April 27, 2018
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - The No. 9 Auburn men's golf team secured its place in the match-play portion of the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championship after carding a 282 (+2) in the final round of stroke play Friday at Sea Island Golf Club.
The Tigers shot 848 (+8) for the week to finish in a tie for fourth with No. 6 Alabama and No. 16 Arkansas at the par-70 Seaside Course. Auburn will take on Arkansas in the 4-5 match Saturday in the quarterfinal round, beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT on the 10th tee.
"I'm really proud of the guys," head coach Nick Clinard said. "They really hung in there. There were some tough conditions and some tough pins, but they just kept plugging away. We ended up as a four seed in the best conference in the country."
Junior Trace Crowe tied for third and became the eighth player to earn a top-10 finish at the SEC Championship under Clinard. Crowe turned in a 68 (-2) to finish at 207 (-3). Despite bogeying the first and last holes, the Bluffton, S.C. native was clean the rest of the round with 12 pars and four birdies, including three straight from the ninth to 11th holes.
Freshman Brandon Mancheno shot a 70 (E) to finish ninth at 209 (-1), marking the 12th time the Tigers have placed two in the top 10 since 1989. Mancheno secured a team-high 16 pars en route to an even day on the course.
Fellow freshman Wells Padgett was the next-best finisher for Auburn as he tied for 36th with a 73 (+3) on the final day and 217 (+7) overall. The Wichita, Kan. native had an up-and-down front nine before closing the final five holes with four pars and a birdie.
Sophomore Jovan Rebula and junior Ryan Knop tied for 46th at 219 (+9). Rebula had his best round of the tournament at 71 (+1) after closing out with six pars and two birdies in his final eight holes. Knop tallied nine pars, six bogeys and three birdies to end the day at 73 (+3).
LSU earned the top spot through stroke play at 834 (-6), followed by Florida (+3) and Vanderbilt (+3). Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas all tied for fourth (+8) while Ole Miss and Texas A&M were the final two teams to make the cut following three rounds (+11).
Florida's Andy Zhang took medalist honors after a three-hole playoff with Ole Miss' Cecil Wegener. Both players finished at 205 (-5).
The quarterfinal round of match play tees off at 6:30 a.m. CT Saturday. The Auburn-Arkansas winner will face the LSU-Texas A&M winner in the semifinals Saturday afternoon.
Live streaming of the semifinal round can be viewed on SEC Network+ beginning at 3 p.m. CT. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.
Final Stroke Play Team Standings
1. LSU - 834 (-6)
T-2. Florida - 843 (+3)
T-2. Vanderbilt - 843 (+3)
T-4. Auburn - 848 (+8)
T-4. Arkansas - 848 (+8)
T-4. Alabama - 848 (+8)
T-7. Ole Miss - 851 (+11)
T-7. Texas A&M - 851 (+11)
--------------------------------------
9. Tennessee - 854 (+14)
10. Kentucky - 856 (+16)
11. Georgia - 862 (+22)
12. Mississippi State - 864 (+24)
13. South Carolina - 865 (+25)
14. Missouri - 873 (+33)
Auburn Individuals
T-3. Trace Crowe - 68-71-68--207 (-3)
9. Brandon Mancheno - 68-71-70--209 (-1)
T-36. Wells Padgett - 70-74-73--217 (+7)
T-46. Ryan Knop - 74-72-73--219 (+9)
T-46. Jovan Rebula - 76-72-71--219 (+9)
Quarterfinal Matches
(1) LSU vs. (8) Texas A&M - 6:30 a.m. CT (#1 tee)
(4) Auburn vs. (5) Arkansas - 6:30 a.m. CT (#10 tee)
(3) Vanderbilt vs. (6) Alabama - 7:20 a.m. CT (#10 tee)
(2) Florida vs. (7) Ole Miss - 7:20 a.m. CT (#1 tee)
Match Play Pairings (#10 tee)
Jovan Rebula (AU) vs. Tyson Reeder (AR) - 6:30 a.m. CT
Trace Crowe (AU) vs. Luis Garza (AR) - 6:40 a.m. CT
Brandon Mancheno (AU) vs. Alvaro Ortiz (AR) - 6:50 a.m. CT
Ryan Knop (AU) vs. Mason Overstreet (AR) - 7 a.m. CT
Wells Padgett (AU) vs. Williams Buhl (AR) - 7:10 a.m. CT