Auburn finishes first three rounds of match play atop leaderboard at NCAA Championships
The Auburn Tigers put on another spectacular showcase on Sunday, finishing 2-under par to overtake the Arizona State Sun Devils for first place on the NCAA National Championships Group Play leaderboard. The Tigers led the pack of 15 programs that moved on to Monday's round, and barring a historic collapse, will qualify for the Quarterfinal Match Play beginning on Tuesday.
Led by senior Carson Bacha's 3-under par round of 69, the Tigers finished the first three days of group play at 10-under par. Auburn was the only group to end the first 54 holes with a double-digit under par score. Arizona State (-6), Oklahoma (-3), and Florida (-1), were the only other programs to finish under par through the first three days. Last year's National Runner-Up, Florida State (+9), finished in seventh place overall, putting the Seminoles in danger of missing Monday's final top eight cut.
Along with Bacha's 3-under par 69, sophomore Jackson Koivun (-1) and Brendan Valdes (E) put together solid rounds. Although Valdes didn't feature his best performance on Sunday, the senior's round was good enough for him to hold onto the team 54 hole lead at 5 strokes under par. Koivun finished one stroke back of the senior with a 4-under par, putting both players in the top seven overall on the individual leadboard.
While the No. 1 ranked Tigers reaching the Match Play Quarterfinal Round is all-but a foregone conclusion, Auburn will still hope to remain at the top of the leaderboard after Monday to give themselves the best first round matchup possible. The Tigers final round of group play tees off with freshman Cayden Pope beggining play at 2:20 PM CST. Coverage of the final round can be viewed on GOLF Channel starting at 5 PM CST.
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