Missouri men’s golf rose an impressive five spots as a team in the final round of the Auburn Tiger Invitational to finish third in the competition, which was from March 5-6 in Opelika, Alabama. They have now finished in the top three in every tournament of the 2016-17 season.
Junior Hayden Buckley led the Tigers’ charge, shooting 3-under for the tournament to finish tied for No. 11 individually. He was instrumental in the Tigers’ comeback, shooting a final round of 68, the lowest of any Tiger at the event. Buckley has finished in the top 15 individually in two of his last three tournaments.
Tied with Buckley for 11th at 3-under was freshman Rory Franssen, who recorded his second straight tournament of strong play, adding two more under-par rounds to his tally, giving him eight for the season. Franssen has shot his two best rounds and recorded his best overall finishes at the last two events.
Senior Linus Lilliedahl finished No. 18 individually at even par. After shooting a strong opening round 69, he fired a rough 77 in the second round and finished with a solid 70 in the final round. He has now finished in the top 25 in five out of six 2016-17 tournaments.
Sophomore Matt Echelmeier shot identical scores as Lilliedahl in the first and second rounds. A final round of 74 ultimately resulted in a T-36 finish. Senior Euan Walker struggled, recording season-high rounds of 80 and 78 in his first two rounds of the weekend. In the first round, he recorded nine strokes on the par-3 15th hole and seemed to be fighting from the back of the field for the entire tournament after that. Despite this, Walker showed great resiliency, firing a final round of 69 to help the Tigers’ comeback case.
Auburn would go onto win their home tournament, shooting 13 under par as a team. Thomas Eldridge of University of North Carolina Wilmington would finish No. 1 individually at 13-under.
Up next for the Tigers is the Hootie at Bulls Bay Invitational in Awendaw, South Carolina, from March 26-28.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
