The leaderboard seemed set by the middle of the third day of the 2026 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championships.
Leaders had extended leads, and while the middle seemed uncertain, once Florida made their move, the top 15 teams seemed clear. Pepperdine would squeeze by and join the other teams on their hunt for match play.
However, on the 10th tee in the afternoon, the LSU Tigers were also prowling. Tied for 27th (out of 30), LSU didn’t seem like a threat. In the last grouping before the individuals played, LSU stood at 20-over (for reference, Auburn was 20-under) and had to conquer the high winds and fast greens that accompanied the late afternoon tee times.
Three of the LSU Tigers opened with birdies on their first holes, and then it steamrolled from there. They shot 9-under as a team on their front nine, which moved them into middle territory but still not into the top 15. Then, they just kept making birdies. They were at the cutline, just inside it and then in T12 by the end of the round, effectively pushing out Pepperdine. They shot 18-under as a team, a record for LSU.
Freshman Dan Hayes of England shot 8-under, which is currently rumored as the men’s course record (Florida’s Siuue Wu also shot this score during the second round of the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Golf Championship last week). Either way, Hayes said he “blacked out” but knew his team was making just as many birdies as he was.
Fairway to Green’s Kelly Okun spoke with the superstar after his round:
Before all the excitement in the afternoon, we saw the individual leaderboard finalize for tomorrow: Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout is in solo first at 11-under, with three players tied for second 1 stroke back.
Filip Jakubcik of Arizona is happy he’s one back – he enjoys the chase and would rather be aggressive than defensive in the final stroke play round.
William Jennings is an individual qualifier from Alabama. He won his Regionals event to get to Omni La Costa, While he believes his team should be here, too, he’s looking forward to taking his round shot by shot and continuing his momentum.
Vanderbilt’s Will Hartman isn’t even thinking about the individual win. His team is currently in third, with only 7 strokes separating them from the 8th spot. His focus is on getting his team into match play.
Other notable results from today include Mississippi State’s valiant attempt to mimic LSU and move into the cutline. With a 9-under team total today, they were just two slots shy of making the cut.
Individually, we have two players in an 8:00am PT playoff tomorrow for the final individual spot in Round 4. Arizona State’s Connor Williams and Arkansas’ Gerardo Gomez will tee off the par-3 16th to determine who will have a chance to become the 2026 National Champion.
Texas, who has been just behind Auburn all week, shot 7-under as a team, with Christiaan Maas, Tommy Morrison and Luke Potter leading the way. The fans loved the Longhorns today, and it’s safe to say these players have given away most of their gloves and golf balls at this point.
2026 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship Team Leaderboard
1. Auburn (-22)
2. Texas (-19)
3. Vanderbilt (-9)
T4. UCLA (-8)
T4. Arizona (-8)
T4. Oklahoma State (-8)
7. North Carolina (-6)
8. Duke (-1)
9. Oklahoma (E)
T10. Virginia (+1)
T10. Florida (+1)
T12. LSU (+2)
T12. San Diego (+2)
T12. Tennessee (+2)
T12. Stanford (+2)
—————————— (cutline)
16. Pepperdine (+4)
17. Mississippi State (+7)
18. Brigham Young (+9)
19. Arkansas (+10)
20. Georgia (+12)
21. Arizona State (+13)
22. Arkansas State (+15)
23. Purdue (+16)
24. Louisville (+17)
25. Texas A&M (+18)
T26. Ole Miss (+20)
T26. Chattanooga (+20)
28. Memphis (+23)
29. Southern California (+26)
30. Florida State (+36)
2026 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship Individual Leaderboard
1. Preston Stout – Oklahoma State (-11)
T2. Filip Jakubcik – Arizona (-10)
T2. William Jennings (IND.) – Alabama (-10)
T2. Will Hartman – Vanderbilt (-10)
T5. Josiah Gilberg – Auburn (-9)
T5. Baylor Larrabbee – UCLA (-9)
Individuals Advancing to Round 4
The individuals advancing to Round 4 without their teams are listed below and will be updated post-playoff:
T2. William Jennings (IND.) – Alabama (-10)
T7. Kihei Akina – Brigham Young (-6)
T15. Thomas Schmidt – Arkansas State (-4)
T15. Cameron Tankersley – Ole Miss (-4)
T15. Willy Walsh – Pepperdine (-4)
T18. Mahanth Chirravuri – Pepperdine (-3)
T18. Jack Whaley – Florida State (-3)
T18. Sam Easterbrook – Purdue (-3)
Playoff at 2-under (-2) for one spot:
T22. Connor Williams – Arizona State
T22. Gerardo Gomez – Arkansas State
Round 4 Tee Times at the 2026 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship
The top 15 teams and 9 individuals will tee off starting at 10:30am PT in the fourth round of the 2026 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship.
Off Hole #1:
10:30am – 11:14am: San Diego, Tennessee, Stanford
11:25am – 12:09pm: UCLA, Arizona, Oklahoma State
12:20pm – 1:04pm: Auburn, Texas, Vanderbilt
Off Hole #10:
10:41am – 11:25am: Florida, Virginia, LSU
11:36am – 12:20pm: North Carolina, Duke, Oklahoma
12:31pm: Individuals (Jack Whaley [Florida State], Mahanth Chirravuri [Pepperdine], PLAYOFF WINNER)
12:42pm: Individuals (Cameron Tankersley [Ole Miss], Thomas Schmidt [Arkansas State], Sam Easterbrook [Purdue])
12:53pm: Individuals (William Jennings [IND., Alabama], Kihei Akina [Brigham Young], Willy Walsh [Pepperdine])
