Records fall as Auburn takes lead at Tiger Invitational

OPELIKA, Ala. – Thanks to a record-setting Monday that saw six Tigers fight their way into the top 10, No. 7 Auburn men's golf took a commanding 21-shot lead in round two of the Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner.
 
"Really proud of the entire roster today," Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. "We played some really, really good golf. Our energy was high. The way they walked, the way they talked, the way they acted was phenomenal. We've still got to get a little bit better with our short irons, controlling the golf ball and controlling our distances, but overall, it was a great day. This team is special to be around, and I look forward to watching each of them close out a great week tomorrow."
 
With an 18-under performance in round two, Auburn's "A" team broke the tournament record for single-round score. The previous best was set in 2015 by former Tigers Michael Johnson, Matt Gilchrest, Ben Schlottman and Dan Stringfellow. Monday's mark also ties the third-best in school history.
 
Through 36 holes, the team holds strong at 30-under 137 and will need an outing of 3-under or better to break the event's 54-hole record in tomorrow's finale.
 
In addition to the six players inside the top 10, three have also joined in a four-way tie for first place. Alex Vogelsong, Brendan Valdes, Reed Lotter and Troy's Brantley Scott pace the 90-man field at 137 (-7).
 
"I thought I played pretty solid throughout the entire round," Vogelsong said. "I made some nice putts to keep the momentum going. As a team, we all played well too, so tomorrow we definitely want to have a great day and finish strong."
 
Thanks to six birdies that overpowered just two bogeys, Vogelsong recorded his second consecutive round in the 60s. Also joining the senior with 68s on the day were Lotter and junior Carson Bacha. Both Bacha and Lotter used six birdies of their own to erase a double.
 
Lotter is quickly climbing up the ranks for freshman records as he now stands tied for seventh in program history for rounds in the 60s by a rookie, tying J.M. Butler and Evan Vo's seven rounds carded during their respective debut seasons.
 
Two years later, Butler is still collecting 60s regularly as he picked up the low round of the day with a 66 (-6). The Louisville, Kentucky product made just a single bogey on 6 and recorded seven birdies for a 33 on the front and back nine. A 6-under matches the junior's season-best mark for a solo round and is his best since the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in September.
 
Sophomore Valdes signed for a 70 (-2) in day two to drop to seven-under overall and hold onto the individual lead heading into the final round.
 
Auburn's second team, led by junior Ryan Eshleman, also jumped up the leaderboard on Monday, climbing from sixth to fourth, and sits just seven shots outside of second place. Another near clean scorecard, Eshleman bogeyed a single hole, 15, and made birdie five times, including back-to-back-to-back one-unders on 12 through 14 to score a 68.
 
"Today was fun, it was one of my best ball striking days ever," Eshleman said. "When you look at this leaderboard, it's awesome to see Auburn guys all over it and all over the top 10! Tomorrow is going to be a fun day and we love nothing more than competing against each other, and that's what we have on our hand's tomorrow. I look forward to the opportunity!"
 
Senior Austin Coggin moved into the two position for team "B" with another even-par outing (72). Following Coggin were Max Johnson (74), Vo (75) and Hal Dove (76). Eshleman, Coggin and Vo are all on pace to record a top-30 outing for the tournament with Eshleman just two strokes back from first.
 
For the Tiger Invitational finale, Auburn "B" will tee off first, going off 1 with Chattanooga and Richmond beginning with Dove at 8:50 a.m. CT. Auburn "A" will follow starting at 9:40 a.m. CT with Butler.