CARLSBAD, Calif. – A steady Friday that saw the Tigers shoot 4-under-par helped top-seeded Auburn men’s golf take second following round one at the Omni LaCosta Champions Course in Carlsbad, California.
“It’s hard out there in the afternoon wave with the wind gusting pretty good.” Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. “We played pretty well overall, but we’ve got to make a few more putts than we did today. We’ll stay where our feet are and hopefully take advantage of going off early tomorrow morning.”
After the conclusion of Sunday’s third round of stroke play, the field will be cut in half. The top 15 teams will play a fourth round of stroke play on Monday, before being cut to eight for match play on Tuesday and Wednesday.
No. 23-seed UCLA leads the field after taking advantage of an early tee time and shooting 8-under. A 6-under 66 proved to be the leading score for the individuals. San Diego’s Ian Maspat, Alabama’s William Jennings and Arizona State’s Connor Williams share the top spot.
Auburn’s opening-round efforts were led by junior duo Jackson Koivun and Josiah Gilbert, both of whom carded 2-under 70s. They sit tied for 15th individually going into day two.
“I played pretty solid today. I only had two bad swings,” Gilbert said. “It could’ve been something really good today, but we’ll build off today’s work with a nice early start tomorrow."
Gilbert led the Tigers with six birdies on the day.
Also going subpar was freshman Logan Reilly. The rookie from Lovettsville, Virginia shot 71 (-1) in his NCAA Championship debut.
“It was a great day out there,” Reilly said. “It was pretty tough with the wind, so you had to take what the course gave you and not get too aggressive. It feels great to get in there under par and help my team out. It’s good momentum for me going forward this week.”
Reilly quickly righted the ship after doubling 16, his seventh hole of the day. He played his final 11 holes at 2-under with birdies on 18 and 6.
Freshman Jake Albert turned in a respectable 73 (+1) in his first taste of the NCAA Championship. Junior Cayden Pope shot 77 (+5).
For Saturday’s second day of stroke play, Auburn stays paired with No. 2 Florida (T12th/+3) and No. 3 Texas (T6th/-1) and will tee off the front at 6:30 a.m. PT.
Live scoring for the 2026 NCAA Championship is available at scoreboard.clippd.com.