There’s a reason Auburn is the top-ranked team in men’s college golf.
The Tigers won the Mossy Oak Collegiate on Tuesday by 34 shots, shooting 46 under to win at Mossy Oak Golf Course in West Point, Mississippi. It’s Auburn’s fourth consecutive win and the seventh of the season, but perhaps more impressive is how the Tigers finished on the individual leaderboard.
The five players in Auburn’s lineup finished T-1, T-1, 3, 4 and 5. That’s right. The Tigers swept the top-five spots in the individual competition. And their individual placed T-7.
J.M. Butler and Brendan Valdes shared medalist honors, shooting 12-under 204. Freshman Jackson Koivun was two shots back at 10 under, his ninth top-10 finish of the season. Carson Bacha was fourth at 9 under and Josiah Gilbert placed fifth at 7 under.
Reed Lotter was the individual and shot 5 under.
“Not to my knowledge has that been done,” said Auburn coach Nick Clinard. “Twenty-three years of coaching, and it’s the first time it has happened to me. It’s kind of crazy. But obviously proud of the team and how they played.”
Resident college golf historian College Golf Book on social media hasn’t been able to find another instance of this happening on the men’s side, let alone four of a team’s individuals placing in the top five.
I love research questions like these!
It's all relative, but a straight flush is still a straight flush…https://t.co/xZWyJtP0rX
I haven't yet found an instance on the men's (NCAA) side that has 4+ teammates inside the top5 but I'm still looking
— College Golf Book (@CGolfBook) April 16, 2024
However, he did find a women’s team that accomplished the feat in the fall of 2015, albeit in a smaller field.
Ole Miss placed second in the team competition while Cincinnati finished third.
For Auburn, it’s another signature victory as the team heads toward the SEC Championship next week.
“These guys push each other,” Clinard said. “Iron sharpens iron. It’s something that they challenge each other and learn from each other, too.”
Mossy Oak Golf Course is ranked 43rd on the Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play: Top 100 U.S. public-access courses. It’s also ranked No. 2 on Mississippi’s top public-access courses in the Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play: State-by-state rankings for public-access layouts.
