Auburn Men's Golf Moves To No. 1 In Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches' Poll

[augolf1716 21,170]

I've been telling you guys Coach Nick Clinard will have Auburn winning national championships in golf in the very near future.

Following a win at the Carpet Capital Collegiate and a tie for second at Olympia Fields, the Auburn men's golf team has been named the No. 1 team in the country by the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches' Poll released Tuesday by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

The ranking marks the first time the Tigers have topped the poll since its inception in 2001 and the first time Auburn has recieved a No. 1 ranking since the fall of 1996.

"It is a tremendous honor to be named the No. 1 team in the nation, especially by coaches from around the country," said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. "We are very excited about the direction our program is headed. The young men on our team are extremely dedicated, both in the classroom and on the course."

Auburn received its previous high mark of sixth in the February 2005 rankings.

"Our goal as a coaching staff and team from day one has been to win championships," said Clinard. "It is very early in the season, and we have a very tough test defending our title at the Jerry Pate this coming week. We need to continue working hard on the course and focus on what we can do to constantly improve as a team and as individuals."

The Tigers received 427 points in the polls, jumping from No. 9 in the preseason rankings. Oklahoma State remained in second with 394 points while UCLA slipped to third with 390. Stanford jumped from 12th to fourth while Georgia Tech and Alabama share a tie for fifth.

In all, there are four SEC teams ranked in the top-10 and seven in the top-25. No. 9 Arkansas and No. 10 Florida round out the top-10 followed by No. 16 Georgia, No. 19 Tennessee and No. 22 LSU. Future SEC member Texas A&M ranks eighth.

Through the opening two events of the 2011-12 season, the Tigers are 3-1-1 against top-five competition with a win over Georgia Tech and a pair of victories over Alabama. Auburn's only loss of the season came against Stanford in the Tigers' second-place showing at Olympia Fields.

The Tigers have counted an individual round average of 71.50 this season for a team average of 286. Auburn junior and 2011 Walker Cup team member Blayne Barber currently leads the team with a 71.67 scoring average while junior Dominic Bozzellitops all Tigers with 6-of-6 rounds counted.

The Tigers return to action this Monday at the two-day, 54-hole Jerry Pate National at Old Overton Golf Club in Birmingham. The Tigers will face a field that features tournament host Alabama and the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns

 

[Ronald McDonald 0]

Huge accomplishment for the Golf program. Big things are happening in Auburn right now outside of the football program. War Eagle!