LOXLEY, Ala. — Less than a week after taking down some of the best teams in the country at East Lake, No. 1 Auburn men’s golf rode special weekends by Cayden Pope and Logan Reilly to win the Steelwood Collegiate by 42 under as a team.
“Their focus and their energy all week, especially coming off East Lake, was impressive,” said head coach Nick Clinard. “They put the pedal down today and got a great team win. They played hard for Auburn and for each other, and we couldn’t be prouder of them as coaches.”
Day one was almost perfect for the Tigers; over the two rounds played, they shot a team total of 35 under par.
In round one, Pope and Reilly picked up right where they left off at East Lake, with Pope turning in a bogey-free seven-under 65. Reilly also didn’t card a bogey and shot 66.
Three other Tigers shot three under par, including redshirt freshman Alex Holder, who is getting his first taste of collegiate action. He turned in an eagle at the last to card a 69.
Round two was much the same, but this time, Holder had a big round for Auburn. He recorded five front-nine birdies and, although he wrote down three bogeys, carded a five-under 67.
Pope and Reilly weren’t far behind, both netting four under par for the round while Jake Albert turned in a second straight 69 to put him at six-under for the tournament.
Round three tightened up down the stretch between the Tigers and 13th-ranked Georgia Tech, with Tech star Albert Hansson carding a 64 on day two and finishing as the individual champion at 20-under par.
Auburn did enough to hold off the Yellowjackets, with six Tigers shooting in the red numbers.
Billy Davis and Hampton Beebe led Auburn with two three-under 69s, while Pope, Reilly, and Holder all carded 71.
Pope finished tied for fifth at 12-under, while Reilly finished 11-under and tied for seventh. Holder also finished in the top 10, while Davis and Albert both posted top-15 finishes on the weekend.
The top-ranked Tigers outlasted Georgia Tech by two strokes to win their final event of the fall season.
“We’re looking forward to getting into the offseason and continuing to improve and get ready for the spring,” said Clinard.
Auburn doesn’t play again until next February, when it will travel to Hawaii's Mauna Lani Golf Course for the annual Amer Ari Invitational to start the spring campaign.
