AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn men’s golf is back in action this weekend as the top-ranked Tigers vie for another trophy in their penultimate regular season event, the Mason Rudolph Championship, slated for April 3-5 at the Vanderbilt Legends Course in Franklin, Tennessee.
“Legends Course is a great golf course that’s always in great shape,” Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. “Vanderbilt does a tremendous job hosting. It’s very scorable, and there are a handful of SEC teams competing this weekend, so it’ll be nice to get a closer look at some of those teams before we face them at Sea Island in a few weeks.”
Auburn returns to the Mason Rudolph as the defending champion after going 38-under to win by five a season ago. It was led by none other than All-American Jackson Koivun, who finished second at 13-under.
Koivun is back competing this weekend alongside Cayden Pope, Billy Davis and Josiah Gilbert, all of whom saw action last spring’s Mason Rudolph. Pope shot 4-under to finish tied for 18th, while both Davis and Gilbert went 1-under to tie for 22nd.
Pope, Koivun and Gilbert will tee off inside the team’s official starting five. They will be joined by the freshman duo of Jake Albert and Logan Reilly. Davis will play the weekend as an individual.
Last time out, Auburn sent five men to the Valspar Collegiate in Palm City, Florida. A 39-under-par showing from the Tigers was good enough for runner-up honors. Pope was the squad’s low man. He shot 200 (-13) to tie for third. Koivun also earned a top 10 with a 203 (-10) week. As a team, Clinard’s crew extended its streak to six consecutive tournaments finished inside the top two, including each tournament following the winter break.
To extend its streak further, Auburn will need to outplay a field that includes five teams ranked inside the top 25. The Tigers are 45-16-1 (.734) versus ranked opponents this season.
In the field this weekend are the host squad, No. 11 Vanderbilt, as well as No. 12 Tennessee, No. 14 Ole Miss, No. 21 Charlotte, Ball State, Furman, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, NC State, Northern Illinois, Princeton and Western Kentucky.
Friday’s opening round pairs the Tigers with the Commodores and Volunteers. Gilbert leads off the 11-minute tee intervals starting at 8:55 a.m. CT.
Starting at 3 p.m. CT Sunday, SEC Network+ will air a two-hour coverage window of the tournament’s final round.
Live scoring for the entirety of the 2026 Mason Rudolph Championship can be found at scoreboard.clippd.com.