CARLSBAD, Calif. – For the second time in three years, the Auburn Tigers are national champions.
The top-ranked Tigers never trailed In Wednesday’s NCAA Championship final, distancing themselves on the back nine of the Omni LaCosta North Course to defeat No. 23 UCLA 4-1.
“It brings tears to my eyes. I love them so much and I love Auburn and our program. I’m very grateful,” Auburn coach Nick Clinard said. “Our guys just kept doing what they’re doing. We played some really good golf this week right from the start in the first round. It was windier today and probably the windiest day we’ve had since we’ve been here. I knew that we were good ball-strikers.
“I felt pretty comfortable going into the round, but I know it’s match play and anything can happen. I really believed in my guys. Even though I wasn’t calm, I tried to stay calm so they could see that.”
In the leadoff match, freshman Logan Reilly won the first hole and never trailed against UCLA’s Alex Papayoanou, clinching the match for Auburn with a par on No. 18.
“It means the world and you can’t dream of anything better, especially with the feeling of all the guys and the Auburn family behind you and supporting you,” said Reilly, who went 3-0 in match play over the past two days. “It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever done before. This is the craziest feeling, and I can’t wait to bring home the trophy to the Plains.”
Two years after earning the program’s first national title by beating Florida State for the 2024 NCAA Championship at the same venue, Auburn set the tone early when SEC freshman of the year Jake Albert won the first two holes against UCLA’s Tyler Loree in match No. 2.
Albert never trailed, winning back-to-back holes on 9 and 10 to turn a one-shot lead into a three-shot runaway, a lead he further extended on the back nine before earning Auburn’s first point with a 5 & 3 win.
In the third match, two-time Hogan and Haskins award winner Jackson Koivun, the world’s No. 1 amateur, fell behind on hole No.2 but squared the match two holes later with a birdie on No. 4, taking the lead for good with another birdie on the par-5 sixth hole.
Similar to Albert’s match, Koivun pulled away from UCLA’s Baylor Larrabee by winning consecutive holes 9 and 10 to take a commanding 3-up lead. Larrabee birdied 12 but Koivun answered with a par on 14 to take the hole before clinching his match and Auburn’s second point with a birdie putt on 15 to win 4&3, pumping his fist after capping one of the most remarkable seasons in NCAA golf history.
“I stayed really consistent and kept my foot down on the pedal,” Koivun said. “Baylor is a great player, and I just happened to come out victorious. This was a new group of guys. We faced some adversity early on in the season. To see us battle back after that and get to this point is really a cool thing.”
Playing in the anchor position, junior Cayden Pope never trailed in his match against UCLA’s Kyle An, twice taking 1-up leads on the front nine before the Bruin squared the match with an eagle on No. 6.
Undaunted, Pope birdied the next two holes to give the Tigers sizable leads in three matches, narrowing any potential path to victory UCLA might have envisioned.
“Auburn continued to play awesome, and I thought our guys were solid,” UCLA coach Armen Kirakossian said. “We were keeping some matches close, but eventually Auburn got on a little bit of a run on 7, 8 and 11, where they were hitting really good shots and really difficult pins.
“They made birdies on holes that, frankly, people all week were not making birdies on. You just can’t do much about that. They played amazing today. They are a great team, and on top of that, they played awesome today.”
Playing on a course less than a two-hour drive south from their campus, UCLA made a late push, winning back-nine holes in quick succession in matches 3, 4 and 5.
Just as quickly, Auburn regained momentum when Pope hit his approach shot on No. 11 to within a foot of the hole to reclaim a 2-up lead over An. The junior from Lexington, Kentucky, had more magic to come, winning three straight holes, culminating the hot streak with a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 13 to win 4-up.
In match No. 4 junior Josiah Gilbert twice trailed on the front nine before taking the lead with a birdie on the par-5 10th hole before UCLA’s Josh Kim reclaimed the advantage by winning the next four holes to claim the Bruins’ only point with a 3-up win.
Auburn men’s golf will celebrate its second NCAA title in customary fashion, with a ceremony Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Toomer’s Corner.
After finishing first in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history, Auburn advanced to the championship match by beating No. 15 Stanford 3-1-1 in the quarterfinals and cruising past defending national champion No. 5 Oklahoma State 5-0 in the semifinals on Tuesday.
“We’re young and we don’t have any seniors on the roster,” Clinard said. “I thought the connectivity, the heart, the love and care for each other was really special.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer