No. 22 Auburn, Niclas Carlsson win at Mobile Bay Intercollegiate

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So far so good. Congrats Nickas

MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 22 Auburn men’s golf team picked up its second victory of the year and 10th under head coach Nick Clinard on Tuesday, shooting a 3-under at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Course, defeating No. 12 LSU by four strokes.

All-SEC junior Niclas Carlsson earned his third career victory after defeating Wake Forest’s Evan Beck by two strokes and teammate Michael Hebert, who finished in third, by one stroke. Carlsson becomes the 11th Tiger to win a tournament under Clinard.

“I am really proud of the team and how they played this week,” Clinard said. “This gives us 10 team and 11 individual championships since the fall of 2009, which is quite an accomplishment by the players, as they have worked very hard. We have a lot of work still to do to reach the level of great, but we are on the right track and the guys are improving each month.

“I'm proud of Niclas and Michael Hebert as they played great each round. Niclas recorded his third collegiate win, which is an outstanding accomplishment. David (Zickler) played an exceptional final round, which helped propel the team to the win. Jake (Mondy) also played an excellent tournament in the individual event and finished in second.”

Carlsson entered the final round in first place at 2-under and birdied three of his first five holes. After making the turn, Carlsson moved to 7-under after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14, but bogeyed Nos. 15, 18 and 2 to finish the day for a 70.

All-SEC senior Michael Hebert posted his second top-5 finish of the season, finishing at 1-under, three shots behind Carlsson. Hebert moved to 1-under for the day after carding a birdie on the par-5 No. 6. Following a bogey on No. 8, the Orlando, Fla., native birdied No. 13 before closing the round with six consecutive pars.

All-SEC sophomore Michael Johnson tied for 16th, his fourth top-20 finish of the year, at 4-over. Johnson concluded the tournament with a 74 in the final round. Senior All-American Dominic Bozzelli tied for 27th at 6-over after shooting a 77.

Senior David Zickler tied for 35th at 7-over, but had a team-best 3-under 69 on Tuesday. After making the turn at even par, the Florence, Ala., native bogeyed No. 12, but rebounded with back-to-back birdies Nos. 15 and 16 to move to 1-under. Zickler closed out the round with an eagle on the par-4 No. 3.

In the USA Individual Tournament held at the Magnolia Grove Falls Golf Course, redshirt freshman Jake Mondy finished as the runner-up, one stroke behind LSU’s Landon Lyons. Redshirt sophomore Dan Stringfellow tied for 11th while senior Jackson Beindorf tied for 27th.

The Tigers will return to action March 4-5 at the Samford Intercollegiate at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Ala.

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