No. 1 Auburn shows fight in opening day of Valspar Collegiate

No. 1 Auburn shows fight in opening day of Valspar CollegiateNo. 1 Auburn shows fight in opening day of Valspar Collegiate

PALM CITY, Fla. — It was a slow start Monday for the Auburn men's golf team at the Valspar Collegiate, but a gritty second round saw the No. 1 Tigers climb five spots up the leaderboard into fourth place ahead of Tuesday's finale at The Floridian. 

Auburn opened the competition in ninth at 3-under, but responded with a 9-under afternoon round to inch closer to the top of the ladder. Thanks to a 64 (-7) in the first round, sophomore Jackson Koivun leads the lineup in seventh overall, individually. 

Senior Carson Bacha spearheaded the Orange & Blue comeback with a massive 14-stroke comeback of his own. The York, Pennsylvania native shot 77 (+6) in the morning, only to turn it around and shoot 63 (-8) in the afternoon session. 

No. 2 Texas leads the field at 25-under. Auburn sits one shot back of third and five shots back of second.