Ohio State Set for Auburn Regional Next Week
5/12/2023 4:38:02 PM | Men's Golf
NCAA Auburn Regional
Dates: May 15-17
Course: Auburn University Club – Auburn, Ala.
Par/Yardage: Par 72 – 7,591 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat
Website: Auburn Regional Site
Format: Play 5, Count 4
Teams: 1. Vanderbilt, 2. Tennessee, 3. Auburn, 4. Colorado State, 5. Ohio State, 6. Washington, 7. TCU, 8. Chattanooga, 9. Houston, 10, Marquette, 11. Indiana, 12. Augusta, 13. Siena
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will head to familiar territory (for some) next week as it will take part in the NCAA Auburn Regional in Auburn, Ala. The 54-hole event, which is being played at the Auburn University Club, runs May 15-17. The Top 5 teams and top individual not on one of those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship later this month in Arizona.
- Ohio State’s lineup will feature JonErik Alford, Neal Shipley, Jackson Chandler, Maxwell Moldovan and Adam Wallin. Freshman Jacob Tarkany will be the team’s alternate this week.
- The Buckeyes are looking to advance to their 48th NCAA Championship.
- In last year’s regional, Ohio State finished third last year on its home course to earn a spot in the championship. The Buckeyes went on to finish 23rd at the NCAA Championship.
- This year, against the field at the Auburn Regional, the Buckeyes have a head-to-head record of 8-3-1. They are 0-2 against top-seeded Vanderbilt but 1-0 against No. 2 seed Tennessee. They are also a combined 7-0 against Washington, TCU, Houston and Marquette.
- Ohio State head coach Jay Moseley certainly knows the Auburn University Club well as he was an All-American and a three-year captain at Auburn from 2004-08. His name is littered throughout the Auburn record books and he rose to as high as No. 27 in the Golfstat rankings during his senior year in 2008.
- The Auburn Regional is perhaps the toughest regional of the six as nine of the 13 teams are ranked in the Top 50 of the latest Golfstat rankings. The Buckeyes are not only the fifth seed but they are also the fifth-highest ranked team at No. 25.
- Ohio State finished fifth at the rain-shortened Big Ten Championship last month. The team had made a move up to third midway through the final round, but rain made the course unplayable and forced the cancellation of the round.
- Maxwell Moldovan finished in fifth place at the Big Ten Championship, marking his sixth Top 5 finished in 11 events this season. The unanimous first team All-Big Ten honoree leads the team with a 70.53 scoring average and has posted 75 percent of his rounds this season at par or better. He has finished in the Top 20 in all but one event and that came in a tournament in which he finished at 2-under par. The Uniontown, Ohio native finished 20th at the NCAA Columbus Regional last year.
- Jackson Chandler was the top Buckeye at the Columbus Regional last year, finishing fourth at even-par. That was the best finish of his career before finishing runner-up at last month’s Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Chandler is averaging a career-best 72.62 this season and has three Top 20 finishes.
- JonErik Alford finished tied for fourth at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, which marked the best finish at a full field event in his career. The Roswell, Ga., is also averaging a career-best 72.58 this season. That’s more than a shot lower than his career average.
- Neal Shipley had his best finish as a Buckeye at the Kepler, as he finished tied for seventh. The James Madison transfer has played in all 11 stroke-play events this season and is averaging 72.97. He also leads the team with six eagles on the year.
- Adam Wallin is averaging 72.88 this season, which is third-best on the team. He won the Cal Poly Invitational in the fall and as three Top-10s on the season. He was fifth at the Kepler last month and also finished 20th at the Columbus Regional last year.
