TOLEDO, Ohio – Auburn Men’s Golf had not lost a tournament since February, winning 7 straight tournaments including the SEC Championship and NCAA National Championship. Despite the efforts of sophomore Jackson Koivun, that streak ended as the Tigers took 2nd place at the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo.
Going into the tournament as defending national champions and the #1 team in the country, there was a lot of pressure on the Auburn men to live up to their “best in the nation” level. On day one in rounds one and two, they played to their abilities on the par-69 Inverness Golf Course. In round one, Jackson Koivun led the way with a field-best 6-under 63 complemented by a solid 2-under 67 from Josiah Gilbert. The Tigers led after the first round with a total team score of 271, or 5-under.
Round two seemed to be more of the same for Koivun and Auburn. Koivun shot a team-best 65, putting the sophomore at 10-under through two rounds. Auburn senior Brendan Valdes added a 1-under 68 as well. The 1st ranked Tigers charged into the last round 4-under as a team and with a 5-shot lead on 2nd place Texas Tech.
This momentum did not carry into round three, however. Auburn went 6-over in round three, dropping them to 2-over for the tournament as a team. The Tigers were jumped by a familiar foe from last year’s national championship match play. The 6th ranked Virginia Cavaliers shot up from 4th place with a 6-under team round to defeat Auburn by 4 strokes. The Tigers shot 6-over to finish at 2-over par for the tournament.
Jackson Koivun, despite the second-place finish as a team, won the tournament at 9-under par, beating out SMU’s Enrique Dimayuga for the medalist honors. Koivun has won three tournaments since coming to Auburn last year and has only finished outside the top-5 in 2 of his 14 starts as a Tiger.
Auburn Golf continues their season September 21-23 in the Valero Texas Collegiate at TPC San Antonio in Texas.
