Eshleman paces Tiger contingent through two rounds at Thomas Sharkey

STATESBORO, Ga. –Auburn men's golf junior Ryan Eshleman sits tied for 19th following a two-over performance in the opening pair of rounds at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Intercollegiate Sunday.
 
Eshleman carded a 74 to begin the day and followed it with an even par performance in the second frame. The Birmingham, Alabama native made birdie on holes 11 & 12 to erase a double on 16.
 
"I'm really happy with how I drove it today and how I hit my irons," Eshleman said. "I only missed five fairways and six greens for the 36 holes we played today. I'm also proud of my short game. I've worked hard on my it, and I'm starting to see good results. I would like to improve on my putting and wedge play tomorrow to see some more putts go in. I know they will fall, just need to stay patient."
 
Sitting a shot back from Eshleman, at 147 (+3), is senior Austin Coggin. Coggin signed for a 74 to begin the day and then concluded it with one-shot improvement at 73.
 
Auburn's third golfer, poised just outside the top-30, is junior Max Johnson. The Fairhope, Alabama product rebounded in a major way from a tough 81 in round one with a 2-under 70 in round two. In his second 18, Johnson combatted three bogeys with five birdies on holes 1, 6, 10, 11 and 18.
 
Senior Hal Dove rounds out the Tiger representatives at 153 (+9) and in a tie for 38th place. Dove heads into Monday's finale with a 75 & 78 already on the scorecard.

"Today, we didn't play particularly well, but I was impressed with how they handled it," Tigers volunteer assistant Buddy Alexander said. "There is a strong level of talent here and I am certain our guys will be hanging with the best of them tomorrow."
 
For the final round, all players will once again begin action in a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. CT. Eshleman and Coggin will begin their quests on hole six, while Johnson will play from nine and Dove will begin at 10.
 
Live stats for the final round can be found at Golfstat.com.