ATLANTA – The No. 1 Auburn men’s golf team advanced to the East Lake Cup match play final after a dominating performance Tuesday, defeating Arizona, 4-1, in the semifinals. The prestigious tournament is being played on the par 72, 7,255-yard East Lake Golf Club.
Auburn will take on No. 3 Oklahoma State, who beat UCLA 3-2, in the East Lake Cup Championship match. The Tigers and the Cowboys will go head-to-head starting at 11:30 a.m. CT.
“The guys played great today and were in command from the get-go,” head coach Nick Clinard. “I’m really proud of the team overall. They’re playing and competing and loving the moment. It’s all about playing good golf and playing for each other tomorrow.”
Sophomore Logan Reilly picked up where he left off Monday, securing the first point for the Tigers over the Wildcats. The stroke play individual winner from yesterday was paired with Arizona’s Matej Baca and the pair remained tied through the first six holes until Reilly birdied seven to go one-up. The Lovettsville, Virginia product birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to take a three-up lead and went on to take the match, 3&2.
Sophomore Jake Albert came from behind to win his match one-up and give Auburn a 2-0 lead. After falling behind on the first hole, a gutsy par on hole nine by Albert tied the match. He followed with another par on 11 to better his opponent’s bogey to go one-up and the Blacksburg, Virginia product held for win with a birdie on the final hole.
“These two guys were a combined 6-0-0 last year during the national championship run and picked up where they left off,” Clinard said of Reilly and Albert. “They are just fearless. They want to win and are very competitive and have a lot of talent and skill.”
Senior Josiah Gilbert and junior Billy Davis closed out the day with a pair of wins and the duo were both in command of their matches from the start. Gilbert took control on the second hole and found himself up by as much as three holes. The Millbrook, Alabama native took the match 2&1.
It was a similar story for Davis, going up on the second hole and seeing a lead as big as three. With Gilbert taking the win prior, Davis finished his match two-up on the 16th.
“These guys are familiar with match play and handled themselves well to come out with the win,” Clinard said.
Senior Cayden Pope and his Arizona opponent Tianyi Xiong battled back and forth before the Wildcat went two-up as the team match finished.
The East Lake Cup is a yearly tournament that features the final four teams from the 2026 NCAA Championship. The first day had the four teams compete in stroke play to determine seeding for Tuesday’s match play semifinals and the Tigers secured the top seed after going 13-under (275). Oklahoma came in second (277), UCLA third (280) and Arizona fourth (289).
EAST LAKE CUP – STROKE PLAY SEMIFINAL
Logan Reilly (AU) def. Matej Baca (AZ), 3&2
Jake Albert (AU) def. William Wistrand (AZ), 1UP
Josiah Gilbert (AU) def. Jorge Sampedro (AZ), 2&1
Billy Davis (AU) def. Adam Fahey (AZ), 2UP
Tianyi Xiong (AZ) def. Cayden Pope (AU), 2UP
No. 1 Auburn downs Arizona, 4-1, in East Lake Cup semifinal
The No. 1 Auburn men’s golf team advanced to the East Lake Cup match play final after a dominating performance Tuesday, defeating Arizona, 4-1, in the semifinals. The prestigious tournament is being played on the par 72, 7,255-yard East Lake Golf Club.
