Auburn’s golf programs had a great Tuesday.
The women’s team defeated Oregon in a dramatic win to reach the championship match at the East Lake Cup. Auburn’s men won the Isleworth Collegiate, their third fall victory.
The Tigers ranked third in the Golfweek/Sagarin Poll and posted a winning score 837 (27 below) and won by 12 strokes over No. 12 Florida. Illinois came in third place with 7-under 857.
After shooting a round of 15-under 273, Auburn gained control of the tournament. Auburn won the tournament with a second round 5-under 283 that gave it an eight-stroke advantage over Florida. The Tigers went into Tuesday’s final round with a lead of eight strokes. Auburn finished the job by posting a 7-under 281 in the final 18 holes to win the title by 12 strokes.
Auburn has won the third consecutive full-field team title. This follows first-place finishes at Maui Jim Collegiate, Marquette Invitational and Maui Jim Collegiate. Auburn has three fall championships and needs to win one more to match the single-season program record.
Brendan Valdes, a sophomore, won the first individual title of his early career with a score of 206 at 10-under. He shared medalist honors alongside Nick Gabrelcik from North Florida.
Valdez held a five shot lead over Gabrelcik at 10-under. However, the Osprey won the final round at 4-under. The Osprey then played seven holes at 4-under. This was punctuated with a birdie on his last hole for a 5-under 65. He also shared the individual title, his seventh career win.
Valdes stated that while I was trying to win the individual title, my primary focus was helping the team win. It’s amazing to be able leave Orlando with both of them. This team is more dedicated than any other group I have been part of. While we are proud of the fall, our focus now is on the break and how to improve over the break so we can roll through the spring.
J.M. Auburn was also strong. Junior J.M. Butler finished third at 8-under 208, while senior Alex Vogelsong tied for fifth at 6 under 210 after a round of 2-under 70.
Click here to see the complete scoreboard for the 2022 Isleworth Collegiate, courtesy of our friends at AmateurGolf.com.
