Tigers in the hunt through 36 holes at SEC Fall Preview

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 3 Auburn men's golf utilized a pair of stellar below-par rounds Sunday to lock down second place heading into Monday's stroke play finale.  

"Our guys really came to battle today," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "Some of them didn't have their best stuff today, but they hung tough and played smart golf. Coach Williams and I are very proud of them. Heading into tomorrow, our goal is to remain focused and put ourselves in a position to play for a title on Tuesday." 
 
In the opener, Auburn shot 267 (-13), then carded a 269 (-11) in the afternoon to post a 536 (-24) for the day. The Tigers have a one-shot lead over No. 20 Tennessee and will need to maintain the advantage in order to play for the tournament championship in Tuesday's match-play faceoff.  
 
No. 1 Vanderbilt holds the team lead at 528 (-32) with the Commodores' Gordon Sargent also carrying the torch amongst individual scorers at 130 (-10). 
 
The lead is slim, however, as Auburn sophomore Brendan Valdes follows tightly behind at 131 (-9). Valdes carded a 65 (-5) in round one, followed by a 66 (-4) in round two to lead the Orange & Blue lineup. The Orlando, Florida product matched a trio of bogeys with 12 birdies, including back-to-back-back birdies on holes 14, 15 and 16 of the day's first 18.  
 
"I feel like I played consistently out there today," Valdes said. "I tried to take advantage of the holes where I knew I could and played it smart on the others. We're all feeling confident and ready to head into tomorrow and show why this team is one of the SEC's and the nation's best." 
 
Playing in his hometown, junior Ryan Eshleman also caught fire in Birmingham. Sitting tied for fifth, he matched a round one 66 (-4) with a round two 67 (-3) for a 7-under daily total. Eshleman made birdie 10 times through his pair of rounds, and birdied holes 8, 11 and 15 in both.  
 
Racking up a 137 (-3), Auburn's No. 3 scorer was sophomore Evan Vo. Vo played both rounds below par (68-69) and shot a combined 6-under on the front nine in both outings.  
 
Juniors Carson Bacha and J.M. Butler rounded out the Auburn contingent at 141 (+1) and 142 (+2), respectively. Butler rebounded from a 5-over round one with a big 67 (-3) in the second set. The Louisville, Kentucky product also picked up the Tigers' lone eagle of the day on hole 16 of his middle round.   
 
For the stroke play finale, Auburn will play alongside Vanderbilt and Tennessee and will tee off beginning with Butler on hole 1 at 9:40 a.m. CT. After 54 holes have been completed, the top two teams will duel it out in match-play for the tournament title. All other squads will compete in grudge matches for consolation.