AUBURN, Ala. – No. 2 Auburn men's golf is back on The Plains for the one and only time this season, hosting the Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner at Auburn University Club March 11-12.
Play commences with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. CT Monday. Teams will attempt to play 36 holes before closing things out with the final round Tuesday.
"College golf season is a grind, so anytime you have the chance to play a competitive tournament and sleep in your own bed is a blessing," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "We're looking forward to hosting a large group of teams that are coming to Auburn from all over the country. It's going to be an exciting few days competing against them and continuing our quest to determine who our top six players truly are."
All 11 of the active players on the Tigers' roster are set to compete. Auburn will be represented by two teams and one individual competitor. Suiting up for the "A" squad are Jackson Koivun, Brendan Valdes, Carson Bacha, Ryan Eshleman and Cayden Pope. Representing the "B" team are Alex Vogelsong, J.M. Butler, Reed Lotter, Josiah Gilbert and Hal Dove. Max Johnson will compete as an individual.
Rounding out the team field at the Tiger Invitational will be Ball State, East Carolina, Elon, FGCU, Florida Atlantic, Georgia State, Jax State, Kennesaw State, Lamar, Lipscomb, Northern Illinois, Richmond, Southern Miss, Toledo, UNC Wilmington and Wichita State.
Monday's action begins with an 8:15 a.m. CT shotgun start. Auburn's players are set to start on the first six holes. The "A" team will be playing with Southern Miss and FGCU while the "B" group is paired with Toledo and UNC Wilmington.
Last week at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate, the Tigers battled to earn a gutsy, one-shot victory for the fourth team win of the season. Koivun earned medalist honors for the first time in his career with a resilient, 70-70-69 (-1) performance.
The victory marked just the sixth time in the 76-year history of the program that a team earned at least four wins in a single season. Another first-place showing at the Tiger Invitational would match the school record of five wins, which has only been done on two occasions, the 1996-97 season and the 2022-23 season.
History favors the Tigers in their home event as they have come out on top in eight of the 11 previous editions of the tournament. Last season, Auburn shot a whopping 41-under to cruise to a 31-stroke victory. This season, the Tiger Invitational moves to a new home, the AU Club, after being hosted by Grand National every year prior.
At the 2023 Tiger Invitational, Bacha picked up the first individual win of his career with an 11-under performance. He became just the third Auburn man win as an individual, joining Michael Johnson in 2015 and Brandon Mancheno in 2019.
Live scoring for the entirety of the 2024 Tiger Invitational will be provided via Golfstat.com. Admission to the tournament is free. Spectators are encouraged.
