Rising Auburn sophomore Niclas Carlsson has been selected by the Swedish Golf Federation to represent his country at the 2011 European Amateur Team Championship, held July 5-9 at the Oceânico Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Carlsson was named to the six-man team following a stellar freshman season on The Plains, one which saw him become the first Auburn freshman to win a tournament since Jimmy Green in 1988.

Carlsson earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors with a scoring average of 71.87, the seventh lowest in school history. The Enebyberg, Sweden, native led the Tigers to victory at the 2010 Jerry Pate National where the Tigers defeated top-ranked Florida and No. 4 Alabama at their home tournament. Carlsson led the 60-player field wire-to-wire after an opening round 64.

Carlsson was also part of the Swedish National Boys Team that won the European Championship in 2008.

Allen competes at PGA Professional
Auburn graduate David Allen competed in the PGA Professional National Championship this week in Hershey, Pa.

Allen shot a 77 in the first round, after bogeying on four holes, with a double bogey on number 6. Round 2 saw better strokes, after Allen got off to a good start and finish after a birdie on 2 and again on 18.

Allen, a former golf pro at Gadsden Country Club and Cane Creek and current pro at Hattiesburg Country Club in Hattiesburg, Miss., finished the round at 72. Allen missed the cut, finishing 6-over and tied for 209th place.

Cabbage named head coach at UNC-Charlotte
Auburn assistant women’s golf coach Ryan Cabbage will continue his coaching career as the head men’s golf coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the institution announced Tuesday. Cabbage, a former Auburn golfer, spent 10 seasons as the Auburn men’s golf assistant coach under Mike Griffin and the last two seasons as the women’s golf assistant under Kim Evans.

A 1998 Auburn graduate, Cabbage helped coach the Tiger women to an SEC championship in 2011. He also helped coach Auburn to two NCAA Regional appearances and an 11th-place finish at the 2010 NCAA Championship.

As an assistant for 10 seasons with the Auburn men’s team, Cabbage helped turn the program into one of the top programs in the country. The Tigers reached the NCAA Championships in seven of the 10 seasons he served under Griffin, including nine NCAA Regionals. In 2004, Cabbage was runner-up for the Assistant Coach of the Year, which is presented by TaylorMade-Adidas Golf.

A native of Rutledge, Tenn., Cabbage played his first two years at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn., where he was the 1995 National Junior College Individual Champion. Cabbage lettered at Auburn from 1996-98 and competed in the 1997 NCAA Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill.

Before coming back to Auburn, Cabbage spent a year with the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour in Opelika as a tournament director.

EQUESTRIAN
Hansen, Monfore picked for reining championship
Two of the top four NCAA reiners — Auburn rising junior Kristin Hansen and recent graduate Paige Monfore — will compete in the 2011 National Collegiate Reining Championship on Saturday at the National Reining Horse Association Derby Finals in Oklahoma City.

Monfore, a York, Neb., native, was named the reining MVP at the 2011 Varsity Equestrian National Championships in helping Auburn to the overall national championship. Hansen, a Redding, Calif., native, also picked up points in reining at the VENC and earned points in reining and horsemanship in helping Auburn to the Southern Equestrian Championship.

The two Tigers were selected based upon several criteria: season-long stats, performance at the Varsity Equestrian National Championships and comments from judges at the VENC meet. It will be the first time either rider will compete at the NCRC.