WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i – The No. 11 Auburn men's golf team saved its best for last in the final round of the Amer Ari Invitational Saturday afternoon. The Tigers fired their lowest round of the season with a 16-under 272 on the par-72 Kings' Course.
Auburn finished in sixth at 33-under (279-280-272--831), but was just six strokes away from the tournament champions, No. 4 Pepperdine.
"We had a great week and had a lot of fun together as a team," head coach Nick Clinard said. "We played really well today in the final round and we only lost by six shots in a really strong field with three top-5 teams."
The Tigers were the only team to have every golfer finish the tournament below par.
"Overall, I'm really proud of the guys," Clinard added. "They went out there on a mission today. We got within five shots with about three holes to play with a chance to win. That's all you can ask for."
Graysen Huff and Jovan Rebula tied for sixth individually at 10-under. Huff (70-67-69--206) knocked in a pair of eagles - one on the front nine and one on the back nine - to highlight a final round of 3-under. Rebula (68-68-70--206) steered off a double-bogey on the 16th hole with four birdies and 13 pars to cap off a 2-under final circuit.
Wells Padgett tore up the back nine with five birdies, including four in his final six holes after beginning the day off the No. 5 tee box. The junior ended the week at 8-under (72-69-67--208) in a tie for 14th.
Andrew Kozan was the fourth Tiger to finish inside the top 20 as he capped the first spring tournament in a tie for 18th at 7-under (70-72-67--209). The junior was one off his career low with a 5-under 67, highlighted by four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 18th hole.
Brandon Mancheno and Alex Vogelsong completed the lineup for Auburn. Mancheno tied for 28th at 5-under (70-71-70--211). The junior found success on the front nine with three birdies and six pars in his final round. Vogelsong carded a team-high six birdies en route to tying a career low 4-under 68. The freshman tied for 44th overall at 2-under (71-75-68--214).
Pepperdine won the tournament at 39-under (825), followed by No. 10 Texas (827), No. 17 Arizona State (828), Oklahoma State (829), No. 2 Georgia Tech (830) and Auburn (831).
The Tigers return to action Feb. 21-23 for the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate hosted at the Classic Club in Palm Springs, Calif.
Team Scores
1. Pepperdine: -39 (281-274-270--825)
2. Texas: -37 (274-274-279--827)
3. Arizona State: -36 (275-275-278--828)
4. Oklahoma State: -35 (276-282-271--829)
5. Georgia Tech: -34 (274-269-287--830)
6. Auburn: -33 (279-280-272--831)
7. Texas Tech: -28 (278-277-281--836)
8. San Jose State: -12 (286-282-284--852)
9. TCU: -10 (284-286-284--854)
10. Oregon: -9 (282-291-282--855)
11. Osaka Gakuin (Japan): -8 (288-286-282--856)
12. USC: -3 (284-286-291--861)
13. Colorado: -1 (288-284-291--863)
14. UC Davis: +2 (289-286-291--866)
15. Stanford: +4 (295-284-289--868)
16. CSUN: +9 (291-292-290--873)
17. Pacific: +12 (304-285-287--876)
18. Oregon State: +14 (285-290-303--878)
19. Hawai'i: +21 (286-296-303--885)
20. Hawai'i-Hilo: +38 (298-298-306--902)
Auburn Individuals
T-6. Jovan Rebula: -10 (68-68-70--206)
T-6. Graysen Huff: -10 (70-67-69--206) - ind.
T-14. Wells Padgett: -8 (72-69-67--208)
T-18. Andrew Kozan: -7 (70-72-67--209)
T-28. Brandon Mancheno: -5 (70-71-70--211)
T-44. Alex Vogelsong: -2 (71-75-68--214)