Bacha helps Auburn stay hot as Tigers take team title in UNCW Seahawk Intercollegiate at windswept Country Club of Landfall

 

   Auburn was a top-10 team in the country by the end of the 2022-2023 season.

   The Tigers, out of the powerful Southeastern Conference, claimed the team title in the NCAA’s Auburn Regional played at their home course, the Auburn University Club. They finished in 10^th place after four rounds of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., just six shots behind the two teams that finished in a tie for the eighth and final spot in the match-play bracket.

   With the addition of one of the top freshmen in the country, Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, N.C. and No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), to the lineup, Auburn is setting its sights on a return to the NCAA Championship, which this year will be played at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Auburn took on the elements and emerged with its third straight tournament title in the UNCW Seahawk Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Monday at the Country Club of Landfall’s Nicklaus Course in Wilmington, N.C.

   It was the 50^th team crown at Auburn for head coach Nick Clinard, who is in his 15^th season at the helm for the Tigers.

   The weather was cold and windy throughout, but it was must have been blowing particularly hard in the opening round of Sunday’s double round as Auburn grabbed a share of the lead with a 12-over-par 300 over the 7,030-yard, par-72 Nicklaus Course layout. The Tigers backed that up with a 1-under 287, one of just three team rounds under par for the tournament, in Sunday afternoon’s second round.

   Auburn matched par in Monday’s final round with a 288 for an 11-over 875 total that was seven shots better than Stetson, out of the ASUN.

   And it was Koivun leading the way as he matched par in the beastly conditions of the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-under 70 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a solid 4-under 68 that left him in second place with a 6-under 210 total, two shots behind individual champion Erik Johansson, a freshman at Campbell from Sweden.

   Johansson was the only player in the field to get it in red figures in the opening round as he carded a 1-under 71. He added another 71 in Sunday afternoon’s second round that left him in a tie for the top spot with Koivun and Stetson’s Dominic Clemons, a sophomore from England, going into the final round

   Johansson finished strong, ripping off a six-birdie, no-bogey masterpiece of a 66 to capture the individual crown with an 8-under 208 total.

   Stetson, behind Clemons, was Auburn’s closest pursuer as the Hatters struggled to a 304 in the difficult conditions of the opening round, but then matched the best team round of the tournament in Sunday afternoon’s second round, a 2-under 286, that drew them within three shots of Auburn.

   Stetson closed with a 4-over 292 to finish with an 18-over 882 total.

   Clemons had struggled to a 3-over 75 in the opening round, but contributed a sparkling 5-under 67 to Stetson’s solid effort in Sunday afternoon’s second round that gave him a share of the individual lead with Johansson and Koivun. Clemons closed with a solid 2-under 70 to finish alone in third place, two shots behind Koivun with a 4-under 212 total.

   Davidson, the three-time reigning Atlantic Ten champion, was another five shots behind Stetson in third place with a 23-over 887 total. It’s been a strong month for the Wildcats, who posted victories in The Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. and in The Peoples Championship at the Sea Palms Resort in St. Simons Island, Ga.

   Davidson finished strong, matching the low team round of the tournament with its 2-under 286 in Monday’s final round. The Wildcats had added a 301 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 300.

   Virginia Commonwealth, Davidson’s A-10 rival, was three shots behind the Wildcats in fourth place with a 26-over 890 total. The Rams bounced back from an opening-round 306 with a solid 1-over 289 before finishing up with a 5-over 293.

   Looks like Campbell joined the Coastal Athletic Association this year and the Fighting Camels could be a factor when the CAA Championship tees off April 21 at Dataw Island’s Cotton Dike Course on Saint Helena Island, S.C.

   Campbell finished a shot behind VCU with a 27-over 891 total as the Camels added a 10-over 298 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 302 before closing with a solid 3-over 291.

   Reigning CAA champion and tournament host North Carolina Wilmington finished four shots behind its new conference rival in sixth place with a 31-over 895 total. After struggling to a 314 in the difficult conditions of the opening round, the Seahawks bounced back with a 2-over 290 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 3-over 291.

   Penn State, a Big Ten representative, closed with a solid 4-over 292 in the final round to get a share of seventh place with Virginia Tech, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, in the 16-team field with a 36-over 900 total. The Nittany Lions were coming off The Johnnie-O at Sea Island’s Plantation Course on St. Simons Island, Ga., where they finished in 13^th place in the 14-team field.

   Penn State had opened with a 309 before adding an 11-over 299 in Sunday afternoon’s second round.

   Virgina Tech also finished strong as the Hokies recorded a 3-over 291 in the final round to join Penn State at 36-over, five shots behind UNCW. Virginia Tech had opened with a 308 before adding a 301 in Sunday afternoon’s second round.

   Auburn put its talent and its depth on display at the Country Club of Landfall.

   SEC teams rarely venture to Pennsylvania in search of talent, but Auburn plucked a good one when the Tigers lured Carson Bacha, the 2019 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Central York, to join their program.

   A redshirt junior and No. 46 in the WAGR, Bacha finished among a trio of players tied for sixth place with a 1-over 217 total as he bounced back from a 4-over 76 in the brutal opening-round conditions with a 1-under 71 in Sunday afternoon’s second round and a 2-under 70 in Monday’s final round.

   Bacha will be joined in the SEC this summer by another PIAA Class AAA champion when Downingtown West’s Nick Gross, who captured the state title in 2021 as a sophomore, joins the program at Alabama, Auburn’s ancient cross-state rival.

   Brendan Valdes, a junior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 28 in the WAGR, finished in a tie for 15^th place with a 4-over 220 total for Auburn as he matched par in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73 before closing with a 75.

   Rounding out the Auburn lineup were J.M. Butler, a junior from Louisville, Ky., and Ryan Eshleman, a redshirt junior from Birmingham, Ala., as they both landed in the group tied for 51^st place at 230.

   Butler struggled to an 80 in the opening round’s difficult conditions before adding a pair of 3-over 75s in the final two rounds. Eshleman added a 2-over 74 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 79 before finishing up with a 77.

   Clinard brought along Josiah Gilbert, a talented freshman from Australia, to compete as an individual and Gilbert made a strong bid for consideration to ascend to Auburn’s first five as he finished alone in ninth place in the individual standings with a 2-over 218 total.

   Gilbert dealt with the opening round’s winds as well as can be expected with a 1-over 73 and added a 75 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Another Auburn player competing as an individual, Reed Lotter, a sophomore from Savannah, Ga., also checked in with a top-10 finish as he ended up in a group of five players tied for 10^th place with a 3-over 219 total. After struggling to a 77 in the tough going in the opening round, Lotter bounced back with a pair of 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.

   Yet another Tiger competing as an individual, fifth-year player Alex Vogelsong from Palm City, Fla., also played well, finishing in the tie for 15^th place with his teammate Valdes at 4-over 220 total. Vogelsong added a 2-over 74 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 75 before finishing up with a solid 1-under 71.

   Bacha, Lotter, Valdes, Butler and Vogelsong comprised the lineup for Auburn when the Tigers claimed the regional team crown on their home course last spring.

   ACC power Duke didn’t compete as a team, but sent some of its second string to The Country Club of Landfall to compete as individuals and Jimmy Zheng, a senior from New Zealand, finished in fourth place, two shots behind Stetson’s Clemons with a 2-under 214 total. After opening with a 3-over 75, Zheng registered a solid 3-under 69 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Florida Atlantic’s Max Sturdza, a graduate student from Switzerland, was another shot behind Zheng in fifth place in the individual standings as he, like Zheng, added a 3-under 69 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to an opening-round 75. Sturdza finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Joining Auburn’s Bacha in the tie for sixth place at 1-over 217, two shots behind Sturdza, were Davidson’s Alex Heffner, a senior from Harrisburg, N.C., and Walker Isley, a senior at host UNCW from Oak Island, N.C.

   Heffner finished strong, closing with a 4-under 68 after adding a 4-over 76 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 73. Isley also closed with a rush, signing for a 3-under 69 in the final round after matching par in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a 72 and opening with a 4-over 76.

   Among the foursome of players that joined Auburn’s Lotter in the tie for 10^th place at 3-over 219 was Penn State graduate student Jimmy Meyers, the runnerup to Notre Dame senior Palmer Jackson in the 2018 PIAA Class AAA Championship who then led Pittsburgh Central Catholic to the team crown as a senior.

   After opening with a 4-over 76 at the Nicklaus Course, Meyers added a 1-over 73 in Sunday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Rounding out the quintet at 3-over were VCU’s Grayson Wood, a freshman from Fredericksburg, Va., Heffner’s Davidson teammate Joshua Stewart, a junior from Winter Springs, Fla., and another Dookie, Ian Siebers, a senior from Bellevue, Wash.

   Wood added a 2-over 74 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Stewart matched par in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73 and finished up with a 74. Siebers sandwiched a 1-under 71 in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 2-over 74s.

   First-year Penn State head coach Mark Leon got a nice showing from Zach Smith, a freshman from Canada, as Smith backed up Meyers for the Nittany Lions by finishing among the group tied for 39^th place with a 227 total. Smith struggled to an 81 in the windswept opening round, but recovered with back-to-back 1-over 73s in the last two rounds.

   Graduate student Pat Sheehan, who finished in a tie for third place, right behind Meyers, in that 2018 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks East, finished in a tie for 45^th place with a 228 total. Sheehan added a 4-over 76 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 77 before closing with a 75.

   Jake Griffin, a junior from Kensington, Md., finished in the group tied for 51^st place at 230 as he added a 5-over 77 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 79 before closing with a 74.

   Griffin has been playing some solid golf this spring and he was the low Lion, finishing in a tie for 26^th place at 1-under 215, in The Johnnie-O earlier this month at Sea Island on Saint Simons Island, Ga.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was sophomore Billy Pabst Jr., who lost to Downingtown West’s Gross in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in 2021 as a senior at North Pocono. Pabst finished among a trio of players tied for 68^th place with a 233 total as he sandwiched a 79 in Sunday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 5-over 77s.

   Duke also sent junior John Peters, who holed out from 193 yards away on the 18^th hole at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course for an eagle to win the Pennsylvania Amateur crown in 2021, to the Country Club of Landfall and Peters finished in the group tied for 64^th place. Peters added a 4-over 76 in Sunday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 77 before closing with a 79.

   Peters was in the mix in that 2019 PIAA Class AAA Championship that Bacha won at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County, Peters finishing in a tie for third place as a junior at Carlisle.