AUBURN, Ala. – Another trophy opportunity is on the line as No. 2 Auburn men’s golf returns to competition at the Southern Highlands Collegiate, March 2-4, at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Another great test of our abilities this week,” Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. “The course will present us with some challenges that we haven’t faced yet this spring, so I am looking forward to seeing our guys tackle those head on. If we can stay patient and play smart yet opportunistic golf, we’ll put ourselves in a position to bring home some hardware.”
Auburn tees off hole 1 at 11 a.m. CT. It will play the opening round alongside host UNLV and No. 4 Oklahoma.
Also appearing in the field this week are No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 18 SMU, No. 22 San Diego State, No. 24 Pepperdine, RV Texas A&M, RV Georgia, New Mexico, USC and Washington.
Suiting up for the Tigers are seniors Carson Bacha, Ryan Eshleman and Brendan Valdes, sophomore Josiah Gilbert and freshman Billy Davis.
Last time out, at the Amer Ari Invitational, the Orange & Blue shot 53-under 811 to finish fourth in a field of 20 teams. Bacha was the Tigers’ top finisher, carding an 18-under final tally by way of a 68-66-64 week. Bacha not only set a new personal low but also bested the program’s record for three-round score by one stroke. He finished third, individually.
Eshleman also earned a top 10. He finished three strokes back of Bacha at 15-under 201. Davis wowed as the Tigers’ individual competitor with a 13-under, tied for 13th place finish.
Gilbert and Valdes are set to make their spring debuts at Southern Highlands. Valdes inches closer to Auburn history as he needs just two more subpar rounds to set the program’s career record at 69 total.
Live scoring for the 2025 Southern Highlands Collegiate can be found via scoreboard.clippd.com.