WINDERMERE,Fla. – The Auburn men's golf team finds itself sitting in second place on the team leaderboard after a stellar performance on the back nine to open play at the Isleworth Collegiate Sunday morning.
"We played solid and struck the ball really well," said Tigers head coach Nick Clinard. "We need to make more putts and manage our games better."
The squad tallied 10 birdies after the turn, highlighted by four from junior Austin Coggin.
Shooting even (72), Coggin's clutch first-round performance lands him inside the top 20 on the individual leaderboard. His five total birdies are tied for the second-most by any golfer on the day.
Sophomore sensation J.M. Butler once again carried the torch for the Tigers, collecting three birdies and one eagle en route to a two-under (70) day one total. The Louisville native is tied for sixth amongst all golfers heading into Monday's action.
Junior Alex Vogelsong and sophomore Carson Bacha also shot a steady round for Auburn, both firing a one-over (73) to conclude play tied for 22nd.
In his first taste of collegiate stroke play competition, freshman Brendan Valdes kept himself in the mix, making two late birdies, three total on the day, to finish just two-over (74) and tied for 37th.
Following the finalization of Sunday's action, #3 Arizona State sits atop the leaderboard at 11-under (277). The Tigers' 288 (E) lands them in second. Following Auburn is North Florida 289 (+1), West Virginia 289 (+1), #17 Illinois 289 (+1), South Carolina 290 (+2), LSU 291 (+3), UCF 292 (+4), Cal-Berkeley 292 (+4), Florida 293 (+5), Minnesota 298 (+10), Augusta 298 (+10), Coastal Carolina 300 (+12) and SMU 301 (+13).
UP NEXT
Auburn will look to keep the hot hand going as Valdes will tee off from the first tee box at 8:40 a.m. CT to kickstart the Tigers' second round of tournament play.
Live stats for the Isleworth Collegiate will continue to be broadcast on GolfStat.com.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. #3 Arizona State: 277 (-11)
2. #21 Auburn: 288 (E)
T3. North Florida: 289 (+1)
T3. West Virginia: 289 (+1)
T3. #17 Illinois: 289 (+1)
6. South Carolina: 290 (+2)
7. LSU: 291 (+3)
T8. UCF: 292 (+4)
T8. Cal-Berkeley: 292 (+4)
10. Florida: 293 (+5)
T11. Minnesota: 298 (+10)
T11. Augusta: 298 (+10)
13. Coastal Carolina: 300 (+12)
14. SMU: 301 (+13)
AUBURN INDIVIDUALS
T6. J.M. Butler: 70 (-2)
T17. Austin Coggin: 72 (E)
T22. Alex Vogelsong: 73 (+1)
T22. Carson Bacha: 73 (+1)
T37. Brendan Valdes: 74 (+2)