LAS VEGAS – Locked in a back-and-forth battle with No. 1 Virginia throughout Tuesday’s final round, No. 2 Auburn ultimately came up a stroke short and earned second place at 14-under-par following the conclusion of play at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.
“We certainly played well this week and showed some improvements in areas that needed growth,” Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said, “however, we are not satisfied with second place. We worked hard all week to put ourselves in a place to contend for a win today, but when it came down to it, we could not execute for all 18 holes, and we let it slip away. But the good news is, we’ve got another chance to compete and win in less than a week, so that’s where we shift our focus starting now.”
The Cavaliers captured top honors with a team score of 15-under-par, one stroke better than the Tigers. Auburn put up a 10-shot cushion on the third-place team, No. 12 Illinois, and picked up head-to-head wins against six other top-25 programs, including No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Texas.
Clinard’s squad now improves to 30-15-1 (.663) versus ranked competition this season.
Doing the heavy lifting for the Tigers in Vegas were Jackson Koivun and Jake Albert, who finished third and fourth, respectively. Koivun fired rounds of 67 (-5), 74 (+2) and 68 (-4) to wrap things up at 7-under, two strokes lower than his previous outing at Southern Highlands Golf Club, which came in the spring of 2024.
Albert kept pace with his All-American teammate and finished one shot back at 6-under. His rounds consisted of a 69 (-3), 71 (-1) and a 70 (-2). The two-time SEC Freshman of the Week once again brought an unmatched sense of maturity to the course as he beat the nearest fellow rookie by seven shots and was the only first-year to finish inside the top 17.
Logan Reilly joined Albert as the only SEC freshmen to finish inside the tournament’s top 20. Reilly opened the week with a tough 78 (+6) but responded in a massive way with a bogeyless 67 (-5) on Monday and a respectable 72 (E) on Tuesday. At 1-over, Reilly tied for 18th.
Junior Josiah Gilbert shot 2-over, one back of Reilly, with rounds of 68 (-4), 73 (+1) and 77 (+5). Junior Cayden Pope concluded the tournament at 13-over.
Next, Auburn heads straight to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for The Hayt at Sawgrass Country Club. Competition begins Saturday, March 7, and concludes Monday, March 9.