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USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn golf to tee off against Virginia in Quarterfinal Round
Auburn golf to tee off against Virginia in Quarterfinal Round The Auburn Tigers quest for a back-to-back National Championship continues against a familiar foe on Tuesday. After finishing the group play stage of the NCAA Championship at second place on the leaderboard, the No. 1 ranked Tigers will face off against No. 10 ranked Virginia in the Quarterfinal Match Play round. Auburn's performance through the first 72 holes of the NCAA Championships was strong, albeit slightly inconsistent, leading to the No. 2 seed in the Match Play stage. While the Jackson Koivun, Branden Valdes, and company never fell further than a tie for fifth place on the leaderboard, the Tigers did cough up a first place finish on the final day. The Tigers finished with a respectable 2 shots under par score in Monday's fourth and final round of group play, pushing their four-day total to 12-under par. Arizona State, who leapfrogged the Tigers for the No. 1 spot, finished at 14 shots under par after a spectacular 8-under final round. Tuesday's opponent Virginia also shot better than Auburn on Monday, finishing 4 strokes under par to usurp a pair of teams for one of the final two spots in the quarterfinal. After coming out of the gates with an 11-over par first round, the Cavaliers managed to shoot 2-under par over the final three days. The Quarterfinal Round will get underway at 8:50 AM CST, with Auburn's Cayden Pope teeing off against Virginia's Maxi Puregger in a battle of freshman golfers. Each set of competitors tee off in 10 minute intervals thereafter, with the final pairing of Josiah Gilbert against Bryan Lee getting started at 9:30 CST. Auburn defeated Virginia 3-1 in last season's Quarterfinal en route to a National Championship. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn's Jackson Koivun earns PGA Tour card after top-10 finish at NCAA Men's Golf Championship
Auburn's Jackson Koivun earns PGA Tour card after top-10 finish at NCAA Men's Golf Championship Show Caption Hide Caption Drone flyover video of Omni La Costa North Course par-3 16th hole Omni La Costa is hosting the NCAA mens and womens golf championships for a second year in a row. The North Course's 16th hole is the final par-3. CARLSBAD, Calif. — Jackson Koivun has job security down the road. The sophomore at Auburn finished tied for fourth Monday after the stroke-play portion at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, and in the process he locked up his PGA Tour card via PGA Tour University Accelerated. The top-10 finish gave Koivun his 20th Accelerated point, enough to earn his card. He joins Gordon Sargent and Luke Clanton as the only players to earn their card via Accelerated. Koivun will defer his card until 2026 after his junior season. 'It feels good to go out and earn it by playing some golf, and what better place to do it than when you're surrounded by all your friends and teammates at the national championship,' Koivun said. 'I love Auburn, and I think college golf is in such a good spot right now. I feel like it's going to continually prepare me for the PGA Tour." Koivun's path to the PGA Tour started as a freshman, when he swept all the national postseason awards and helped guide the Tigers to their first national championship in school history. He has also made three cuts over the past year on Tour, coming at the 2024 Memorial Tournament, 2025 Farmers Insurance Open and 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. This spring, Koivun was again a finalist for the Fred Haskins Award, the Heisman Trophy of college golf, and the Ben Hogan Award. He won his second consecutive SEC individual championship and then won the NCAA Auburn Regional before the T-4 finish at Omni La Costa, that coming on the heels of a T-2 finish at nationals as a freshman. Koivun and the Tigers earned the No. 2 seed in match play, where it will face Virginia in the quarterfinals Tuesday. He wasn't the only player to lock up PGA Tour playing privileges Monday, as North Carolina senior David Ford finished first in the PGA Tour University Class of 2025 rankings to earn his PGA Tour card, too.
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn golf has solid showing in opening round of NCAA Championships
Auburn golf has solid showing in opening round of NCAA Championships Brendan Valdes, Jackson Koivun, and company finished their opening rounds a collective 2-under par at Omni La Costa. The Auburn golf team may not have flashed the dominance it did in the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Tigers started their bid for back-to-back NCAA Championships in solid fashion on Friday. Brendan Valdes, Jackson Koivun, and company finished their opening rounds a collective 2-under par at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California. The score placed the Tigers within the top five programs on the leaderboard entering the weekend. Valdes (-3) was the best Tiger of the opening round, as the senior from Orlando was a magician with his putter throughout the day, knocking home 5 birdie putts on his way to a team-best 69 scorecard. Jackson Koivun was nearly as impressive, but an unfortunate double bogey on the par-4 No. 15 hole, a hole which Valdes birdied, spoiled an otherwise great round for the sophomore. Fellow sophomore Josiah Gilbert finished with the same score (-1) as Koivun, albeit in much calmer fashion. While the SEC Golfer of the Year's scorecard, specifically on the back nine, lit up like a Christmas tree thanks to 5 birdies, 2 bogeys, and a double bogey, Gilbert simply hum-hoed his way to 15 pars. After an uncharacteristic bogey on the par-5 No. 2 hole, Gilbert finished his round with 2 birdies and 14 pars on his final 16 holes. Freshman Cayden Pope (+5) and redshirt senior Carson Bacha (+3) did not fair nearly as well in their opening rounds. Pope, who was the first Tiger to tee off on Friday, managed just 2 birdies in an attempt to offset 4 bogeys and a double bogey. Bacha, who notoriously starts his tournaments slow, didn't manage a single birdie during his round which featured 15 pars and 3 bogeys. The Tigers collective score of 2-under par put them in a tie for fifth place on the leaderboard with a a pair of other teams. Oklahoma (-8) led the way after day one, while last year's national runner-up Florida State (-3), finished in a tie for second place with Florida and Texas. Arizona State and Illinois finished tied with Auburn at 2-under par. Friday's result put Auburn in prime position to reach Monday's final round of group play, where the top 15 teams on the leaderboard will battle it out for the final eight spots in the Quarterfinal Match Play round on Tuesday. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn golf dominates field in Regional Round
Auburn golf dominates field in Regional Round The defending National Champion Auburn Tigers officially put the college golf world on notice after the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament this week. Hosting the Auburn Regional as the No. 1 overall seed, the Tigers trounced the field all week, ending the three-day event 32 strokes under par, 27 strokes ahead of second place Texas A&M. Four of the five Auburn golfers in the Regional finished within the top five on the individual leaderboard, with SEC Golfer of the Year Jackson Koivun taking home the individual crown with a 12 under par showing. UCLA's Omar Morales and Kennesaw State's Claes Borregaard finished in a tie for second in front of three Tigers. Redshirt senior Carson Bacha (-7), sophomore Josiah Gilbert (-5), and senior Branden Valdes (-5) finished in third, fifth, and fifth, respectively. Gilbert's final day impact was perhaps the most important for an Auburn team looking to maintain a large lead, as the senior holed in a round-best seven birdies to finish 6-under par on the day. The Tigers (-32) and the second place Aggies (-5) were the only squads to finish the regional round under par, while UCLA (+6), Purdue (+9), and Georgia Tech (+10) were able to do just enough to keep their championship hopes alive. No. 24 ranked SMU, who came into the Regional Round hoping to make a deep run into spring, missed the cut at 15 strokes over par. Next up for the Jackson Koivun and company will be the final rounds of the NCAA Championship, which will once again be held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. The festivities begin with a three days of stroke play from May 23-May 25. The top 15 teams from the 30 entering the final round will continue play into Monday, where the top eight will enter Tuesday's Quarterfinal Round. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa will crown a champion on Wednesday, May 28. Florida State, who Auburn defeated to claim the 2024 Championship, finished its regional with the second best scorecard, at 29 strokes under par. SEC rival Florida, who Auburn would love to get some revenge on after the men's basketball tournament, finished its regional with an equally impressive 28 strokes under par showing. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn golf finishes first round of Regional Round with dominant 13-under par
Auburn golf finishes first round of Regional Round with dominant 13-under par The defending National Champion Auburn Tigers pounced out to an early advantage in their pursuit of a repeat championship on Monday. The No. 1 ranked golf squad in the country shot a combined 13-under par in the first round of the Auburn Regional on Monday, which was eight strokes ahead of the remainder of the field. Only No. 13 ranked UCLA (-5), No. 25 ranked Georgia Tech (-4), and No. 24 ranked SMU (-2) finished a lightning-filled day under par. Four of the five Tigers in the field shot an even par (72) on the day, with senior Brendan Valdes (65) pacing Auburn, and the field, to lead the way. SEC Golfer of the Year Jackson Koivun finished second among all golfers in the first round with a 5-under par, 67-shot round of his own. The pair were the only golfers in the field to finish the first round with a bogey-free scorecard. Redshirt senior Carson Bacha finished in a tie for tenth place after the conclusion of play on Monday with a 1-under par (71) finish, although a pair of uncharacteristic bogeys on the par-3 No. 8 and No. 17 holes proved the finish was lower than the senior would have liked. Auburn's least experienced golfer in the field, sophomore Cayden Pope, ended his opening round just one shot (72) below Bacha. Sophomore Josiah Gilbert finished fifth on the team with a 1-over par, 73-shot round in which he managed just a single birdie. A frustrating 15 pars in rough conditions put a very slight damper on what was otherwise an outstanding day for the No. 1 ranked team in the country. As if often the case in opening rounds of Regionals, the home squad managed to build a comfortable lead on Monday in large part to the Tigers familiarity with their home course. With two days remaining, Auburn will hope to fend off a UCLA team that had three golfers, Omar Morales (69), Pablo Ereno (70), and Baylor Larrabee (71) finish among the top 10 on the first round leaderboard. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
