ATHENS, Ga. – After making the turn below the cut line, No. 1 Auburn men’s golf rallied to survive and advance as the Tigers played the back nine at the University of Georgia Golf Course at nine-under-par to finish in third at the NCAA Athens Regional and punch their ticket to a fifth straight NCAA Championship.
Auburn made 12 birdies coming in, including four on the par-5 17th to get over the hump.
“What a long week,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “The front nine was a disaster every day, just call it what it is, but on the back nine, we played some real good golf. They made some birdies when it mattered, and they got the job done.”
It’s Auburn’s 13th trip to the final stage of collegiate golf in 16 attempts under Clinard. The 2026 NCAA Championship is set for May 29 – June 3 at the Omni LaCosta Champions Course in Carlsbad, California.
With an 8-under final round, Auburn finished the week at 22-under-par. Also advancing out of Athens were No. 13 Vanderbilt (-28), Louisville (-26), No. 24 BYU (-20) and RV Georgia (-19). College of Charleston missed the cut by one. No. 12 Illinois finished tied for 11th (-7).
Auburn’s best individual was junior Josiah Gilbert. He earned a top five with a final-round 69 (-2) to bump his total to 11-under.
“That was not fun,” Gilbert said. “We’ve been blessed that we haven’t had to stress much on the golf course so far this year, but in the long run, I think it’s good for us. We showed a lot of grit and a lot of fight, and to pull that off down the stretch was pretty nice.”
Junior Jackson Koivun put together his sharpest round on Wednesday as he birdied five times for a team-best 67 (-4).
“I just didn’t have my best stuff this week, but we’re happy to squeak on in there and get to nationals. At the end of the day, that’s the goal,” Koivun said. “Having a ticket booked to LaCosta feels real good.”
Freshman Jake Albert went subpar for the second day in a row to shoot 69 (-2). Like Gilbert, he pieced together a nice 33 (-3) on the back. Freshman Logan Reilly finished with a 71 (E) for the third consecutive day. Junior Cayden Pope shot 72 (+1).