5/25/2019 other sports Edit

Tigers struggle during second round of nationals

Jacob Solomon's Saturday was exceptional, but the Tigers other golfers endured a difficult day. (Cody Voga/Auburn U.)

Jay G. Tate • AuburnSports

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Living the dream in Montgomery, Ala.

That could have gone better.

Auburn got off to a slow start during its second round of the NCAA Championship Saturday and spent the day trying to regain its confidence. That never really happened.

The Tigers finished the day six shots over par and now sit at 10-over for the tournament, which is good enough for fourth place overall. Still, defending champion Oklahoma State posted a 12-under Saturday — serving notice that the Cowboys are focused on a repeat.

"Sloppy golf. We got off to a pretty poor start," Auburn coach Nick Clinard said. "It’s tough out there … and we didn’t really hit a lot of good shots. But we’ve got a great team; our guys are out here working right now. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow."

Jacob Solomon was the Tigers' top man Saturday. He shot a 3-under 69 and and now is 4-under for the tournament. He is tied for third place on the individual leaderboard.

"I played really well today," Solomon said. "Hit the ball fantastic. Just had one mistake on 15 (a double bogey), but other than that … couldn’t be happier with the way I played."

Jovan Rebula shot a 1-over 73 Saturday while Brandon Mancheno and Grasen Huff finished with 4-over 76s.

Trace Crowe will be the first to tee off Sunday at 7:12 a.m. CDT on the ninth hole. Auburn will be paired with Texas and Oklahoma.