ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Auburn men’s golf, the No. 1 seed in the nation’s toughest conference, sets its eyes on a second league title in three seasons when it tees off this week at the 2026 SEC Championship, set for April 22-26 at Seaside Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
“We have to go prove it. When we tee off, it doesn’t matter what you’re ranked,” Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. “You have to go out there, drive the ball well, believe in yourself and be emotionally sound. It’s time to compete, and it’s time to win a championship for this great university.”
Going for gold this week are the same five men the Tigers started in each of the last two regular-season tournaments: Josiah Gilbert, Jackson Koivun, Cayden Pope, Jake Albert and Logan Reilly.
Sophomore Billy Davis will make the trip to Sea Island as the reserve player. Postseason rules allow for the substitution of your sixth man into the lineup following the completion of any round.
Of the 16 teams set to face off this week, 11 are ranked in the top 25, including four of the top five. Auburn takes the No. 1 seed as the nation’s No. 1 team. Following the Tigers are No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 8 LSU, No. 11 Vanderbilt, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 17 Alabama, No. 25 Georgia, Texas A&M (30), South Carolina (39), Mississippi State (41), Kentucky (54) and Missouri (89).
For Wednesday’s opening round, Auburn will begin its 15-minute tee intervals from the first hole starting at 7 a.m. CT. The Tigers will play in foursomes with the Longhorns, Gators and Razorbacks.
After three consecutive days of stroke play, the field is cut in half, pitting the top eight squads against each other in head-to-head matches. Quarterfinal and semifinal matches are set to be contested on Saturday, April 25. The championship match is slated for Sunday, April 26.
Saturday’s semifinals will appear on SEC Network+ starting at approximately noon CT, while Sunday's championship match will air live on the SEC Network starting at 7 a.m. CT.
This season, the Tigers’ core six has led the team to four wins and eight consecutive top-two finishes. Auburn’s wins came at The Clerico, The Amer Ari Invitational, The Hayt and The Mason Rudolph Championship.
Four of the Orange & Blue’s starting five are ranked inside the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd top 40. Koivun paces the race as the country’s No. 1 player, followed by Albert at No. 29, Gilbert at No. 36 and Pope at No. 38.
Koivun has blistered his way through the spring season with five wins in seven starts. Another victory this week would be an SECs three-peat as the junior shot 12-under in 2024 and 2025 to earn top honors as the conference’s low medalist. The only other player to win back-to-back-to-back SEC Championships as an individual is LSU’s B.R. McLendon, who did so from 1965-67.
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Auburn’s first SEC team title, which the Tigers took home in 1976. Since then, Auburn has come out on top of the league in 1981, 2002, 2018 and 2024. Koivun and Gilbert were both starters on the 2024 championship team.
Last year, Auburn cruised through stroke play, shooting 38-under to take first by nine shots. In match play, the Tigers bested the Longhorns 4-1 in the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual champion, Florida, by a score of 3-1-1 in the semifinals. Koivun and Pope went 1-1 in their respective matches, while Gilbert went 1-0-1.
This season, Auburn boasts a 31-9 record versus SEC teams in head-to-head competition. Its most faced opponents are Oklahoma and Florida, who have gone toe-to-toe with the Tigers six times each. Versus the Sooners, Auburn is 5-1, and versus the Gators, Auburn is 3-3.
Live scoring for the entirety of the 2026 SEC Men's Golf Championship is available via scoreboard.clippd.com. Spectating is free and encouraged at the event.