April 11, 2017
GASTONIA, N.C. - No. 20 Auburn Men's Golf won the Gary Koch Invitational, carding a 1-under 287 on Tuesday at the Gaston Country Club to finish at 18-under 282-277-297-846. Sophomore Trace Crowe won medalist honors for the first time this season at 9-under 75-66-66-207 as four Tigers finished in the top-10.
Auburn defeated North Carolina State (276-288-290-854) by eight strokes. It is the Tigers' fourth win of the season following the Inverness Intercollegiate, Jerry Pate National and the Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner, and ties the mark from last season.
"I'm really proud of the team and their preparation for this event," Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. "It was our fourth win of the season, and a credit to the players' worth ethic and commitment to be great. It's an exciting time of the year as a golfer with the postseason ahead, and we've really started to play well the past two tournaments."
Crowe, a native of Bluffton, S.C., carded a 6-under 66 in the final round, tying his career-low set just one round prior. His round consisted of four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 No. 1. He tallied 11 birdies and an eagle as opposed to just four bogeys over 54 holes.
It is Crowe's first individual win of the season and the second of his career. He won the 2016 USA Individual Tournament as a freshman.
"Trace Crowe is really starting to figure it out," Clinard said. "He's very coachable and puts the time in weekly. It was his second collegiate win and I anticipate many more to come in his career. He's a very talented kid that has a tremendous work ethic and knows how to practice on the correct things."
Freshman Jovan Rebula had a career-best finish tying for fifth at 4-under 69-72-71-212. The George, South Africa, product carded a trio of birdies in the final round and 13 total for the week. It's his third top-10 finish of the season.
Sophomore Jacob Solomon and junior Ben Schlottman tied for ninth at 2-under 214. Solomon (70-69-75-214) picked up his sixth top-20 finish of the season and second-consecutive top-10 finish following a t-7th at the Hootie at Bulls Bay.
Schlottman (71-69-74-214) now has a pair of top-10 finishes this season. The Advance, N.C., product, playing as an individual, tallied five birdies on Nos. 6, 7, 10, 13 and 18 in the final round and 16 birdies overall.
Senior Will Long climbed 18 spots on Tuesday with a 4-under 68 to t-19th at even-par 72-76-68-216. The Gastonia native, playing as an individual, birdied Nos. 1, 7, 14 and 16 and eagled the par-5 18th in the final round.
All-SEC senior Matt Gilchrest, a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, t-29th at 2-over 71-70-77-218. Fellow senior Ryan Benton t-34th at 4-over 72-73-75-220. Freshman Regan Harrell, playing in the second tournament of his career, t-39th at 76-69-77-222.
Coastal Carolina finished third at 2-under 295-286-281-862 followed by Georgia Southern (282-863), ULM (279-863), No. 13 Virginia (285-869), Kentucky (281-871), Charleston Southern (292-879), Lamar (293-886) and Jacksonville State (291-886).
Gardner-Webb (297-888) finished 11th followed by Richmond (304-890), Southern Illinois (306-897) and Wofford College (308-915).
The Tigers have concluded the regular season and will return to action at the SEC Championship April 21-24 at the Seaside Golf Course in Sea Island, Ga.