AUBURN, Ala. – No. 3 Auburn men's golf capped the stroke-play stage of the SEC Fall Preview at Old Overton in third place, shooting 271 (-9) as a team Monday to narrowly miss the cut for Tuesday's championship matchup.
The Tigers were positioned inside the top-two cutoff through 36 holes, but a late surge from No. 20 Tennessee propelled the Volunteers into the marquee event with No. 2 Vanderbilt. The Commodores led all teams at 39-under while Tennessee finished 35-under, beating the Tigers by two shots.
Consequently, Auburn will battle No. 6 Texas A&M in a match-play format for Tuesday's round of competition.
With a final team score of 807 (-33), the Tigers post the fourth-best team score for 54 holes in school history.
Spearheading the impressive outing was the sophomore duo of Brendan Valdes and Evan Vo. Valdes led the lineup through the first two frames and shot even par on Monday to finish 9-under at 201. With a scorecard that saw seven birdies and an eagle, Vo matched Valdes' total with a big 64 (-6) in round three. Both players finished tied for seventh place.
Also turning in duplicate performances was the junior duo of Ryan Eshleman and Carson Bacha at 3-under for the week. Eshleman shot 74 (+4) on Monday while Bacha turned in his best outing of the tournament with a 66 (-4). Additionally, Bacha joined Vo with an eagle on hole 15.
Junior J.M. Butler carded a 71 (+1) to end his stretch at 3-over 213.
Auburn will begin its battle with the Aggies Tuesday starting at 10:38 a.m. CT. Match play pairings are as follows with all times listed in central time:
Butler vs. Phichaksn Maichon (10:38 a.m.)
Eshleman vs. Jamie Montojo (10:45 a.m.)
Valdes vs. Vishnu Sadagopan (10:53 a.m.)
Vo vs. Sam Bennett (11 a.m.)
Bacha vs. Daniel Rodrigues (11:08 a.m.)
| Placement | Golfer | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T7 | Evan Vo | 68 (-2) | 69 (-1) | 64 (-6) | 201 (-9) |
| T7 | Brendan Valdes | 65 (-5) | 66 (-4) | 70 (E) | 201 (-9) |
| T23 | Carson Bacha | 68 (-2) | 73 (+3) | 66 (-4) | 207 (-3) |
| T23 | Ryan Eshleman | 66 (-4) | 67 (-3) | 74 (+4) | 207 (-3) |
| T52 | J.M. Butler | 75 (+5) | 67 (-3) | 71 (+1) | 213 (+3) |
| 3 | TEAM | 267 (-13) | 269 (-11) | 271 (-9) | 807 (-33) |
Team Scores
1. No. 2 Vanderbilt 801 (-39)
2. No. 20 Tennessee 805 (-35)
3. No. 3 Auburn 807 (-33)
4. No. 6 Texas A&M 819 (-21)
5. No. 13 Alabama 820 (-20)
6. No. 24 Georgia 821 (-19)
7. Mississippi State 823 (-17)
T8. Ole Miss 829 (-11)
T8. LSU 829 (-11)
10. No. 10 Florida 831 (-9)
11. South Carolina 835 (-5)
12. Arkansas 841 (+1)
13. Missouri 844 (+4)
14. Kentucky 850 (+10)