VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. – Auburn golfers Jovan Rebula and Andrew Kozan each logged top-10 finishes as the Tigers wrapped up the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate Tuesday afternoon at Old Overton Country Club.
Rebula tied for fourth at 6-under (65-68-71--204), while Kozan was just two strokes back and finished in a tie for seventh at 4-under (69-71-66--206).
"They were really good mentally," head coach Nick Clinard said of Rebula and Kozan. "I thought their game management was really good.
"They were emotionally in control of their games and they played some really good golf. They hit a lot of good shots and made some good putts."
The duo combined for 11 birdies and 21 pars on the day on the par-70 course and shot 5-under on the front nine without a bogey.
Alex Vogelsong earned his second straight top-25 finish as a Tiger with a 22nd placing at 2-over (73-71-68--212). The freshman carded five birdies with three on the back nine in his final circuit.
Wells Padgett and Brandon Mancheno rounded out the Auburn contingent in a tie for 24th at 4-over (68-67-79--214) and a tie for 31st at 7-over (76-70-71--217), respectively.
As a team, the Tigers finished third at 13-under (275-276-276--827), just four strokes behind co-champions BYU and Colorado State (823).
Entering the day, Auburn trailed by nine strokes, but got within one on the back nine before ultimately running into trouble on the final two holes.
Despite finishing four strokes back, Clinard said there were plenty of positives to draw from the two-day tournament.
"It gives a lot of confidence to the kids. They played really well and had a chance to go out here and win. We challenged them last night to come out and win the final round. They did that today. We've just got to keep chipping away and get better. We're really good. It's just a matter of putting it all together at once."
Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Windermere, Fla. for the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 20-22, at Isleworth Country Club.
Team Scores
T-1. BYU: -17 (277-265-281--823)
T-1. Colorado State: -17 (275-269-279--823)
3. Auburn: -13 (275-276-276--827)
4. UAB: -4 (280-280-276--836)
5. Minnesota: -2 (285-274-279--838)
6. Charlotte: +11 (294-278-279--851)
7. Arkansas: +12 (292-279-281--852)
8. Ole Miss: +20 (286-287-287--860)
9. Alabama: +27 (293-281-293--867)
T-10. Samford: +57 (296-300-301--897)
T-10. Princeton: +57 (293-299-305--897)
12. Air Force: +75 (306-307-302--915)
Auburn Individuals
T-4. Jovan Rebula: -6 (65-68-71--204)
T-7. Andrew Kozan: -4 (69-71-66--206)
T-22. Alex Vogelsong: +2 (73-71-68--212)
T-24. Wells Padgett: +4 (68-67-79--214)
T-31. Brandon Mancheno: +7 (76-70-71--217)
"We really challenged them last night to win the final round"
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 8, 2019
🗣 @AuburnMGolf HC Nick Clinard
AU (-13): 3rd at Jerry Pate Nat'l Intercollegiate behind co-champs BYU/Colo St
Top 10s for @JovanRebula & @andrewkozan
"We're really good. Just a matter of putting it all together" pic.twitter.com/OQ9mLAKQYs