BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 4 Auburn men's golf jumped out front with a pair of low rounds Monday to open the SEC Fall Preview hosted by the Country Club of Birmingham. The Tigers shot 274 (-10) in round one and 264 (-20) in round two to build up a two-stroke lead heading into Tuesday's final round of stroke play.
Following the third and final round of stroke play, the top two schools will duke it out in a head-to-head match for this year's team championship. The other 12 squads will be paired off in consolation matches.
"It's nice to see that we've wasted no time in getting into our groove, but this tournament has just begun," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "No one remembers who was on top after day one. They remember who lifted the trophy at the end of it all, so if we want to prove that we can hang with anyone in the country, we've got to stay focused, keep our heads down and keep grinding it out."
The Tigers will play round three alongside Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Eshleman will lead off from the first hole at 9:40 a.m. CT.
Auburn's scoring leader after 36 holes is none other than sophomore Brendan Valdes. Valdes carded a 2-under 69 in the first round followed by an impressive 8-under 63 in the second. The Orlando, Florida native made just one bogey in his second 18 and more than made up for it with nine birdies, including five on the front. He set a new career low for 18 holes by two shots.
"I joked that I saw Koivun playing well and so I knew that I had to step it up to keep up with him," Valdes said. "I'm proud of how the guys played today, and I'm ready to give my best again tomorrow so that we put ourselves in a good position for match play."
Valdes sits in second on the individual leaderboard, trailing Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent by three.
Just one shot back of Valdes at 133 (-9) are both senior J.M. Butler and freshman Jackson Koivun. Butler delivered the Tigers' best score of the morning round after making birdie on 16, 17 and 18 to get to 5-under 66. He followed it with a 67 (-4) in the afternoon slate. Koivun went 70-63 to lock up his stellar day. The rookie turned in a clean card with eight birdies in round two. Both men are tied for third heading into the final 18 holes of stroke play.
Auburn is the only school with multiple men inside the top three and the only school with three men inside the top 10.
The next player down the Orange & Blue scorecard is sophomore Reed Lotter. Lotter shot 69-71 to accumulate a 2-under 140 Monday. After Lotter is senior Ryan Eshleman. The hometown hero shot 70-72 for an even-par 142.
Auburn Players
2. Brendan Valdes (-10)
T3. Jackson Koivun (-9)
T3. J.M. Butler (-9)
T28. Reed Lotter (-2)
T36. Ryan Eshleman (E)
Team Leaderboard
1.#4 Auburn (-30)
2. #25 Arkansas (-28)
3. #7 Vanderbilt (-23)
T4. #6 Ole Miss (-20)
T4. Texas A&M (-20)
6. #5 Tennessee (-18)
T7. #21 Florida (-11)
T7. #14 Mississippi State (-11)
9. #19 LSU (-6)
10. #9 Alabama (-5)
11. Georgia (-2)
T12. Kentucky (E)
T12. Missouri (E)
14. RV South Carolina +8
