For the second time in three seasons, Auburn’s men’s golf team secured a national championship on Wednesday evening at Omni LaCosta North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.
The top-ranked Tigers never trailed in the finale, defeating 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,” said Auburn head coach Nick Clinard. “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," he added.
Auburn freshman Logan Reilly never trailed against UCLA’s Alex Papayoanou, clinching the match for Auburn with a par on hole No. 18.
SEC freshman of the year Jake Albert set the tone early by winning the first two holes against UCLA’s Tyler Loree in the second match of the evening.
Albert won back-to-back holes on nine and 10, turning a one-shot lead into three. He extended his lead on the back nine before earning Auburn’s first point with a 5 & 3 win.
Two-time Hogan and Haskins Award winner Jackson Koivun teed off in the third match against UCLA’s Baylor Larrabee. He fell behind on hole No. 2 but evened things up two holes later with a birdie on No. 4, and took the lead for good with another birdie on the sixth hole.
“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.”
Junior Cayden Pope never trailed in his match against UCLA’s Kyle An, taking a pair of 1-up leads on the front nine before An squared the match with an eagle on hole No. 6.
Consecutive birdies on the next two holes from Pope gave the Tigers a sizeable lead in three matches.
UCLA made a late push by winning back-nine holes in quick succession in matches three, four and five.
Pope swiftly shifted the momentum back in the Tigers’ favor by hitting his approach shot on hole No. 11 within a foot of the hole to reclaim a 2-up lead over An. He won the next three holes and buried a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 13 to win 4-up.
In match No. 4, Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert trailed twice on the front nine, but took the lead with a birdie on the 10th hole before UCLA’s Josh Kim reclaimed the lead by winning the next four holes, claiming the Bruins’ only point with a 3-up win.
Auburn advanced to the NCAA Championship 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.
The Tigers placed first in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history.
“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.”
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