AUBURN, Ala. – On the hunt for its first national title, No. 12 Auburn men's golf hits the road for the 2023 NCAA Championship, May 26-31, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Auburn will begin play on collegiate golf's biggest stage beginning at 8:32 a.m. CT Friday. The Tigers will go off the first hole, playing alongside No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 11 Georgia Tech.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will consist of three rounds of stroke play competition before the 30-team field is cut to the low 15. On Monday, a fourth round of stroke play will take place before the field is cut to eight. Match play begins on Tuesday with both the quarterfinals and semifinals, and on Wednesday, a national champion will be crowned with the final match set to begin at 3:35 p.m. CT.
This week will mark the program's 28th appearance at the NCAA Championship and its 10th in the last 14 years under head coach Nick Clinard. While Auburn has yet to capture a national title as a team, it does have an individual champion in Chip Spratlin (1995).
Alongside the Tigers, participating in this year's championship will be No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Florida State, No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Alabama, No. 15 Virginia, No. 16 Texas, No. 17 Mississippi State, No. 18 Oregon, No. 19 Colorado State, No. 20 Ohio State, No. 21 Georgia, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 23 Baylor, No. 24 Duke, No. 25 ETSU, No. 26 BYU, No. 27 San Francisco, No. 28 Chattanooga, No. 29 Nex Mexico and No. 30 Colorado.
"It's certainly going to be a challenge," Clinard said. "It's a long, taxing week, but it's not supposed to be easy. Our team is in great shape, physically, and is as mentally tough as ever. There are always going to be obstacles and surprises thrown your way, but I really like our chances of overcoming those challenges and making a deep run with this group."
Last season, Auburn shot 40-over to make the first cut and place tied for 10th overall, matching its third-best finish in school history. The Tigers' top finish came in 2018 when the program made its first final four appearance before falling 3-2 in the semis to eventual national champion Oklahoma State.
Four men from last year's stint will return to Grayhawk this season. Senior Alex Vogelsong, juniors Carson Bacha and J.M. Butler and sophomore Brendan Valdes all got a taste of postseason competition at last year's NCAA Championship. Bacha led the lineup, shooting 76-70-71-70 for a 287 (+7) and a top-20 finish. The Tigers will add junior Ryan Eshleman and freshman Reed Lotter into the mix this year.
Eshleman will begin the week as the sixth reserve player; however, postseason substitution rules will be in effect, allowing for the substitution of any individual into the lineup following the completion of a round.
"We're feeling really good going into this week," Valdes said. "Everything up until this point has been a warmup for the NCAA Championship. We've had a ton of success this season and we've also overcome a lot, which has made us strong in every aspect of the game. I'm extremely proud of the guys so far, but I know our story isn't over yet."
Auburn punched its ticket to Nationals via a top-five showing in its home regional at Auburn University Club. The Tigers shot 1-under 863 to edge out Vanderbilt by a shot and capture their fifth team title of the 2022-23 season. Five wins ties the school record, which has not been matched by an Orange & Blue squad since 1997.
Live scoring for the duration of the 2023 DI Men's Golf Championship can be found at Golfstat.com. Television coverage via the Golf Channel will begin at 4 p.m. CT during Monday's final round of stroke play.
