists of No. 9 Texas Tech, No. 14 Oregon, No. 18 Texas A&M, No. 21 Colorado, Boise State, Denver, Fresno State, Georgia State, CSU-Northridge, Oregon State, San Jose State, Seattle, Utah Valley, Washington State and host-Gonzaga.
Seven Tigers will play the course beginning on Sunday led by a pair of top-50 nationally-ranked individuals in Will Long (42) and Trace Crowe (45).
Long, a senior from Gastonia, N.C., is averaging 70.86 and is coming off a t-13th finish at the Tiger Invitational. He has five top-15 finishes this season including a third-place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate.
Crowe (70.67) had his best outing of the season at the Tiger Invitational, carding a 7-under 67-72-70-209 to t-4th and pace the Tigers. The Bluffton, S.C., native has finished in the top-26 of each tournament he has played this season including a pair of top-10 finishes.
Seniors Matt Gilchrest and Ryan Benton, junior Ben Schlottman and sophomores Jovan Rebula and Jacob Solomon will also play for Auburn head coach Nick Clinard this weekend.
Gilchrest, a two-time All-SEC selection, is averaging 72.00. He has three top-20 finishes this season, including a t-4th finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate. Benton (72.29) has a pair of top-5 finishes at the Carpet Capital Collegiate (t-2nd) and Inverness Intercollegiate (t-4th).
Schlottman, a native of Advance, N.C., is averaging 73.40 and has two top-25 finishes this season, including a ninth-place finish at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.
Rebula is coming off a t-8th finish at the Tiger Invitational that earned him the first SEC Men's Freshman Golfer of the Week honor of his career. The George, South Africa, native has four top-25 finishes this season, including a pair of top-10 finishes, while averaging 71.61.
Solomon, a native of Dublin, Calif., tied for 13th at the Tiger Invitational at 2-under 214. He has three top-20 finishes for the season while averaging 72.27.
Live scoring for the tournament will be available at birdiefire.com.