OPELIKA, Ala. – The No. 10 Auburn men's golf team erased a 10-stroke deficit to take the lead after firing an 8-under 280 in the second round of the Tiger Invitational Monday afternoon.
The Tigers shot the lowest round of the tournament by any team during their second circuit of the Grand National Lake Course.
"The guys came out and played very well today," Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. "We did what we had to do knowing the wind was not blowing as bad as yesterday. Now we'll have a chance to go win a golf tournament tomorrow."
Brandon Mancheno matched the lowest card turned in of the week when he posted a 4-under 68. The sophomore turned in a team-best eight birdies, including five of the final seven holes, to move up to second place overall at 2-under (74-68--142).
Jovan Rebula rose 18 spots on the leaderboard to a three-way tie for third overall at 1-under (74-69--143). The George, South Africa native carded four birdies to go along with 13 pars and just one bogey.
Jacob Solomon and Trace Crowe also find themselves in the top 20 after two rounds. Solomon matched his first round performance and is at 2-over (73-73--146) for the tournament, tied for 14th. Crowe tallied five birdies en route to a 2-under 70 and is tied for 19th at 3-over (77-70--147).
Graysen Huff is tied for 23rd at 4-over (72-76--148) following two rounds at the par-72 course.
The Auburn "B Team" is tied for sixth out of 16 teams in the field after scoring a 7-over 295 Monday.
Andrew Kozan racked up seven birdies and turned in a 3-under 69. He is tied for sixth in the field at even par (75-69--144).
Wells Padgett went even par in his second round of the three-day tournament and is tied for 19th overall at 3-over (75-72--147).
Ryan Knop and Marcus Svensson are tied for 38th at 6-over. Knop (72-78--150) was solid all afternoon at 3-over, but ran into trouble on the 11th hole to finish the day at 6-over.
Svensson (74-76--150) was consistent and carded 2-over on both the front and back nine.
Jake Milanowski is tied for 80th at 19-over (82-81--163).
Following a 19-stroke swing, No. 10 Auburn leads the field at 3-under (573), followed by No. 6 SMU (582), No. 21 Arkansas State (583), South Alabama (584), UNCW (590), Auburn "B Team" (591), Georgia State (591), ULM (593), Kennesaw State (597), Western Kentucky (598), Mercer (599), Missouri (600), Chattanooga (604), Austin Peay (607), Florida Atlantic (614) and Lipscomb (618).
"Our team has a lot of grit," Rebula said. "We are very determined to do well in every tournament we participate in. I'm very proud of all the guys today and hopefully we can do a little better tomorrow, too."
Auburn is paired with Arkansas State and SMU for the final round off the first tee box, beginning at 9:30 a.m. CT. The Tigers' "B Team" is mixed with South Alabama and UNCW off the first tee, starting at 8:40 a.m. CT.
The Tiger Invitational is free to attend and open to the public. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.
Team Scores
1. Auburn: -3 (293-280--573)
2. SMU: +6 (295-287--582)
3. Arkansas State: +7 (283-300--583)
4. South Alabama: +8 (297-287--584)
5. UNCW: +14 (301-289--590)
T-6. Auburn "B Team": +15 (296-295--591)
T-6. Georgia State: +15 (295-296--591)
8. ULM: +17 (304-289--593)
9. Kennesaw State: +21 (303-294--597)
10. Western Kentucky: +22 (306-292--598)
11. Mercer: +23 (295-304--599)
12. Missouri: +24 (301-299--600)
13. Chattanooga: +28 (305-299--604)
14. Austin Peay: +31 (307-300--607)
15. Florida Atlantic: +38 (304-310--614)
16. Lipscomb: +42 (315-303--618)
Auburn Individuals
2. Brandon Mancheno: -2 (74-68--142)
T-3. Jovan Rebula: -1 (74-69--143)
T-14. Jacob Solomon: +2 (73-73--146)
T-19. Trace Crowe: +3 (77-70--147)
T-23. Graysen Huff: +4 (72-76--148)
Auburn Individuals "B Team"
T-6. Andrew Kozan: E (75-69--144)
T-19. Wells Padgett: +3 (75-72--147)
T-38. Ryan Knop: +6 (72-78--150)
T-38. Marcus Svensson: +6 (74-76--150)
T-74. Jake Milanowski: +19 (82-81--163)