Auburn men’s golf to open NCAA Championship play
EUGENE, Ore. (auburntigers.com) – No. 9 Auburn men’s golf begins play in the 120th NCAA Championship Friday through June 1 at the par70, 7014-yard Eugene (Ore.) Country Club. The Tigers play a practice round Thursday.
First-team All-SEC, Ben Hogan Award and Jack Nicklaus Award semifinalist Michael Johnson will play in the No. 1 position in his final tournament for the Tigers. All-SEC Matt Gilchrest will play in the No. 2 slot with All-American Ben Schlottman at No. 3. Freshman All-SEC Jacob Solomon occupies the No. 4 spot while Will Long, who tied for 10th at the NCAA Regional, will No. 5.
“Our goal starting in August was to make match play,” said seventh-year head coach Nick Clinard. “We are going to stick to that goal. That would put us in the final eight. I think we are good enough to get there. We are going to have to play better than we did at the NCAA Regional. We will see what happens.”
The Tigers, who are one of seven teams in the nation to qualify for five straight NCAA Championships, were one of five SEC teams to advance from the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional on May 18. Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Southern California and Texas are the others.
Long, who was not in the lineup in the two months prior, tied for 10th in his first NCAA Regional appearance with a 1-under 73-71-71—215. Johnson and Solomon tied for 14th at even par.
Auburn will tee off in Friday’s first round on No. 10 at 3:15 pm CT with No. 7 Arizona State and No. 8 Vanderbilt. The same three teams will tee off in Saturday’s second round on No. 1 at 9:55 am CT.
“I think different grasses,” said Clinard when asked about the challenges of playing on the West Coast. “We are going to see more rough than we have seen all year. We are used to Bermuda rough. We will see some different type of rough which I think can be easier.
“The course is definitely difficult which plays in our favor. We are very good drivers of the golf ball as a unit. I think we can drive it and play there in the fairway and score from there.”
Finals play for the 30-team field will consist of three days of stroke play on Friday thru Sunday (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on Monday to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion.
The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, followed by the finals on June 1. The Golf Channel will televise the NCAA Championship from May 30-June 1.
