WILMINGTON, N.C. – No. 2 Auburn men's golf earned its third consecutive tournament title following a wire-to-wire win Monday at the Seahawk Intercollegiate at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The win was the 50th on The Plains for head coach Nick Clinard as well as the team's sixth of the season, which sets a new program record.
"Extremely proud of the team for their resilience and competitiveness this week at Landfall," Clinard said. "The golf course was fantastic, but the weather conditions made it a very difficult two days. We had to earn every shot out there. Credit to Jackson (Koivun) and Carson (Bacha) for a well-played tournament. Those two had a great showing that led us to another win."
As a team, Auburn shot 11-over to edge out its nearest foe, Stetson, by seven strokes. Six of the Tigers' 10 men earned top-15 individual placements. Freshman Jackson Koivun led the way with a 6-under, runner-up finish. It was the sixth consecutive top-five outing for Koivun.
Redshirt junior Carson Bacha collected his seventh career top 10 with a tied for sixth showing. He shot 1-over 217. Freshman Josiah Gilbert scored one stroke higher, 2-over 218, and finished ninth.
Sophomore Reed Lotter got back on track by earning a share of 10th overall. Lotter carded a 3-over 219. The final two top-15 Tigers, fifth year Alex Vogelsong and junior Brendan Valdes, each produced 4-over 220s.
"I'm very excited for where our game is heading into our final regular season event in just a few weeks," Clinard said. "We still need to figure out exactly who our best six players are, but this week gave us some ideas. We're going to head home and assess where our holes are individually and then work on patching those up so that we can hit the next challenge even hungrier than before."
Auburn opened up the event with a 12-over 300 in Sunday's first set of 18. Koivun and Valdes delivered the lineup's best rounds with a respective 72 (E) and 73 (+1). Gilbert also delivered a 73 (+1) for himself. After tripling his second hole, the Queensland, Australia native fought back and shot 2-under over his final 16 thanks to birdies on 1, 7, 9, 10 and 13.
In round two, the Tigers extended their lead to three thanks to a trio of rounds at par or better from Koivun, Valdes and Bacha. Koivun finished the round at 70 (-2). He matched one double and two bogeys with six birdies. Bacha fired a 71 (-1), his 12th subpar round of the season, thanks to a 3-under stretch over his final five holes. Valdes shot an even 72, which included a clean, 2-under back nine.
Lotter also went below par in the middle round for a 71 (-1). The Savannah, Georgia product made birdie five times, including twice on a clean front nine.
In Monday's finale, it was once again Koivun who delivered the lowest scorecard. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina native utilized a clean front half with birdies on 1, 3, 7, and 9 to fire a 68 (-4). Bacha also saved his strongest effort for last. He found a groove after a pair of early errors to play his final 13 holes at a bogeyless 4-under. He shot 70 (-2).
Statistically, Koivun led the 96-man field with 15 birdies over his three rounds. His yearly total now stands at 122. Senior J.M. Butler made 10 birdies of his own to extend his team-leading career tally to 483. Butler needs 17 more birdies to become just the fourth player in program history to reach 500 total.
Next up, Auburn looks to make it four straight in the regular season finale at the Mossy Oak Collegiate April 15-16. Mossy Oak Golf Club of West Point, Mississippi is set to host the two-day event.
—War Eagle—
