BILOXI, Miss. – No. 1 Auburn men's golf earned its third title of the fall season Tuesday, running away with a 19-shot victory at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational in Biloxi, Mississippi. For the week, the Tigers shot 21-under 843 and were led by freshman Jackson Koivun who finished second at 7-under 209.
"We played for each other this week, which is why we played so great," Koivun said. "We're extremely proud of our performance this fall, but championships are won in the spring. Need to keep grinding and getting better so that we can continue our hot streak when it matters most."
Four tournaments into his collegiate career, Koivun already owns two silver podium finishes and has yet to finish outside the top 20. At Fallen Oak, he was the highest-placing golfer from the Southeastern Conference, regardless of class. Koivun beat the nearest freshman by 14 shots.
On the final day, the Chapel Hill, North Carolina native signed for a 68 (-4). He played a nearly impeccable round with just one bogey on 3 and five birdies on 1, 2, 5, 7 and 15. Koivun led the field with 17 total birdies over his three rounds.
"What a great week for Auburn golf," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "It took a complete performance from every player to get the job done. I think I am most proud of the way our guys responded to adversity and just continued to grind it out for each other. It should be an exciting season with this group, not because of the level of talent they possess, but because of their comradery and connectivity with each other. At Auburn, we truly have a brotherhood of players willing to do anything to lift each other up."
The second-lowest Auburn man on the leaderboard was fifth-year individual player Alex Vogelsong. Vogelsong battled back from a tough 76 (+4) on Sunday with back-to-back rounds in the 60s, shooting 69 (-3) on Monday and a jaw-dropping 66 (-6) on Tuesday. His 66 was the lowest round recorded by any golfer in the 72-man field over the course of the entire tournament.
Vogelsong made an early bogey on both the front and back nine of the final round but roared back with eight birdies, including three in a row on holes 14-16. He finished in a tie for fifth place.
"Great showing from the team this week," Vogelsong said. "I'm proud of how everyone responded to some early struggles and kept their feet on the gas to secure a great win against some solid competition."
Auburn picked up two more top-10 performances by way of senior J.M. Butler and junior Brendan Valdes, both of whom ended with a share of eighth place. Butler saved his best showing for last, shooting 67 (-5) to chip away at a 75 (+3) from the day before. The highlight of Butler's afternoon was a 32 on the back half. The Louisville, Kentucky product went bogeyless with a quartet of birdies on 10, 14, 15 and 16 to get back to 4-under overall.
Valdes carded a 70 (-2) in his final outing to extend his top-10 streak to four consecutive tournaments.
Sophomore Reed Lotter finished four shots back with an even-par 216 for the week. He carded a 74 (+2) in his final set of 18. Redshirt junior Ryan Eshleman shot 73 (+1) on Tuesday. His final tally was an 8-over 224.
Over at the MartinFed Invitational hosted by Turtle Point, Auburn's "B" team finished its week in second place. The Tigers shot even par over the final round to finish two shots shy of the title at 18-under 846.
"It was a good trip," Tigers assistant coach Buddy Alexander said. "Would have been great had we won, but all five guys left it out there. Hopefully, they learned something and are better players today than they were before we went to Florence. Turtle Point is a special place and they hosted a nice event. Congrats to coach Austin Phillips and the UNA golf team on a well-deserved win."
Auburn's leader yet again was a true freshman. The rookie from Queensland, Australia, Josiah Gilbert, nabbed third behind a masterful week that saw a 66-69-70 (-11) scorecard. He finished four shots back of the individual winner, Alabama's JP Cave.
"I feel like I played a very solid tournament from start to finish," Gilbert said. "I stayed really level-headed the whole week, which was a big factor in playing well. I saw some improvement in my own game with my patience and putting. I made some nice putts when needed, just would like to be able to convert on those a little more frequently moving forward."
In descending order, the team's other scorers consisted of redshirt junior Carson Bacha (-3/T11th), freshman Cayden Pope (-2/T14th), senior Max Johnson (E/T19th) and graduate student Hal Dove (+3/T27th).
Up next, the Tigers have a small break before closing the fall season at one of the sport's most legendary courses, Cypress Point. Auburn heads to Monterey, California, for an eight-team Ryder Cup-style tournament Oct. 30-31.
FALLEN OAK COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Auburn Players
2. Jackson Koivun (-7)
T5. Alex Vogelsong* (-5)
T8. Brendan Valdes (-4)
T8. J.M. Butler (-4)
T12. Reed Lotter (E)
T35. Ryan Eshleman (+8)
*- Individual Player
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 1 Auburn (-21)
2. No. 3 Ole Miss (-2)
3. No. 10 Mississippi State (+1)
4. RV SMU (+9)
5. Kansas (+11)
6. Colorado (+19)
7. Wisconsin (+20)
8. UNLV (+24)
9. Louisiana Tech (+27)
10. Iowa (+30)
11. Southern Miss (+34)
12. UCF (+39)
MARTINFED INVITATIONAL
Auburn Players
3. Josiah Gilbert (-11)
T11. Carson Bacha (-3)
T14. Cayden Pope (-2)
T19. Max Johnson (E)
T27. Hal Dove (+3)
Team Leaderboard
1.North Alabama (-20)
2. Auburn (B) (-18)
3. Purdue Fort Wayne (-6)
4. North Alabama (B)(-5)
5. Troy (B) (-1)
6. SELU (+11)
7. Samford (+17)
8. Rollins College (+18)
9. Lindenwood (+19)
10. Western Illinois (+38)
11. Alabama A&M (+79)
