AUBURN – The Jacksonville State men's golf team will face a tough test this week when the Gamecocks compete against a strong field in Auburn's Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner.
 
The Gamecocks are one of 17 schools competing in the event that will be held on the par-72, 7,591-yard Auburn University Club, which was the host of last year's Auburn Regional. The host Tigers enter as the favorite, ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA rankings.
 
All 17 teams in the field are in the top 175 in the nation, with eight of them in the top 100. Florida Gulf Coast (66), Toledo (75), Kennesaw State (91), Ball State (96), Lipscomb (97), Elon (99), UNC Wilmington (100) will offer the 136^th-ranked Gamecocks an opportunity to move up in the rankings with a strong showing in the 54-hole, two-day tournament.
 
Also in the field are Northern Illinois (118), Florida Atlantic (121), Lamar (125), Southern Miss (131), East Carolina (144), Georgia State (151), Richmond (160) and Wichita State (171).
 
The Gamecocks will turn to senior Erik Jansson in the top spot of their lineup. The native of Vasteras, Sweden, enters the week in the Top 100 in the national individual rankings. He has played 21 rounds this season, with 18 of those under par. He is coming off a second-place finish at the Daytona Beach Intercollegiate last week.
 
In the No. 2 spot for Jax State will be senior Isaac MacNaughton, who also claimed a top-10 finish in Daytona Beach last week. The native of Truro, Nova Scotia, made his spring debut in the No. 5 spot and thrived, carding rounds of 75-69-68 to tie for ninth place.
 
Redshirt junior Gabriel Restrepo will play in the No. 3 spot for Jax State. The native of Caracas, Venezuela, has had a solid season so far for the Gamecocks, holding a 301-154-28 record against his opposition before a Top-25 finish in Daytona Beach.
 
In the fourth spot for Jax State will be redshirt sophomore Ricardo Matho. The Argentina native made his second appearance of the season in Daytona Beach and finished strong with a 1-over 73 in the final round.
 
Junior Santiago Bailleres will round out the Gamecocks' lineup in Auburn. The native of Chascomus, Argentina, is looking to get going for Jax State. He finished the fall season with a top-20 finish at White Sands Bahamas.
 
The Gamecocks are paired with Richmond and Ball State on Monday, when they will open the tournament with 36 holes before concluding with the final round on Tuesday. Live scoring will be available on golfstat.com.