AU Men's Golf defeated UCLA in the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship match at Omni La Costa. This is the 2nd national championship for the squad in the past 3 years.
Auburn has become a national standard in college golf. The Tigers are among the sport's elite. AU Men's Golf defeated UCLA in the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship match at Omni La Costa. This is the 2nd national championship for the squad in the past 3 years. This win signals the proven growth of a program that has jumped from contender to absolute powerhouse on a national stage.
Winning a championship is impressive. Sometimes you have a great roster and win one. This is proof of a program structure that has created a culture built to handle championship pressure, develop strong players even further, recruit the most elite golfers around the country, and most of all it points to effective coaching in the form of Nick Clinard who said "I love Auburn and our program. I'm very grateful."
Jackson Koivun is one of the sport's biggest stars, and is widely considered the best amateur golfer. Koivun secured a crucial point for Auburn, and won his championship match '4 & 3'.
'4 & 3' in golf indicates a match play victory where a player is 4 holes ahead with only 3 holes remaining, securing the win before completing all 18 holes.
Freshman Logan Reilly went 3-0 in match play during the Tigers title run. Reilly delivered the clinching victory in the national championship match.
Logan was joined by fellow freshman Jake Albert who won the first point of the match with a '5 & 3' stomping of his opponent. Albert also took home SEC Freshman of the Year honors.
Josiah Gilbert finished 3rd in the individual championship. He was often described as the best player throughout most of the tournament week.
Cayden Pope is a senior from Lexington, KY. He was trusted by Coach Clinard to play the anchor match which is the pressure position at the end of a lineup. His coach said about him that he is "probably the most mature kid that we have on the roster." After tying his initial match against Stanford, he defeated OK State '3 & 2' in the semifinal match up. In the national championship match versus UCLA, he never trailed and built a 4-up lead before Auburn secured the third and final point.