Tigers tied at fifth through two rounds of General Hackler

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – After a 36 holes of competition Monday, No. 5 Auburn men's golf is tied for fifth place with a team score of 11-under 565 at the General Hackler Championship hosted by The Dunes Club.
 
Auburn is 11 strokes back from first as No. 16 Virginia leads the field with a 554 (-22).
 
"We drove the ball well all day," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "It was our wedge play and putting that let us down. We must execute and demonstrate more control of the ball with our short irons and wedges if we want to accomplish our goals. There's still much golf to be played, and I expect this group to adjust and come out stronger tomorrow."
 
In the opening 18, the Tigers posted the fourth-best tally of the round with a 280 (-8) as the lineup was led by junior J.M. Butler and freshman Reed Lotter, both of whom fired 68s. Senior Alex Vogelsong also carded a 68 in the opener, however, as the individual player for the week, Vogelsong's scores do not count toward the team's totals.
 
After recording his seventh outing in the 60s through 10 rounds of collegiate competition, Lotter moves into a tie for fourth place for in school history for sub-70 rounds by a rookie. The Savannah, Georgia product matches the debut season totals from teammate Brendan Valdes as well as Wells Padgett and Ben Schlottman.
 
The final three Auburn men, sophomore Valdes and juniors Carson Bacha and Ryan Eshleman, shot a pair of even pars (72) and four-over (76), respectively, for the first frame of the day.
 
Continuing play straight onto the second round, the Orange & Blue went below par once more with a 3-under 285. Through 36 holes, the team owns a 565 (-11) scorecard. For the middle round, a new leader emerged as Valdes fired a clean 67 (-5) to jump out front for the Tigers.
 
"I started the day off very rocky," Valdes said, "I was +4 through four holes, and I just had the mindset to keep grinding. I ended up getting sharper and playing a lot better later on in the day. I am excited to keep working tomorrow!"
 
With the 72-67 to begin the Hackler, Valdes has now carded 12 consecutive rounds at par or better as the Orlando, Florida native has not gone higher than par since round two of the Marquette Invitational on Oct. 2 last fall.
 
Lotter and Vogelsong followed Valdes as the only other Tigers to shoot even or lower in the nightcap, and with identical cards through 36, the duo is tied for 14th heading into Tuesday's finale.
 
Eshleman showed a two-shot improvement from his first to second outing, signing for a 74 (+2) to conclude the day while Butler and Bacha each collected 73s.
 
For the final round of the General Hackler Championship, Auburn's lineup will play alongside golfers from NC State, Liberty and Furman. Eshleman will lead off from the first hole at 8:25 a.m. CT.