SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – After starting the day in 13th, the No. 13 Auburn men's golf team rose seven spots to finish sixth following the final two-plus rounds at the Shoal Creek Invitational Tuesday at Shoal Creek Country Club.
"We played better today," head coach Nick Clinard said. "Jacob Solomon did not have a good week, but the other guys stepped up. Wells (Padgett) played a good couple of rounds today and Brandon (Mancheno) shot a 69 this afternoon.
"We just put ourselves in a bad position after the first round. We played terrible. The golf course was difficult and we didn't handle it well, but we bounced back to finish sixth. We have a lot of work to do before postseason starts."
The Tigers started the day at 21-over after the first 18 holes at the par-72 course, but shot just 3-over across the final 36 holes and improved seven spots on the leaderboard.
Wells Padgett led the way for Auburn and finished in a tie for 14th at 2-over (75-73-70--218). The sophomore racked up 23 pars and seven birdies in his final two circuits of the course.
Trace Crowe (77-74-69--220) and Brandon Mancheno (79-69-72--220) tied for 23rd at 4-over. Crowe carded a pair of eagles in his last round, while Mancheno was one of just 11 golfers to shoot a round in the 60s on Tuesday.
Jacob Solomon tied for 69th at 16-over (78-76-78--232) and Ryan Knop rounded out the lineup in a tie for 73rd at 17-over (81-74-78--233).
Competing as an individual, Graysen Huff tied for sixth at 1-under (71-70-74--215). The junior was one of only seven to finish below par in the 3-round tournament.
Andrew Kozan, also an individual, tied for 26th at 5-over (74-73-74--221). Marcus Svensson tied for 49th at 10-over (72-77-77--226), while Jake Milanowski finished 83rd at 25-over (80-78-83--241).
No. 24 Alabama won the invitational at 13-under (851) followed by No. 12 LSU (870), No. 15 North Florida (876), Kentucky (879), UAB (881), No. 13 Auburn (888), Charlotte (891), Lamar (891), Jacksonville (892), Jacksonville State (894), No. 22 Tennessee (896), Bowling Green (903), Georgia State (905), Troy (911) and Samford (927).
The Tigers will shift their focus to postseason play as they head to the Southeastern Conference Championship. The action takes place April 24-28 in St. Simons Island, Ga.
Team Scores
1. Alabama: -13 (285-281-285--851)
2. LSU: +6 (285-290-295--870)
3. North Florida: +12 (291-291-294--876)
4. Kentucky: +15 (298-282-299--879)
5. UAB: +17 (301-289-291--881)
6. Auburn: +24 (309-290-289--888)
T-7. Charlotte: +27 (290-295-306--891)
T-7. Lamar: +27 (303-302-286--891)
9. Jacksonville: +28 (304-295-293--892)
10. Jacksonville State: +30 (292-295-307--894)
11. Tennessee: +32 (299-300-297--896)
12. Bowling Green: +39 (299-302-302--903)
13. Georgia State: +41 (311-295-299--905)
14. Troy: +47 (300-307-304--911)
15. Samford: +63 (309-300-318--927)
Auburn Individuals
T-6. Graysen Huff: -1 (71-70-74--215) - ind.
T-14. Wells Padgett: +2 (75-73-70--218)
T-23. Trace Crowe: +4 (77-74-69--220)
T-23. Brandon Mancheno: +4 (79-69-72--220)
T-26. Andrew Kozan: +5 (74-73-74--221) - ind.
T-49. Marcus Svensson: +10 (72-77-77--226) - ind.
T-69. Jacob Solomon: +16 (78-76-78--232)
T-73. Ryan Knop: +17 (81-74-78--233)
83. Jake Milanowski: +25 (80-78-83--241) - ind.