CARLSBAD, Calif. – The nation’s No. 1 team begins its hunt for a second national title in three seasons as Auburn men’s golf is one of 30 programs set to compete at the 2026 NCAA Championship from May 29 – June 3 at the Omni La Costa Champions Course in Carlsbad, California.
“We take a lot of pride in carrying the No. 1 seed into this place for the third year in a row,” Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. “We’re proud to represent Auburn at such a high level, but we know that nothing out here is given. We’ve got to really focus and play smart, Auburn golf if we want to lift a trophy when it’s all said and done. For us and our standards, it’s win or bust.”
The Tigers claim the field’s No. 1 overall seed for the third straight season and will begin Friday’s opening round playing alongside No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Texas. The group will go off the 10th tee in 11-minute intervals, beginning at 1:50 p.m. CT.
All 30 teams will duke it out in three rounds of stroke play Friday – Sunday. Following the third round, the field will be cut in half to the top 15 scoring squads, who will play a fourth round on Monday. After the completion of 72 holes of stroke play, the top eight teams will face off in match play, with the quarterfinal and semifinal matches set for Tuesday and the championship finale slated for Wednesday.
Auburn rolls into California with a starting five that has been consistent over its previous two postseason tournaments. The best player in college golf, Jackson Koivun, headlines a lineup that also includes the All-SEC quartet of Josiah Gilbert, Cayden Pope, Jake Albert and Logan Reilly.
SoCal native Billy Davis will make the trip and be available to substitute into the lineup following the completion of any round.
This season, the Tigers have already faced 25 of their 29 NCAA Championship opponents and boast a 64-15-1 (.806) head-to-head record against them. Auburn has the most wins versus No. 15 Oklahoma (6-1), No. 19 Georgia (5-0), No. 13 Pepperdine (4-1), No. 3 Texas (4-3) and No. 17 Texas A&M (4-0).
In its previous trip to the NCAA Championship, Auburn booked a second consecutive national quarterfinals appearance before falling to eventual runner-up Virginia by a single point. Two years ago, the Tigers broke through with the first national championship in program history. In 2024, Auburn defeated Virginia 3-1-1 in the quarterfinals and Ohio State 3-2 in the semis before A 3-2 win over Florida State in the finals sealed the deal.
Auburn has made five consecutive NCAA Championship appearances and has made 13 of the last 14 under Clinard. Prior to 2024, the Tigers’ lone match play appearance came in 2018, where they were bested by a star-powered Oklahoma State lineup in the semifinals.
In 1995, Chip Spratlin became the program’s first and, so far, only NCAA Individual Champion. At The Ohio State University Club in Columbus, Ohio, Spratlin carded a 1-under 283 to come out on top of a talented field that included a freshman Tiger Woods.
The seeding for this year's championship is No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 LSU, No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 11Arizona, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 Pepperdine, No. 14 Stanford, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 17 Texas A&M, No. 18 BYU, No. 19 Georgia, No. 20 Florida State, No. 21 USC, No. 22 Duke, No. 23 UCLA, No. 24 Louisville, No. 25 Mississippi State, No. 26 Arkansas State, No. 27 Purdue, No. 28 San Diego, No. 29 Chattanooga and No. 30 Memphis.
Golf Channel will provide live coverage of the tournament starting at 5 p.m. CT on Monday and Wednesday and at 11:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday.
Fans wishing to purchase tickets for the tournament should click here. Live scoring can be found at scoreboard.clippd.com.