AUBURN, Ala. – Behind the course's low round of the day, No. 13 Auburn men's golf rose to first place Tuesday at the NCAA Regional hosted by Auburn University Club. Sophomore Brendan Valdes led the lineup once more, shooting 69 (-3) to break the Auburn record for single season-rounds in the 60s with 15.
"You've got to stay in the fight," head coach Nick Clinard said. "Our message is to start strong, stay strong, finish strong, and I told the guys we checked two of those boxes today. Tomorrow, we're going to check all three. We've got great players. They're encouraging each other and they're out there competing, so they're going to get the job done for one another."
The Tigers shot 283 (-5) for the round, a nine-shot improvement from the previous day, to position themselves 13 strokes above the NCAA Championship cutline.
With a 69, Valdes surpasses previous record-holders, Trace Crowe (2015-19) and teammate J.M. Butler, to take sole possession for the single-season 60s record. The Orlando, Florida product birdied 3 for a 35 on the front, then followed with three more birdies on 13, 14 and 16 before a lone bogey on 17 to lock down the 34 on his home stretch.
And he's not done yet ‼️😏#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/iOXjjqZKvy
— Auburn Men's Golf (@AuburnMGolf) May 16, 2023
Valdes trails the individual leader, Christoph Bleier of Colorado State, by two.
"I feel like I had the ball a little bit better today," Valdes said. "My putts weren't falling as much, but I had a lot of pars and every once in a while, a birdie fell. I played more clean overall than I did yesterday."
Nearing the season's finale, Valdes nears two more school records set by Michael Johnson (2011-16) during 2015-16 cycle. With 136 birdies, he is 28 shy of the season record, and with 23 subpar rounds under his belt, Valdes needs one more to tie Johnson's mark.
Another Tiger that made a little history Tuesday was Butler. With a 2-under 70, the junior recorded his 50th career round below par, a club that had previously only been joined by three players — Johnson, Matt Gilchrest (2013-17) and Jovan Rebula (2016-21).
Butler matched four bogeys with four birdies on the day and made eagle for a fourth time this season on the third hole.
Another milestone for the workhorse 🤟@JMButler2020 becomes just the fourth player in school history to play 50 rounds below par. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ifqPrskRaw
— Auburn Men's Golf (@AuburnMGolf) May 16, 2023
"We're in first place, so it's tough to complain, but we definitely left a lot of shots out there," Butler said. "It wasn't even close to our best stuff. The course doesn't give much room for error, so I'm proud of the guys for battling hard today."
Auburn's final three men, senior Alex Vogelsong, junior Carson Bacha and freshman Reed Lotter all carded even par 72s for the round. Bacha and Lotter both started with 34s on the front before finishing with 38s on the back while Vogelsong shot 35-37. Vogelsong made the team's second eagle of the day, third of the tournament on 7.
For the final round, Auburn will tee off from the first hole at 8 a.m. CT, playing alongside Chattanooga and Colorado State once again. The Tigers will need to finish inside the top five to advance to the 2023 NCAA Championship.
| Placement | Golfer | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2nd | Brendan Valdes | 70 (-2) | 69 (-3) | 139 (-5) |
| 11th | J.M. Butler | 74 (+2) | 70 (E) | 144 (E) |
| T12th | Carson Bacha | 73 (+1) | 72 (E) | 145 (+1) |
| T19th | Reed Lotter | 75 (+3) | 72 (E) | 147 (+2) |
| T19th | Alex Vogelsong | 75 (+3) | 72 (E) | 147 (+2) |
| 1st | TEAM | 292 (+4) | 283 (-5) | 575 (-1) |
TEAM STANDINGS:
1. No. 13 Auburn 575 (-1)
2. Chattanooga 576 (E)
3. No. 24 Colorado State 578 (+2)
4. No. 1 Vanderbilt 580 (+4)
5. No. 25 Ohio State 587 (+11)
6. Indiana 588 (+12)
T7. TCU 590 (+14)
T7. Washington 590 (+14)
9. No. 12 Tennessee 595 (+19)
10. Houston 601 (+25)
11. Marquette 605 (+29)
12. Augusta 623 (+47)
13. Siena 631 (+55)