PALM CITY, Fla. – Seniors Trace Crowe and Jacob Solomon led the No. 13 Auburn men's golf team to a second-place finish in a loaded field at the Valspar Collegiate that featured 10 ranked teams, including six in the top 10.
Crowe tied for fifth and Solomon tied for 10th after their final circuits of the Floridian National Golf Club.
The Tigers played both the second and third rounds of the tournament Monday afternoon in a gusty day at the par-71 course. Between the six golfers, Auburn shot all 12 rounds at or below par.
"I'm extremely proud of all six of the guys this week," Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. "They played hard and with a sense of confidence. They handled the conditions very well today as we had wind gusts around 30 mph all afternoon which made play difficult.
"We were able to beat the No. 1, 2 and 3 ranked teams this week, which is a testament to the team's play. They were a fun group to coach this week and I'm excited for the remainder of the spring season."
As a team, the Tigers racked up 53 birdies, including 31 on the front nine. The senior duo of Crowe and Solomon contributed 23 birdies in their two rounds.
Crowe was consistent all day as he also nailed down 20 pars en route to a finish at 7-under (70-67-69--206). Solomon also placed in the top 10 at 6-under (68-70-69--207) with the highlight of his day coming on the seventh hole in the second round when he stuck an eagle on the par-5, 575-yard hole.
Jovan Rebula and Wells Padgett tied for 21st overall after 52 holes. Rebula, who buried a team-high 12 birdies on the day, finished with two rounds in the 60s to end the weekend at 2-under (73-69-69--211). Padgett, who also finished at 2-under (71-71-69--211), had 24 pars to go along with eight birdies Monday afternoon.
Competing as an individual, Andrew Kozan tied for 26th overall at even-par (75-68-69--212). Graysen Huff rounded out the lineup at 1-over (72-70-71--213), good for a tie for 31st.
No. 6 Wake Forest won the event at 25-under (827), followed by No. 13 Auburn (833), South Carolina (837), No. 1 Oklahoma State (838), No. 3 Vanderbilt (841), Texas A&M (846), No. 2 Duke (847), No. 8 Texas (847), Florida State (848), No. 23 Baylor (848), No. 11 LSU (853), No. 9 Georgia Tech (855), Houston (863), Arkansas (869) and No. 20 USF (883).
Auburn returns to the course March 31-April 1 when it travels to Ponte Vedra, Fla. for The Hayt.
Team Scores
1. Wake Forest: -25 (278-270-279--827)
2. Auburn: -19 (281-276-276--833)
3. South Carolina: -15 (278-271-288--837)
4. Oklahoma State: -14 (279-275-284--838)
5. Vanderbilt: -11 (285-271-285--841)
6. Texas A&M: -6 (284-275-287--846)
T-7. Duke: -5 (290-269-288--847)
T-7. Texas: -5 (293-268-286--847)
T-9. Florida State: -4 (278-280-290--848)
T-9. Baylor: -4 (284-279-285--848)
11. LSU: +1 (289-272-292--853)
12. Georgia Tech: +3 (285-288-282--855)
13. Houston: +11 (288-286-289--863)
14. Arkansas: +17 (291-288-290--869)
15. USF: +31 (297-284-302--883)
Auburn Individuals
T-5. Trace Crowe: -7 (70-67-69--206)
T-10. Jacob Solomon: -6 (68-70-69--207)
T-21. Jovan Rebula: -2 (73-69-69--211)
T-21. Wells Padgett: -2 (71-71-69--211)
T-26. Andrew Kozan: E (75-68-69--212) - ind.
T-31. Graysen Huff: +1 (72-70-71--213)