SEA ISLAND, Ga. – Thanks to another electric 4-under 66 from freshman Jackson Koivun, No. 1 Auburn men's golf sits in fourth following a 4-under 276 team showing Thursday at the 2024 SEC Championship at Seaside Golf Club.
The Tigers hold strong at 10-under for the tournament.
"I thought we played pretty well. We just made too many mistakes on those final holes," Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. "We hit some bad shots at the wrong times, but No. 18 especially is a tough hole. We played it a little better yesterday than we did today, so we need to show some improvement there tomorrow."
Auburn sits five shots back of team leader Vanderbilt (-15), and 11 shots ahead of the dreaded ninth place. Following round three, the top eight teams will advance to match play.
Heading into Friday's stroke play final, Koivun boasts a one-shot lead in the 70-man individual field.
The rookie made one mistake on the day, a bogey on 18, but picked up 12 pars and five birdies to turn in another impressive 66. He stands firm at 8-under for the week.
Junior Brendan Valdes was the other subpar Tiger on Thursday as the Orlando, Florida native made six birdies, including three over his final seven holes, to finish the round with a 3-under 67.
Redshirt junior Carson Bacha started the morning with a clean 1-under on the front half but was the victim of a few late bogeys, resulting in a respectable 1-over 71.
Auburn's final counted score was a 2-over 72 from freshman Josiah Gilbert. He birdied two par-3s, holes 6 and 12, and the par-5 15th. A costly 10 on 16 resulted in a 7-over 77 from senior J.M. Butler.
For Friday's third round, Auburn will play in the 4, 5, 6 pairing alongside Tennessee and Texas A&M. Butler is set to lead off from the 10th hole at 7:20 a.m. CT.
Koivun’s 66 powers Tigers through second round of SEC Championship
