FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 1 Auburn men’s golf took home bronze in a loaded field at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational hosted by Colonial Country Club thanks to the outstanding play of senior Brendan Valdes and freshman Billy Davis, who finished Tuesday’s final round in second and tied for third place, respectively.
“We played some very good golf at times the past two days on a difficult course,” Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. “We are continuing to learn about ourselves, and we will continue to get better with time. We have an excellent team and need to keep working on our plan.”
Auburn finished third in the 15-team field, which featured 13 teams in the latest top-25 rankings. The Tigers concluded the tournament at 4-under-par, six shots shy of No. 8 Oklahoma’s winning score of 10-under.
Valdes shot 69-66-69 (-6) to place runner-up to North Carolina’s David Ford, who earned low medalist at 9-under. Over his three rounds, Valdes birdied 14 times and even made his first career ace on hole 13 during round two.
“It was a fun few days in Fort Worth,” Valdes said. “I’m happy with the way I played and am looking forward to more success. The team is in a great spot, and I know it’s only a matter of time of time before we all put our games together!”
With the performance, Valdes clinched the 19th top-10 outing of his collegiate career, passing J.M. Butler and Jovan Rebula (18) to set a new program record.
Davis finished one shot back of Valdes at 5-under-par in just the second tournament of his career. The Spring Valley, California native shot 68-67-70 with 11 birdies and one eagle.
"Glad that I was able to help the team this week," Davis said. "It was a good comeback after my first tournament. A team win is coming."
Sophomore Josiah Gilbert nabbed his 10th top-20 finish with a hard-fought 2-over week on the course. His round scores consisted of a 72, 69 and a 71. He placed tied for 14th overall.
Sophomore Jackson Koivun shot 73-72-70 for a 5-over. Senior Carson Bacha shot 73-72-76 for an 11-over.
The top-ranked Tigers return to team competition Oct. 20-22 at The Williams Cup hosted by Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. No. 8 Oklahoma (-10)
2. No. 11 Texas (-6)
3. No. 1 Auburn (-4)
4. No. 16 North Carolina (+1)
5. No. 2 Arizona State (+11)
6. No. 4 Vanderbilt (+20)
7. No. 22 Stanford (+22)
T8. No. 17 Georgia Tech (+23)
T8. No. 7 Alabama (+23)
T10. No. 19 Texas A&M (+24)
T10. No. 21 Georgia (+24)
12. No. 14 Texas Tech (+27)
13. Oregon (+28)
14. Wake Forest (+30)
15. SMU (+46)