Auburn holds onto top spot, three shots ahead of Texas, heading into final round of qualifying for match play in NCAA Championship

 

   Auburn, the No. 1 team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, will take a three-shot lead over its Southeastern Conference rival Texas into Monday’s final round of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   The Tigers backed off a little in Sunday’s third round with a 2-under-par 286 over the 7,458-yard, par-72 North Course layout that gave them a 22-under 842 total. They had surged to the top of the leaderboard on the strength of a 16-under 272 in Saturday’s third round, the best team round of the tournament.

   Auburn still had two players in the top 10 in the individual standings, led by Josiah Gilbert, a junior from Millbrook, Ala. and No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who was tied for fifth place with a 9-under 207 total.

   Gilbert, who had opened with a 2-under 70 and added a sparkling 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round, posted another 70 Sunday to get it to 9-under.

   Jackson Koivun, a junior from Chapel Hill, N.C. and the No. 1 player in the WAGR, matched par with a 72 Sunday and was among a group of four players tied for seventh place at 6-under 210.

   Gilbert and Koivun were in the Auburn lineup when the Tigers defeated Florida State in the Final Match at La Costa two springs ago and notched the first national championship in the history of the program.

   Auburn fell in the quarterfinals to eventual runnerup Virginia in defense of its title a year ago at La Costa.

   Texas, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings, recorded a solid 7-under 281 in Sunday’s third round to creep within three shots of Auburn with a 19-under 845 total.

   The Longhorns were led by their tall Texan, Tommy Morrison, a senior from Dallas and No. 18 in the WAGR who tallied a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s third round to join the group tied for seventh place at 6-under.

   Morrison has been steady all weekend at La Costa’s North Course, opening with a 3-under 69 and adding a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round.

   Another SEC power, Vanderbilt, No. 11 in the Scoreboard rankings, was another 10 shots behind Texas in third place with a 9-under 855 total after the Commodores carded a 2-over 291.

   Vanderbilt was led by Will Hartman, a freshman from Marvin, N.C. who posted a second straight 4-under 68 and is very much in contention for the NCAA’s individual title, which will be decided Monday, as he was among a trio of players tied for second place, a shot behind the leader, Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a junior from Richardson, Texas and No. 3 in the WAGR, with a 10-under 206 total.

   Stout and the defending national champion Cowboys, No. 5 in the Scoreboard rankings, were tied for fourth place in the team standings along with Big 12 rival Arizona, No. 12 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Big Ten champion UCLA, No. 30 in the Scoreboard rankings, each ending up a shot behind Vanderbilt with an 8-under 856 total.

   Oklahoma State, the Big 12 champion, had surged into position to earn one of the spots in the match-play bracket on the strength of a 14-under 274 in Saturday’s second round, recorded a 1-under 287 in Sunday’s third round.

   Stout had started slowly with a 1-over 73, but has been coming on strong as he added a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round before surging to the top of the individual standings with a sizzling 7-under 65 Sunday that gave him an 11-under 205 total.

   Arizona stayed in a strong position for a spot in the match-play bracket as the Wildcats signed for a 4-under 284 in Sunday’s third round to get it to 8-under for the tournament.

   Arizona was led by Filip Jakubcik, a senior from the Czech Republic and No. 6 in the WAGR who matched par with a 72 in Sunday’s third round to join Vanderbilt’s Hartman and Alabama’s William Jennings, a sophomore from Greenville, S.C. and No. 26 in the WAGR, in the tie for second place at 10-under.

   Jakubcik had taken a two-shot lead in the individual chase into Sunday’s third round after he had added a sparkling 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round to his opening-round 68.

   UCLA hung in there in the team chase as the Bruins registered a solid 1-under 287 to join Oklahoma State and Arizona in the tie for fourth place at 8-under.

   UCLA was led by Baylor Larabee, a sophomore from Ferndale, Wash. who tallied a solid 4-under 68 in Sunday’s third round to join Auburn’s Gilbert in the tie for fifth place at 9-under 207.

   North Carolina, an Atlantic Coast Conference power and No. 10 in the Scoreboard rankings, put together a solid 5-under 283 that left the Tar Heels alone in seventh place, two shots behind the trio tied for fourth, with a 6-under 858 total.

   Things start getting real interesting in the battle for the final couple of spots in match play, which gets under way Tuesday.

   Duke was five shots behind its ACC rival North Carolina in the final spot among the top eight, for now. The Blue Devils, No. 29 in the Scoreboard rankings, carded a 3-over 291 in Sunday’s third round that left them with a 1-under 863 total.

   The SEC’s Oklahoma, No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings, matched par with a 288 and was a shot behind Duke in ninth place with an even-par 864 total.

   Two-time reigning ACC champion Virginia, No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings, and SEC power Florida, No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings, were lurking another shot behind Oklahoma in a tie for 10^th place, each ending up with a 1-over 865 total.

   Virginia, which marched to the Final Match a year ago at La Costa, fell back a little with a 5-over 293 in Sunday’s third round.

   Florida, coming off an impressive victory in the Columbus Regional, was slow to get started at La Costa, but moved into the top 10 with a solid 4-under 284 in Sunday’s third round.

   The Golf Channel’s cameras will be rolling Monday for what promises to be a tense battle for those final spots in the match-play bracket as well as the race to crown the NCAA’s individual champion.

   Backing up Gilbert and Koivun for Auburn were its pair of talented freshmen, Jake Albert, from Blacksburg, Va., and Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va., as they were both in the group tied for 22^nd place at 2-under 214.

   Albert contributed a counting 1-over 72 to the Tigers’ third-round total while Reilly posred a 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the Auburn lineup was Cayden Pope, a junior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 47 in the WAGR who got it into red figures for the first time for the weekend with a counting 1-under 71 that left him in the group tied for 72^nd place with a 4-over 220 total.

   Alabama’s Jennings, one of the four co-medalists in the Marana Regional at the Gallery Golf Club along with Arizona’s Jakubcik, carded a second straight 2-under 70 to join Jakubcik and Vanderbilt’s Hartman in the tie for second place, a shot behind Oklahoma State’s Stout in the individual standings at 10-under.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for seventh place at 6-under were Brigham Young’s Kihei Akina, a freshman from Alpine, Utah and No. 22 in the WAGR, and San Diego graduate student Ian Maspat, a home boy from San Diego, Calif.

   Akina has been steady all weekend and carded a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s third round.

   Maspat had grabbed a share of the individual lead with an opening round of 6-under 66, but struggled a little with a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round before moving back into the top 10 in the individual standings with a solid 2-under 70 in Sunday’s third round.

   Liberty sophomore Michael Lugiano, who capped his scholastic career at Lake Lehman by finishing in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship in 2023, carded a 1-over 73 and was among the group tied for 47^th place with an even-par 216.

   Coming off his individual victory in the Corvallis Regional that earned him a trip to La Costa to tee it up as an individual at La Costa, Lugiano has been really solid while competing against the best college players in the country.