May 16, 2008

CHATTANOOGA - The sixth-seeded Auburn golf team (277-558) finished second round action of the NCAA East Regional tied for third at the par-71, 6,961-yard Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga on Friday.

Junior Glenn Northcutt, currently tied for 11th, leads all Tigers after carding his second consecutive round under par for a 36-hole total of 137. Seniors Gordon Strother (68-140) and Patton Kizzire (69-140) are tied for 25th, All-SEC senior Jay Moseley (70-145) is tied for 70th and senior Steven Groover (76-147) is tied for 89th.

The Tigers started the day on fire. Led by Strother at 7-under, Kizzire at 4-under, Northcutt at 3-under and Moseley at 1-under, Auburn had a second round total of 15-under par after the first 13 holes.

"We had a good round today," said head coach Mike Griffin. "We left a lot of strokes out on the back nine but we are right where we need to be to make a run for qualification.

"I'm real pleased with the way our guys stepped up and provided separation from some of the field. Hopefully tomorrow we can come out and take a top 10 finish and get to nationals."

At 2-under par, Northcutt started the back nine strong, carding birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 to drop his count to 4-under. After strong winds pulled his drive into the rough on the par-3 No. 12, Northcutt was forced to chip and two putt for bogey. A misread put for par on No. 15 and a shot to the bunker on No. 18 sent Northcutt to the clubhouse at 1-under par.

Strother came out of the gates hard, firing seven birdies through the first 13 holes. With five holes remaining, Strother would go on to drop four strokes, including a bogey on No. 18, to finish the day at 3-under.

"Our goal coming into tomorrow is just to stay focused," said Strother. "We need to come out and produce another solid round and finish in the top 10."

Four Tigers have bogeyed on the par-4, 453-yard No. 15 for a loss of six strokes, including one first round double bogey. A par-5 to a 484-yard par-4 converted from a par-5, No. 18 has also given Auburn trouble in both rounds. Four Tigers have bogeyed the hole for a total loss of five strokes.

Kizzire carded two quick birdies on holes 1 and 2 and two more on 9 and 13. At 4-nder with four holes remaining, Kizzire dropped two strokes on bogeys at Nos. 14 and 16 to finish at 2-under par.

On the opening hole, Moseley three putted for the bogey but proceeded to card nine consecutive pars, holding at 1-over. With a birdie at No. 11, Moseley broke even and another at No. 13 sent him to the clubhouse 1-under par.

Groover opened the day with a double bogey on No. 1 after his drive went astray into the hazard. After responding with birdies on Nos. 2 and 5, Groover would finish the day at 5-over par.

The par-5, 525-yard No. 2 has been good to the Tigers so far in the East Regional. No Auburn golfers have bogeyed the hole while all five have carded birdies for a total of 6-under.

Second-ranked Georgia (271-536) remained at the top of the leader board at 32-under par followed by Augusta State (282-555), Auburn, UC-Irvine (275-558), Mississippi State (282-560), New Mexico State (280-560), UAB (274-561), UT-Chattanooga (281-563), Charlotte (282-563) and Michigan State (279-564).

Middle Tennessee State (286-564) is tied for tenth followed by Duke (282-568), East Tennessee State (283-569), SMU (295-571), Virginia Tech (291-572), Virginia (286-572), Georgia State (286-573), Western Carolina (289-574), Colorado State (293-575), NC State (296-575), Coastal Carolina (291-576), Memphis (291-580), South Carolina (293-581), North Florida (288-581), Western Illinois (291-584), Ole Miss (291-584) and Jackson State (334-636).

UAB's Zach Sucher (62-131) is currently in the individual lead after tying school and course competitive records with his second round score. Georgia's Hudson Swafford (68-133) is in second followed by teammate Russell Henley (68-134) in third.

Third round action begins as Auburn, Georgia and Augusta State tee off the front nine at 7:00 am EST. Live scoring will be made available via Golfstat (www.golfstat.com).