Tennessee men’s golf stayed in contention all weekend but couldn’t close the gap, finishing third at the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club.

The No. 12 Vols posted a score of 5-under across three rounds of play, trailing host No. 11 Vanderbilt, which finished 9-under, and tournament winner No. 1 Auburn, which won comfortably with a score of 26-under.

Tennessee entered the final round in striking distance at second place, but couldn’t generate enough low scores on Sunday, carding a 3-over team performance after back-to-back 4-under rounds to start the tournament. Auburn would run away with the tournament, posting a dominant 10-under final round to win the tournament by 17 strokes.

The Vols showed depth across the lineup, with half the team scoring even or better throughout the tournament.

Freshman Chase Kyes delivered the Vols’ best score of the tournament, finishing at 4-under, tied for fifth individually. Kyes was steady all weekend, being the only Vol to post all three rounds under-par, highlighted by a 2-under round two featuring four birdies on the back nine.

Junior Bruce Murphy finished the tournament at 2-under, leaving him alone in 10th individually. Murphy opened the tournament with a 2-under 69, scoring five birdies and an eagle.

Senior Josh Hill finished at even par for the tournament, tied for 13th individually. Hill bounced back from a 1-over round one with a 2-under round two in which he carded five birdies.

Freshman Luke Smith shot 2-over for the tournament, earning him a tie for 22nd individually. Smith opened the tournament with a 1-under performance in round one. Despite a shaky start to his final round, Smith finished his tournament with three straight birdies.

Senior Lance Simpson, who has been one of the Vols’ top performers this spring season, had a tougher weekend, finishing at 8-over for the tournament. Simpson started his tournament with an even-par performance, followed by back-to-back 4-over rounds.

Senior Reed Lotter, who was competing individually, finished 7-over for the tournament. Lotter ended his weekend with his best round of the tournament, shooting a 1-under 70 in the final round.

As a team, the Vols were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities and produce the low scores needed to chase down Auburn in the final round. Despite falling short of first, the third-place finish continues a stretch of strong spring performances as the SEC Championships are right around the corner later this month.

Tennessee will return to action on April 13 at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial in Charlottesville, Virginia.