Michael La Sasso from Ole Miss entered the 4th round of stroke play two strokes ahead of Texas A&M’s Phichaksn Maichon. After a rollercoaster front nine with three birdies, two double bogeys and a bogey, La Sasso regained control of his lead on his back nine, carding a couple birdies to shoot even for the day. Maichon’s scorecard was less colorful, but he also rallied with two birdies on his back nine to shoot even.
La Sasso is the second Rebel to win the national title. We had a chance to chat with him after his win when the feelings were still sinking in. He said that his coach told him to enjoy the walk up the fairway on hole 9 after hitting his approach to about 12 feet; he two-putted for par and became a national champion.
We also caught up with Maichon after his round while he waited to see La Sasso finish. Ranking 10th on the PGA Tour University list, he has earned Korn Ferry Tour status through the end of the 2025 season and an exemption into Stage II of PGA Tour Q-School.
There was a time when Auburn’s Jackson Koivun was making a run for the lead, but he ended up in 4th, still three positions above where he started. His top-10 finish earned him the final points needed through PGA Tour University’s Accelerated program to earn him his PGA Tour card – as just a sophomore!
Drama for the 8th Team Spot
Now for the teams heading to the Quarterfinals. Auburn and Arizona State battled for the first seed all day, with Arizona State ultimately landing on top. Florida also made a run for a top seed position, shooting 8-under for the day just like Arizona State did. Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Texas were safely within the cut line, though their seeds shifted throughout the day.
The real drama came down to Virginia, Ole Miss and Florida State for the final two spots. Virginia’s team finished strong on their 18th hole – hole 9 – with Maxi Puregger, Bryan Lee and Ben James making par. Josh Duangmanee birdied the last hole with a nice 10-footer and Paul Chang swept in with another long birdie putt to give Virginia a chance of making it to match play.
Ole Miss and Florida State were still advancing at this point, but, with more holes left to play, their scores were getting dicier. Virginia ultimately moved up to the 7th seed and it came down to the last hole between Ole Miss’ La Sasso and Florida State’s Luke Clanton on whose team will advance to match play.
Clanton had to birdie the last hole and La Sasso had to par it for there to be a playoff for the 8th spot. Clanton hit it close, but his birdie putt just didn’t drop, reminding us of his heartbreaking chip lip-out in last year’s final match. La Sasso put his birdie putt in close and tapped in for par, not only securing the individual national title but also bringing his team into match play the following morning.
Quarterfinal Matches
Here are the Quarterfinal matches:
- Match 1: Auburn (#2) vs. Virginia (#7) off Hole 1 at 6:50am PT
- Match 2: Florida (#3) vs. Texas (#6) off Hole 10 at 6:50am PT
- Match 3: Oklahoma State (#4) vs. Oklahoma (#5) off Hole 1 at 7:40am PT
- Match 4: Arizona State (#1) vs. Ole Miss (#8) off Hole 10 at 7:40am PT
For the second year in a row Auburn and Virginia will be facing off again the Quarterfinals. Will Virginia knock out last year’s champions?
