ATLANTA – Auburn captured the 2024 East Lake Cup Championship after defeating No. 11 Georgia Tech 3-2 Wednesday afternoon in the final match from East Lake Golf Club.
The No. 2 Tigers found their points from seniors Ryan Eshleman and Carson Bacha and sophomore Jackson Koivun.
“I learned that we have a lot of heart, and we’ve got a lot of guts, and we’ve got some guys that can flat-out play,” Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. “We had a reset after the spring and the national championship, but they’re still highly motivated. We feel good about our guys. We’ve got a lot of depth at home. They all appreciate each other and challenge each other. I’m just super proud of them.”
For the second day in a row, Eshleman got the Tigers on the board early with a win from the leadoff position. The senior found himself two down to Aidan Tran on hole 6 but flipped the match with three consecutive wins on holes 7, 8 and 9. Eshleman’s lead never waned over the final nine holes. He closed out the match with a tie on the 18th, winning one-up.
“It was all about ending the fall the right way and getting a win,” Eshleman said. “I felt that I was playing some good golf coming into the week, but I was just going to do whatever it took to get my team a point and set us up for a team victory.”
Bacha secured Auburn’s second point. The senior from York, Pennsylvania held a lead for 17 of 18 holes on the day. Georgia Tech’s Kale Fontenot fought back to win a point on 16 and cut the score back to even, but Bacha dashed his hopes immediately with a birdie on the 17th. Bacha birdied again on the final hole to secure a 2-up win.
Georgia Tech raised the stakes and snagged two points of its own with wins against Brendan Valdes (2-down) and Josiah Gilbert (2&1).
The cup came down to the Jackson Koivun/Hiroshi Tai duel, a battle between the reigning National Player of the Year and the reigning NCAA Individual Champion. Koivun spotted Tai a one-point advantage that he held for the first three holes, but with a win on the fourth hole, Koivun leveled the score and snatched Tai’s final lead of the afternoon. The pair stayed even for six of the next seven holes, but a costly Bogey from Tai on 11 saw Koivun take the lead for good. Koivun clinched the title-winning point with a par putt on 17 to defeat his opponent 2&1.
“It felt great to come out on top as a team,” Koivun said. “We knew we left some wins out there this fall. There were some moments we couldn’t capitalize on, but we did this week. It feels great and gives us some good momentum and motivation to take into the spring.”
Auburn returns to action in February 2025 at the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawai'i.
Auburn def. Georgia Tech, 3-2
Ryan Eshleman def. Aidan Trann, 1-UP
Albert Hansson def. Brendan Valdes, 2-UP
Carson Bacha def. Kale Fontenot, 2-UP
Ben Reuter def. Josiah Gilbert, 2&1
Jackson Koivun def. Hiroshi Tai, 2&1