AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's golf team is set to tee off the 2020-21 season at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 5-7, in Fayetteville, Ark. The event, which features both men's and women's teams from the Southeastern Conference, takes place at the par-72 Blessings Golf Club.
"We are excited to be back in action and really looking forward to competing this week in Arkansas," head coach Nick Clinard said. "The guys are ready to play and have some fun this week. We are extremely grateful of the SEC, the Auburn administration and the presidents for giving our student-athletes the opportunity to play this fall.
"We have a talented team with some fresh, young faces in the lineup this week mixed with some veterans. It should be a great week and lots of fun coaching."
The Tigers will field a lineup for the three-round tournament consisting of seniors Andrew Kozan and Wells Padgett, sophomores C.J. Easley and Alex Vogelsong and freshman J.M. Butler.
Kozan averaged 71.14 strokes per round last season, good second in the regular lineup and earned PING All-Southeast Region and Second Team All-SEC honors. The West Palm Beach, Fla. native had six top-20 finishes with 13 rounds at or below par, including 10 under-par circuits.
Padgett averaged 72 strokes per card and secured three top-20 finishes, including one inside the top 10 in 2019-20. The Wichita, Kan. native had 11 rounds at or below par, including nine under par and produced six rounds in the 60s.
Easley averaged 71 strokes per round a season ago and secured five below-par rounds out of six total played. The Oxford, Miss. native was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after firing a career-low 8-under en route to a runner-up finish at the Tiger Invitational.
Vogelsong, a SEC All-Freshman Team honoree from 2019-20, averaged 71.62 strokes per round, good for fourth in the regular lineup. The Palm City, Fla. native logged three top-20 finishes, including two inside the top 10 and had 12 rounds at or below par, including eight under par.
Butler, scheduled to make his collegiate debut, hails from Louisville, Ky. The freshman was the No. 19 player in the country by Junior Golf Scoreboard and No. 22 by the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He was both the 2019 Kentucky High School Junior Golfer of the Year and Kentucky Boys Junior Golfer of the Year.
Auburn is the first team slated to go off the No. 1 tee box Monday at 9:12 a.m. CT. All five Tigers will play in the same group, as will each team partaking in the season-opening event.
Golf Channel is set to provide live coverage of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational during each of the three rounds from 2:30-6:30 p.m. CT Monday-Wednesday. Live stats can be found on Golfstat.com.
Tigers to tee off season at Blessings Collegiate Invitational
