AUBURN, Ala. – Literally and figuratively, Brandon Mancheno had been here before.
Figuratively, in a playoff for medalist honors.
Literally, in the bunker on 18 at Grand National.
"I'm honestly so used to that bunker," Mancheno said. "I hit it in there every time we play this hole. It was just kind of normal for me to be in there. But I didn't want to be that close to the lip at all. I was just happy I got to hit it on the green somewhere."
Mancheno two-putted for par, sinking a 12-footer Tuesday to secure the individual title in the Tiger Invitational for his first collegiate victory.
"I was definitely nervous hitting that last putt, or even the two putts on 18 in regulation, but you've just got to trust yourself, I feel like at some point, to get over the hump, and this was that week for me," he said.
As a freshman last year, Mancheno made a splashy debut, earning runner-up honors at the NCAA Championship, finishing second in a playoff.
This time, the 2018 SEC Freshman of the Year prevailed.
"It definitely helped me a lot," Mancheno said, recalling the pressure-packed setting last May in Stillwater, Oklahoma. "It made me feel like I fit into college golf, like I'm actually where I'm supposed to be. Trying to get better every day. This win helped for me. It's my first one in college and it's going to be big for me moving forward. I'm happy I got it done."
Mancheno's win helped the Tigers cruise to a 10-shot victory over No. 6 Southern Methodist.
"This is a big event for us every year because it's our home course, we play it a lot," he said. "I think we're trending in the right direction for sure. We kind of did the same thing last year. We started off with a win here and then we won three straight after this so hopefully we can do the same next week in Vegas and see what happens after that."
Auburn will try to carry its momentum to Las Vegas for the Southern Highlands Collegiate, a three-round event which tees off Sunday and concludes on Tuesday.
"I'm really proud of him," Auburn coach Nick Clinard said. "I know he's really proud of himself, too. He's got a little ways to go to be where he really wants to be, and that's to win on the PGA Tour. Now he feels like, 'Hey I can win at this level.' I think it will really come in bunches for him now."
"It's going to be big for me moving forward."
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) February 28, 2019
🗣 Brandon Mancheno
As a freshman, Brandon was runner-up at @NCAA ⛳️ championship.@AuburnMGolf sophomore earned his first win in this week's Tiger Invitational presented by @JasonDufner
📷: @wwader
🎤 @TraceCrowe & Nick Clinard pic.twitter.com/kA7R0cPzba
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer