Auburn rises to sixth, makes first cut at NCAA Championships

Auburn rises to sixth, makes first cut at NCAA ChampionshipsAuburn rises to sixth, makes first cut at NCAA Championships

May 27, 2018

NCAA Championships Third Round Results

STILLWATER, Okla. - The No. 7 Auburn men's golf team moved up to sixth place and made the 15-team cut after the third round of the NCAA Championships Sunday. The low eight teams after the fourth round at Karsten Creek Golf Club will advance to match play to decide the national champion.

The Tigers shot a 2-over 290 and have a 6-over total, four shots clear of the final cut line and only four shots out of fourth. Only three teams shot below par Sunday afternoon.

"It was tough out there today," head coach Nick Clinard said. "There were tough pin placements. Some were dicey on 4-degree slopes. The greens dried out a little bit, so they were not as soft as the first two rounds.

"The guys played pretty well. We hung in there. We started on the 10th hole and played the back nine very well. We made a few bad swings on the front side and that cost us probably four or five shots. Other than that, we're looking forward to tomorrow and it's going to be a battle out there. We're ready for the challenge."

Auburn notched 14 birdies on the day with eight on the front nine and six on the back nine.

Freshman Brandon Mancheno sits in second place individually at 7-under overall after posting a 1-under 71 in his third circuit. He trails Bryson Nimmer of Clemson by just two strokes.

Sophomore Jovan Rebula is tied for 14th at 2-under. The George, South Africa native carded an even-par round Sunday.

Joining Mancheno with a below-par third round was senior Ben Schlottman. He turned in a 1-under 71 and finds himself in a tie for 68th.

Junior Trace Crowe is tied for 96th after a 4-over 76 in his third tour of the par-72 course. Freshman Wells Padgett shot a 7-over 79 and is in 140th overall.

Duke leads the field at 10-under, followed by No. 1 Oklahoma State (-7), No. 13 Texas Tech (-3), No. 4 Vanderbilt (+2) and No. 2 Oklahoma (+4). Auburn (+6) is just two shots away from the top five.

The Tigers will look to maintain their top-8 status in Monday's final round of stroke play. Auburn is paired with Oklahoma and Vanderbilt off the first tee, beginning at 11:50 a.m. CT.

The Golf Channel will carry live coverage from 3-7 p.m. CT with live scoring available at Golfstat.com.

Team Standings
1. Duke - 854 (-10)
2. Oklahoma State - 857 (-7)
3. Texas Tech - 861 (-3)
4. Vanderbilt - 866 (+2)
5. Oklahoma - 868 (+4)
6. Auburn - 870 (+6)
7. Texas A&M - 871 (+7)
8. Kent State - 872 (+8)
9. Alabama - 874 (+10)
10. Texas - 875 (+11)
11. Arkansas - 876 (+12)
12. Clemson - 878 (+14)
13. Arizona State - 880 (+16)
14. Illinois - 881 (+17)
15. North Carolina - 882 (+18)
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T-16. Northwestern - 884 (+20)
T-16. Stanford - 884 (+20)
18. Florida - 886 (+22)
T-19. Iowa State - 891 (+27)
T-19. UNLV - 891 (+27)
T-21. Kentucky - 892 (+28)
T-21. UCLA - 892 (+28)
23. Kansas - 894 (+30)
T-24. NC State - 897 (+33)
T-24. UCF - 897 (+33)
T-24. BYU - 897 (+33)
27. Oregon - 899 (+35)
28. North Florida - 902 (+38)
29. Augusta - 904 (+40)
30. Baylor - 910 (+46)

Auburn Individuals
2. Brandon Mancheno - 72-66-71--209 (-7)
T-14. Jovan Rebula - 73-69-72--214 (-2)
T-68. Ben Schlottman - 77-75-71--223 (+7)
T-96. Trace Crowe - 78-73-76--227 (+11)
140. Wells Padgett - 83-72-79--234 (+18)