STATESBORO, Ga. –Auburn men's golfers Ryan Eshleman and Josiah Gilbert earned a pair of top-10 finishes Sunday in their spring opener at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Intercollegiate in Statesboro, Georgia. Eshleman placed seventh at 3-under-par and Gilbert finished one shot back in eighth at 2-under-par.
"Today was a really tough day to play," Tigers assistant coach Buddy Alexander said. "It was cold, windy, and never really got comfortable out there. As a group, we didn't play up to our standards, but we really hung in there and competed as hard as we could. We've got some things to work on, but overall, it was a great learning experience for these four."
Eshleman shot 72-68-73 to clear the path to his sixth career placement inside the top 10. On the weekend, the redshirt-junior made birdie 12 times, bringing his career total 196. Eshleman also recorded an eagle on the ninth hole of his stellar middle round.
For Gilbert, it was a very consistent week on the course as the freshman earned his finish with a 70-72-72 showing. Gilbert tied teammate Eshleman with 12 birdies over his 54 holes. The rookie from Queensland, Australia notched a second consecutive top-10 outing after closing the fall season with a third-place finish at the MartinFed Individual Invitational.
The other half of the Tigers' Statesboro contingent, Hal Dove and Max Johnson, ended the tournament in 40th and 56th, respectively. Dove pieced together a 72-77-78, +11 total. Johnson finished at +14 after shooting 72-80-78. Dove collected seven birdies and one eagle. Johnson added eight birdies of his own.
The top-ranked Auburn golf team kickstarts team competition Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawai'i.
