The Auburn men’s golf team competed in the 2008 NCAA Championship in West Lafayette, Ind. at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Complex May 28-31.
The team came within one stroke of making the final cut. The championship began with 30 teams, then cut the low 15 after three rounds.
UCLA won the tournament with a score of 42 over par.
“We went there with high hopes and expectations,” senior Jay Moseley said.
Auburn finished the season ranked 16th in the nation.
Senior Steven Groover led the Tigers with a three round total of 12 over, while seniors Patton Kizzire and Gordon Strother carded a 13 over. Senior Jay Moseley ended with a 16 over, and junior Glenn Northcutt shot a 19 over.
“They shot too many bogies and double bogies at the wrong time,” Auburn Coach Mike Griffin said.
Playing conditions for the tournament didn’t help. Winds were in the 15-25 mph range each day, and the third round on Friday was delayed due to a tornado warning in the area. However, the Tigers were hopeful as they left the course on Friday in a tie for 14th place with Middle Tennessee State.
A 7 a.m. tee time was set for Saturday, but was postponed an hour because of excessive amounts of water on the course.
Groover said bad weather conditions, plus the difficulty of the course, made for a complicated challenge.
“That’s what you expect at the national championship,” said Groover. “It’s not going to be an easy golf course. You expect it to be tough.”
Coach Griffin mirrored those thoughts.
“These were probably the most difficult playing conditions that I think we’ve ever gone through for a national championship,” Griffin said. “The course was an absolute monster.”
The Kampen Course, where the Tigers played the tournament, was named one of the best in the country for collegiate play.
The 18th hole gave the team trouble in all three rounds, ultimately costing them a shot at being one of the top 15 teams in the nation.
“The major factor that cost us a better finish was the fact that in each of the three rounds we played, we counted two double bogies on the last hole,” Griffin said.
Even though team members expressed disappointment with missing the cut, they remained positive about the experience.
Moseley said it was an emotional time for the four graduating seniors on the team.
“We were all just glad to have our last experience there together,” Moseley said. “We had a lot of fun and did our best. There’s not a whole lot more we could have asked for."
As for the SEC, 11 of 12 teams advanced to regionals, and five of those went on to the championship.
Throughout the tournament, the team shot rounds in the 70s, which Griffin was grateful for.
“They played some really good golf,” he said. “We never had any disaster numbers, and for that, I was really, really proud of them.”
