May 24, 2018
NCAA Championship Notes | NCAA Championship Seeds | NCAA Championship Pairings
AUBURN, Ala. - The quest for a national title begins this week as the No. 7 Auburn men's golf team takes aim at the 2018 NCAA Championships, May 25-30. The Tigers are one of 30 teams in the hunt at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
Auburn rides in as the No. 7 seed in the annual postseason tournament. The Tigers have a practice round Thursday before three rounds of stroke play in successive days, beginning Friday at the par-72 course that stretches 7,460 yards.
Following the three rounds, half of the field will be cut with the remaining 15 teams battling it out in a fourth and final round of stroke play. The top eight teams will then advance to match play to decide who will be crowned national champions.
Auburn has been paired with No. 8 seed Illinois and No. 9 seed Baylor for the opening two rounds. Friday's tee time is set for 1:15 p.m. CT off the 10th tee, while Saturday's tee time is 7:55 a.m. CT off the first tee.
"We are excited to compete this week at Karsten Creek," head coach Nick Clinard said. "It will be a tough test mentally and physically, but our guys are prepared and are looking forward to the challenge. I'm really proud of their preparation and commitment this past week."
Auburn is making its 23rd appearance at the NCAA Championships, including seven of nine seasons under Clinard. The best finish in program history came in 1994 with a tie for seventh overall.
The Tigers are the only program in the Southeastern Conference to advance to the NCAA Championships each of the last seven seasons. Auburn is just one of four teams nationally to accomplish the feat, joining Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.
Representing the Tigers this week are Trace Crowe, Ryan Knop, Brandon Mancheno, Wells Padgett, Jovan Rebula and Ben Schlottman.
Mancheno leads the team with a stroke average of 70.64 per round, followed by Schlottman (70.86), Crowe (70.97), Rebula (71.17), Knop (71.75) and Padgett (71.91).
During the 2017-18 season, Auburn has racked up 129 rounds of even par or better, including 94 rounds below par. The Tigers have also produced 57 rounds in the 60s so far.
Live scoring for the 2018 NCAA Championships will be available on Golfstat.com.