The top-ranked Tigers never trailed against No. 23 UCLA, distancing themselves on the back nine of the Omni Lacosta North Course in San Diego to win 4-1. The win secured the NCAA national championship, marking the second for Auburn in the last three seasons, the second under Coach Nick Clinard, and the second total in program history.
"Just a lot of heart, a lot of guts, a lot of grit," Clinard said. "Incredible culture. How about these guys, huh? How about my two freshmen? They were dogs all week. We've got our fans out here. Jackson Koivun could've gone to the PGA Tour last year, but he chose to come back to Auburn for this reason right here — he came back to Auburn to win a national championship and he came back for his teammates and the Auburn Family."
In the leadoff match, freshman Logan Reilly won the first hole and never looked back. He held the lead against UCLA's Alex Papayounou and would later clinch the match for Auburn with a par on 18.
Onto the second matchup, fellow freshman Jake Albert was dominant in the two prior rounds before keeping his momentum strong against UCLA on Wednesday. Albert, the SEC freshman of the year, won the first two holes against UCLA's Tyler Loree, setting the tone early for his team. Albert never trailed after that, winning back-to-back holes on 9 and 10 to turn his one-hole lead to a three-hole breakaway. He would later extend the margin before earning Auburn's first point with a 5&3 win.
The most talked-about amateur on Auburn's team, and in the world, Jackson Kuivon, fell behind on hole 2, but would square it up two holes later with a birdie on 4. Similar to Albert's match, Koivun pulled away from UCLA's Baylor Larrabee by winning the consecutive 9th and 10th holes to take a 3-stroke lead. The pair would trade shots on 12 and 14, but Koivun would clinch Auburn's second point with a birdie putt on 15 to win 4&3. His win caps off one of the most remarkable NCAA seasons, winning the SEC player of the year for the third consecutive time and the Ben Hogan award for the second time.
In the fourth spot, junior Cayden Pope never trailed UCLA's Kyle An, twice taking 1-up leads on the front nine before An would square the match up with an eagle on the sixth hole. Undismayed, Pope birdied the next two holes to give Auburn a lead in three matches, almost certainly solidifying no path for UCLA to come back in this round.
UCLA's coach talked about Auburn's early success and how they got out to an early lead.
"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."
UCLA would make a late push, winning back-nine holes in matches 3, 4, and 5, using the San Diego course to their advantage. Although, 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 Kentucky would keep riding that hot wave, winning three straight holes, which culminated in a 25-foot birdie putt to clinch the 4-up win for the Tigers.
In match number 4, UCLA earned its only point of the round behind Josh Kim's victory. Josiah Gilbert would twice trail on the front nine, but would quickly reclaim the lead with a birdie on the Par-5 10th. Kim would come back to win the next four holes and clinch the Bruins only point.
Auburn men's golf will celebrate its second-ever title in Auburn fashion, with a ceremony at 2:30 p.m CT Friday at Toomer's Corner.
