Valdes leads No. 1 Auburn to second straight victory at General Hackler Championship

Valdes leads No. 1 Auburn to second straight victory at General Hackler ChampionshipValdes leads No. 1 Auburn to second straight victory at General Hackler Championship

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Senior Brendan Valdes picked up his third career individual win Tuesday at The Dunes Club, shooting 12-under to lead the top-ranked Tigers to their second consecutive tournament title with a victory at the General Hackler Championship.

As a team, Auburn shot an impressive 33-under 831 to cruise to victory, beating the nearest opponent by 17 strokes. The Tigers have won their last two events by a combined 27 strokes.

“It was a great week for all six guys in Myrtle Beach,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “They each faced their own set of challenges and rose to them. We’re thrilled to be coming home with another piece of hardware for the trophy case, but we cannot and will not stop there. We’ve got to continue to push ourselves and have a hunger to improve each day if we want to chase more championships this spring.”

For Tuesday’s finale, the Tigers saved their best for last and carded a 19-under day. Four of six players scored sub-70.

Valdes caught fire, crafting a 65 (-7) in the final round to rocket up the leaderboard and edge out Duke’s Ethan Evans for the one-shot win. He made just one bogey on 12, and more than made up for it with birdies on 4, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 16 as well as his 17th career eagle on 15.

His path to victory was paved via a 67-72-65 (-12) week. With his round-one 67, Valdes also broke the tie with Jovan Rebula (2016-21) and J.M. Butler (2020-24) to become the program’s all-time subpar rounds leader. He currently owns 70.

Also finishing in the top five was the sophomore duo of Jackson Koivun and Josiah Gilbert. The pair finished in a tie for third at 8-under. Koivun got stronger with each outing, shooting 71-69-68. Gilbert also saved his best for last, going 69-72-67. Gilbert led the 90-player field with 16 birdies made over the three days.

Sophomore individual player Cayden Pope and senior Ryan Eshleman also turned in applaudable performances as they finished tied for ninth at 5-under. Eshleman captured his 11th career top 10 and his third of the season through a 71-71-69 week. Pope went 69-69-73 to earn his first top 10 in a team event this season.

While battling illness, senior Carson Bacha managed to finish with a respectable 2-over final score. He shot 71-73-74.

The Tigers also sent four individuals to compete at the ECU Intercollegiate this week for extra work. Led by assistant coach Buddy Alexander, junior Reed Lotter and freshman Billy Davis each finished in the top three.

“We didn’t play great today, but it was super cold and breezy for at least nine holes,” Alexander said. “Consequently, even par moved up the leaderboard. Runner-up for Reed and T3 for Billy is solid. Most importantly proud of the four of them for their effort.”

Lotter finished second, shooting 76-67-72 (-1). Davis finished third, shooting 71-73-72 (E).

Freshman Tyler Spielman shot 2-over, going 74-67-77. He finished in a tie for eighth. Junior Evan Vo concluded his stint at 14-over.

Auburn returns to action next week, March 24-25, at the Valspar Collegiate hosted by The Floridian in Palm City, Florida for a tournament that features nine top-25 teams, including five of the top eight.