Auburn completed its run to the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship title on Wednesday, defeating UCLA 4-1 in the championship match at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
The victory marked Auburn’s second national championship in the last three seasons and the second in program history. The Tigers entered match play as the No. 1 seed after winning the stroke play portion of the championship for the first time in program history.
Auburn advanced to the final by defeating Stanford 3-1-1 in the quarterfinals and Oklahoma State 5-0 in the semifinals before facing UCLA for the national title.
Freshman Jake Albert delivered Auburn’s first point with a 5-and-3 victory over Tyler Loree. Albert won the opening two holes and never surrendered the lead, extending his advantage throughout the round.
Jackson Koivun secured the Tigers’ second point with a 4-and-3 win over Baylor Larrabee. The Auburn junior erased an early deficit, moved ahead with a birdie at the sixth hole, and pulled away on the back nine to close out the match on the 15th hole.
UCLA earned its lone point in the fourth match as Josh Kim defeated Josiah Gilbert, 3 up.
Logan Reilly clinched the national championship for Auburn in the lead match. The freshman never trailed against Alex Papayoanou and secured a 1 up victory after winning the 18th hole.
Cayden Pope also held a commanding advantage in the anchor match against Kyle An. Pope never trailed and was 4 up when the match was halted following Auburn’s championship-clinching point.
The Bruins reached the title match after upsetting Texas in the quarterfinals and Arizona in the semifinals. UCLA was seeking its first NCAA championship since 2008.
Auburn finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally and closed the championship week by capturing the program’s second NCAA crown.
Sources:
Auburn Athletics: https://auburntigers.com/news/2026/06/3/national-champs-again-no-1-auburn-mens-golf-wins-ncaa-championship
NCAA Championship Leaderboard: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/243253/scoring/round