CARLSBAD, Calif. — Jackson Koivun and the top-seeded Auburn Tigers won their second NCAA Division I men’s golf title in three years, beating seventh-seeded UCLA 4-1 in the championship tournament’s match-play final Wednesday at breezy La Costa Resort.
A freshman in 2024 when Auburn edged Florida State at La Costa for its first national crown, Koivun beat Baylor Larrabee 4 and 3 in the third of the five matches in possibly his final college event.
“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.”
A few minutes later, Logan Reilly gave Auburn the decisive third point, outlasting Alex Papayoanou 1 up with a par on the par-5 18th in the lead group.
“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,” Reilly said. “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.”
Freshman Jake Albert put the first point on the board for Auburn, beating Tyler Loree 5 and 3 in the second match.
The final two matches stopped on the 15th hole when Reilly wrapped up the victory. Josh Kim of UCLA led Josiah Gilbert 3 up, and Auburn’s Cayden Pope had a 4-up edge over Kyle An.
“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. “
Koivun has yet to make an announcement about turning professional. The top-ranked amateur in the world, he has a PGA Tour spot waiting after securing a card through the PGA Tour University Accelerated program.
The team title capped a season where he won won six of 10 starts and took his second Fred Haskins Award as the player of the year. The three-time All-America first-team selection has 11 career victories, winning three Southeastern Conference titles.
UCLA missed a chance for its third NCAA title and first in match play. The Bruins won national championships in 1988 and 2008 ahead of the current format.
This year’s finalists came through four rounds of stroke play — as part of the tournament’s initial 30-team field from Friday to Sunday, then as part of the final 15 teams Monday, when the individual national champion (Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout) was determined along with the eight teams that made match play.
Each won two matches Tuesday. The Tigers took out eighth-seeded Stanford in the quarterfinals, 3 1/2-1 1/2, then rolled 5-0 in a semifinal against fifth-seeded Oklahoma State to end the Cowboys’ bid to repeat as national champs. The Bruins upset second-seeded Texas in their quarterfinal, 3-2, then defeated sixth-seeded Arizona 3 1/2-1 1/2 to earn their title shot.