Auburn emerges with top seed in match-play bracket; Oklahoma State's Stout claims NCAA's individual crown at La Costa

 

   Southeastern Conference power Auburn, the No. 1 team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, completed its march to the top seed in qualifying for match play Monday, holding off SEC rival Texas by three shots after 72 holes of stroke play at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Most of the drama came late in the day as four teams battled it out in a playoff for the right to tee it up against Auburn and Texas when the quarterfinals open Tuesday morning.

   Stanford, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten champion UCLA, North Carolina, another ACC entry, and Tennessee, another SEC entry, all landed on 2-under-par 1,150 after four rounds over the 7,548-yard, par-72 North Course layout in a tie for seventh place.

   The Cardinal, No. 15 in the Scoreboard rankings, got the final spot in the match-play bracket when Dean Greyserman, a senior from Boca Raton, Fla. and No. 93 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, made the only birdie of the playoff to send Stanford into match play for the first time since 2019.

   Greyserman lists Boca as his home town, but he’s a New Jersey guy and the reigning Metropolitan Golf Association Amateur champion, having claimed that prestigious title last summer at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y.

   Greyserman’s final round of 4-under 68 led the way for Stanford as it closed with a 4-under 284 to give the Cardinal a chance in the playoff.

   Greyserman’s strong finish also propelled him to a tie for sixth place in the individual standings with a 7-under 279 total.

   UCLA, No. 30 in the Scoreboard rankings, struggled a little in the final round with a 6-over 294, but still earned a spot in the playoff with its 2-under total and survived it.

   It was frustration for North Carolina, No. 14 in the Scoreboard rankings, which closed with a 4-over 292, and Tennessee, No. 18 in the Scoreboard rankings, which came on strong in the final round with a 4-under 284.

   It’s going to be a long offseason for two teams picking through 1,150 team shots over 72 holes and knowing a bad bounce here or a lipout there were all that separated them from a spot among the eight teams surviving the gauntlet to earn a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship.

   Stanford’s reward for surviving that playoff is a matchup against the top-ranked team in men’s college golf in Auburn. UCLA earned a quarterfinal matchup against Texas, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings.

   UCLA was led by Baylor Larabee, a sophomore from Ferndale, Wash. who matched par in the final round with a 72 to get a share of sixth place with Stanford’s Greyserman at 9-under.

   There was an NCAA champion crowned Monday as Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a junior from Richardson, Texas and No. 3 in the WAGR, made a birdie at the North Course’s finishing hole to claim the individual title by a shot over Alabama’s William Jennings, a sophomore from Greenville, S.C. and No. 26 in the WAGR, with a 14-under 274 total.

   Stout, who helped the Cowboys claim the team crown a year ago at La Costa and was one of the heroes for the United States in its victory over Great Britain & Ireland in a Walker Cup Match at the Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula last summer, became Oklahoma State’s 10^th NCAA individual champion.

   The birdie at the last enabled Stout to close with a solid 3-under 69.

   Stout led the way for Big 12 champion Oklahoma State, No. 5 in the Scoreboard rankings, as the Cowboys finished in a tie for fourth place in the team standings with SEC power Florida, No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings, each landing on 11-under 1,141.

   Oklahoma State, seeking its13th NCAA team crown, will open match play Tuesday morning in a fascinating quarterfinal against the powerful Gators.

   It was Auburn, however, that finished at the top of the heap following 72 holes of qualifying for match play.

   The Tigers, who claimed the program’s first NCAA crown in 2024 at La Costa, had taken control of the team chase with a 16-under 272 in Saturday’s second round.

   Auburn took a three-shot lead over Texas into Monday’s final round following a 2-under 286 in Sunday’s third round and maintained that advantage with a final round of 4-over 284.

   Auburn was led by Josiah Gilbert, a junior from Millbrook, Ala. and No. 12 in the WAGR who finished in third place in the individual standings, two shots behind Alabama’s Jennings with an 11-under 277 total.

   Gilbert, a native Australian, was a steady force all weekend for the Tigers, closing with a 2-under 70 Monday, his second straight 2-under 70. He had opened with a 70 before adding a sparkling 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round.

   Texas matched Auburn’s final round of 4-under 284 to end up three shots behind the Tigers in second place with a 23-under 1,129 total.

   Another SEC power, Vanderbilt, No. 11 in the WAGR, continued its solid postseason run as the Commodores closed with a solid 3-under 285 to nail down third place in the team standings with a 12-under 1,140 total that left them 11 shots behind Texas.

   Vanderbilt was led its fabulous freshman, Will Hartman of Marvin, N.C., as he matched par in the final round with a 72 to share fourth place in the individual standings with Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik, a senior from the Czech Republic and No. 6 in the WAGR, each landing on 10-under 278, a shot behind Auburn’s Gilbert.

   Jakubcik and the Wildcats await Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals as the Big 12 runnerup, No. 12 in the Scoreboard rankings, closed with a 5-over 293 to finish alone in sixth place, one skinny shot ahead of the foursome that would battle it out for the final two spots in the match-play bracket with a 3-under 1,149 total.

   Jakubcik was at or near the top of the leaderboard the whole weekend and matched par in the final round with a 72 to join Hartman in the tie for fourth place at 10-under.

   For a long time over the weekend, it didn’t look good for the Florida Gators, who had been a dominant winner of the Columbus Regional on a tough golf course in The Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, an Alister MacKenzie masterpiece.

   But Florida got itself in the picture with a 4-under 284 in Sunday’s third round that left it in a tie for 10^th place going into Monday’s final round.

   The Gators then closed with a spectacular 12-under 276, easily the best team round of the day, to join their quarterfinal opponent Oklahoma State in a tie for fourth place at 11-under.

   Backing up Gilbert for Auburn was Jackson Koivun, a junior from Chapel Hill, N.C. and the No. 1 player in the WAGR, as he closed with a 1-under 71 to give the Tigers a second top-10 finisher in the individual standings, ending up in the group tied for 10^th place with a 7-under 209 total.

   Auburn’s two freshmen, Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va., and Jake Albert of Blacksburg, Va., were steady all weekend.

   Reilly closed with a solid 2-under 70 to finish among the group tied for 19^th place with a 4-under 284 total. Albert struggled a little with a 2-over 74 in the final round to end up in the group tied for 32^nd place with an even-par 288 total.

   Rounding out the Auburn lineup was Cayden Pope, a junior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 47 in the WAGR who closed with a counting 1-over 73 that left him among the trio tied for 58^th place with a 5-over 292 total.

   Really nice effort by Alabama’s Jennings, who kept the heat on Stout the whole way while playing on the other side of the golf course in Monday’s final round.

   The Crimson Tide missed out on getting the whole team to La Costa by one frustrating shot in the Marana Regional, but Jennings certainly represented Alabama proudly as he closed with a 3-under 69 in the final round to earn runnerup honors with a 12-under 276 total.

   Brigham Young’s Kihei Akina, a freshman from Alpine, Utah, and Tennessee redshirt senior Lance Simpson, a home boy from Knoxville, Tenn. and No. 35 in the WAGR, finished in a tie for eighth place in the individual standings with an 8-under 208 total.

   Akina closed with a 2-under 70. Simpson, trying to drag the Volunteers into the match-play bracket, closed with a 3-under 69.

   As I finish up this post, the quarterfinal matches are getting under way.

   Just like last week’s women’s championship, quarterfinal/semifinal day at nationals is the most dramatic, unpredictable day in men’s college golf. When the sun sets on Carlsbad, only two teams will be left standing.

   Let the matches begin.