LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 11 Auburn men's golf team continued its dominant play in the second round of the NCAA Louisville Regional Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers fired a 7-under 277 – the second consecutive day with the lowest team score – to maintain their lead at 15-under (276-277--553) overall.
Auburn holds an 8-stroke lead over No. 1 Oklahoma State for the top spot in the 13-team field and is 24 strokes ahead of sixth place No. 13 North Florida. The top five teams after three rounds advance to the NCAA Championship.
"The guys played well today," head coach Nick Clinard said. "The first three guys out made a ton of birdies coming down the stretch. I'm really proud of Jacob Solomon. Trace Crowe hung in there and really only had one bad swing all day. We persevered, made some birdies down the stretch and opened up a nice cushion."
Jacob Solomon led the way for Auburn with a career-low round of 5-under 66. The senior played a clean front nine before catching fire on the back nine. Solomon carded five birdies on the back nine, capping the second-best round by anyone in the field at the par-71 University of Louisville Golf Club.
"I started off a little on the slow side today," Solomon said. "I just parred the first few holes. I made a pretty good birdie on the fourth hole. From there, I couldn't get a putt to fall in until hole 11 and then I rallied off three birdies in a row and finished really strong with birdies on holes 17 and 18.
"It was good because I've been struggling with my game lately, but I rebounded today and things came together."
Solomon is tied for seventh overall at 3-under (73-66--139).
Trace Crowe produced the second-best round by a Tiger with a 3-under 68. Despite a double-bogey on the 13th hole, the senior carded a team-high seven birdies, including three on the final four holes.
He is in sixth on the individual leaderboard at 4-under (70-68--138).
Graysen Huff and Brandon Mancheno are tied for 11th at the annual three-round competition at 1-under.
Mancheno (71-70--141) turned in four birdies with three coming on the back nine en route to a 1-under 70. Huff (68-73--141) carded a team-high 16 pars in his second circuit of the course and ended the day with a 2-over 73.
Jovan Rebula rounded out the Auburn contingent and is tied for 28th on the individual leaderboard at 3-over (67-78--145).
The Tigers lead the field by eight strokes at 15-under (553), followed by No. 1 Oklahoma State (561), No. 25 Baylor (568), Iowa State (570), No. 21 Louisville (571), No. 13 North Florida (577), Arizona (578), West Virginia (579), Arkansas State (585), Mississippi State (585), Southern Illinois (590), New Mexico (593) and Jacksonville State (597).
Should Auburn hold on in the third round, it would be the Tigers' third regional championship in program history, joining the 1997 and 1990 teams.
"I feel really good," Crowe said. "The guys are moving and playing really well. We're set up well for tomorrow, so hopefully we can win."
Auburn is paired with Baylor and Oklahoma State for the final round off the No. 1 tee beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.
Team Scores
1. Auburn: -15 (276-277--553)
2. Oklahoma State: -7 (278-283--561)
3. Baylor: E (280-288--568)
4. Iowa State: +2 (288-282--570)
5. Louisville: +3 (280-291--571)
6. North Florida: +9 (292-285--577)
7. Arizona: +10 (287-291--578)
8. West Virginia: +11 (286-293--579)
T-9. Arkansas State: +17 (295-290--585)
T-9. Mississippi State: +17 (294-291--585)
11. Southern Illinois: +22 (301-289--590)
12. New Mexico: +25 (302-291--593)
13. Jacksonville State: +29 (300-297--597)
Auburn Individuals
6. Trace Crowe: -4 (70-68--138)
T-7. Jacob Solomon: -3 (73-66--139)
T-11. Brandon Mancheno: -1 (71-70--141)
T-11. Graysen Huff: -1 (68-73--141)
T-28. Jovan Rebula: +3 (67-78--145)
NCAA Louisville Regional Final Round Tee Times (CT)
6:30 a.m. – Jovan Rebula
6:41 a.m. – Graysen Huff
6:52 a.m. – Brandon Mancheno
7:03 a.m. – Jacob Solomon
7:14 a.m. – Trace Crowe
"It's a one-round tournament tomorrow in my eyes, & we'll be all gas, no brakes"
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) May 14, 2019
🗣@AuburnMGolf HC Nick Clinard
In their own words: Clinard, @JacobCSolomon & @TraceCrowe recap round 2
AU (-15) leads No. 1 Okla St. (-7) w/18 holes to play. Top 5 teams advance to NCAAs #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/IOm6OHa2iN
Won the day once again at the #NCAAGolf Louisville Regional. 👊
— Auburn Men's Golf (@AuburnMGolf) May 14, 2019
📰 » https://t.co/ChLDm0psQG#WarEagle | #ChampionsPlayHere pic.twitter.com/Bh8BMsg0qv