OPELIKA, Ala. - Mizzou Men's Golf was able to shake off some of the offseason rust at the SunTrust Gator Invitational, but the Tigers now have their sights set on the plains of Auburn, as they will take part in the Auburn Tiger Invitational from Sunday, March 4 - Tuesday, March 6.

The Black & Gold took seventh-place in its first event out of the winter break, but held steady at No. 21 in the rankings since then. Head coach Mark Leroux's squad has been ranked most of the season, using a mixture of youth and veteran talent to get the job done. The team will now be looking for a bounce-back effort on the Grand National Lake Course in Opelika. 

It will not come easy, though, as the Tigers again face competition from fellow members of the Southeastern Conference. This time around, the Tigers will have to get past host Auburn and Mississippi State, as well as other Top-100 programs like Southern Miss and Maryland.

Leading the Tigers back out onto the links is senior Hayden Buckley (Belden, Miss.), who continued his dominant final collegiate season by claiming his third individual championship at the Gator Invitational. Buckley's 68 strokes-per-round average is now the second best mark in the nation, trailing only Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern. Buckley has gotten it done this season by playing well on longer holes, as his par-5 average score of 4.33 is tied with Fisk for the best mark in the country. Buckley also stands alone as the best subpar strokes-per-round (5.93) golfer in the NCAA, according to Golfstat.com. As a result, Buckley was named to the Fred Haskins Spring Watch List, an honor recognizing the top collegiate golfers in the country.

Following Buckley in the competitive lineup is fellow senior Luigi Botta (Cueno, Italy), who is playing in his first competitive event since he was a freshman at Mizzou. The Italian product did not play for Leroux during the 2015-16 season, and only played once last season as an unattached individual. With a little over three months left in his collegiate career, there is no better time for Botta to get involved for the Mizzou at the Tiger Invitational.

Junior Matt Echelmeier (Columbia, Mo.) holds down the third spot in the Tigers' lineup. Echelmeier finished tied for 58th at the Gator, courtesy of his 220 (+10) showing. That result aside, his seven rounds-under-par are good for third-most on the roster, and his events under-par total puts him at second, trailing only Buckley. Echelmeier is also familiar with this event, and had a relatively good showing at it a season ago, finishing tied for 36th overall.

The fourth slot in the lineup is held down by senior Trevor Ullestad (Jewell, Iowa), who is now playing in his third-straight event after only playing in the Turning Stone Intercollegiate to start the fall season. After averaging 74.3 strokes-per-round a season ago, Ullestad has brought his average down to 73.0  

Making his return to the lineup is sophomore Rory Franssen (Inverness, Scotland). Before the break, Franssen had been inconsistent, registering two Top-25 finishes against just two finishes outside the Top-50. However, Franssen excelled down the stretch last spring, including on the Grand National Lake Course, where he led the Tigers with his 11th-place finish (70-72-71 -- 213).

Freshman Jack Parker (Columbia, Mo.), who registered a 58th-place finish last time out, will play as an unattached individual for Leroux in Opelika.

Follow the action all weekend online at GolfStat.com.

For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Golf, stay tuned to MUTigers.com or follow the program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@MizzouMensGolf).