Well, Omni La Costa will never be accused of being boring. Its fourth NCAA Golf Championship in two years, we’ve seen domination, underdog victories, upsets and redemptions. There’s suspense at every turn.
This morning, we saw the following matchups:
- 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
Match 1 Recap: Virginia (#7) defeats Auburn (#2), 3-2
The same matchup last year at the Quarterfinals, Virginia had something to prove. They quickly went up in all their matches against Auburn. While Auburn’s Jackson Koivun battled back against Josh Duangmanee and went up on hole 6 and stayed there, the rest of Auburn wasn’t as resilient this time around. Virginia’s Maxi Puregger played the majority of the match ahead of Cayden Pope, but Pope tied the match on hole 17 and won it on the last hole. However, those are the only two points Auburn put on the board.
Virginia’s Ben James went against Carson Bacha, winning 2&1. The domination we were talking about? That’s reserved for Virginia’s Paul Chang and Bryan Lee, who won 5&3 and 4&3, respectively.
Chang’s comment as he walked off the 15th green was that he was glad he didn’t have to walk the last three holes (check out our interview with him on our Instagram to get in on the joke).
Virginia will continue their redemption tour against Florida this afternoon, who defeated them in match play two years ago.
Match 2 Recap: Florida (#3) defeats Texas (#6), 3-2
The Florida-Texas match was fairly even, with the last point coming down to the last match between Florida’s Ian Gilligan and Texas’ Christiaan Maas, the former the #4 player on the PGA Tour University rankings and the latter a 2025 Haskins Award Finalist. All that to say, these guys are good, and it was a close match that was tied almost half the round. Gilligan pulled away on the 17th hole – hole 8 – and won 1-up on the last hole to bring Florida to the Semifinals.
Other matches to note are Texas’ Luke Potter’s 4&3 win against Jack Turner and Florida’s Matthew Kress’ 3&1 win against Jack Gilbert.
Match 3 Recap: Oklahoma State (#4) defeats Oklahoma (#5), 3.5-1.5
Similar to Virginia’s match, Oklahoma State was ahead early on and maintained their lead throughout the round. Oklahoma State’s Ethan Fang won 3&2 and Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson won 2-up.
Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan ran away with his match. Gaven Lane fought back valiantly the last few holes but ultimately succumbed on the 16th hole, 3&2.
The match ended with Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout defeating Jase Summy on the 17th hole, 2&1, causing the last match – Oklahoma State’s Eric Lee and Oklahoma’s Clark Van Gaalen – to end in a tie.
Match 4 Recap: Ole Miss (#8) defeats Arizona State (#1), 3-2
The future looked bright for Arizona State. The #1 seed, the Sun Devils have been playing well all week, and their matches started off no differently. Notably, Ole Miss’ Michael La Sasso – this year’s individual champion – was the only Rebel to take an early lead.
However, the Rebels came alive on their back nine (holes 1-9 on the course). La Sasso’s match ended early, 6&5, and Kye Meeks turned his match around to defeat Arizona State’s star Josele Ballester, 2&1.
The Sun Devils’ Pongsapak Laopakdee and Connor Williams handily won their matches, 4&3 and 3&2, respectively.
For the second time this morning, it came down to the final match on the final hole. Both Ole Miss’ Tom Fischer and Arizona State’s Michael Mjaaseth, still tied at this point, hit close shots onto the 9th green for a chance at birdie. After both made the putts to loud applause from the teams, they headed to hole 7 for the first playoff hole.
Fischer hit the green in regulation to about 15 feet or so, but Mjaaseth found himself in a fairway bunker, where he had to lay up short of the green. To everyone’s awe, Mjaaseth proceeds to chip in for birdie, about 30 yards from the hole. The pressure was on Fischer to keep the Rebels in the mix, and he answered accordingly by sinking his birdie putt.
The 8th hole went by uneventfully with two pars, and the pair was back on hole 9 for another finale. Fischer once again hit the green in regulation and left himself another 15-foot putt. Mjaaseth hit his approach short left and had a tricky chip. While he pulled off the chip spectacularly, he missed his par putt. With Fischer’s par on the hole, the Rebels knocked out the #1 seed and are onto the Semifinals.
La Sasso’s dream of a clean sweep at Nationals is still alive.
Semifinals Pairings and Tee Times
Match 5: Florida (#3) vs. Virginia (#7)
- 1:15pm PT off Hole 1: Matthew Kress (Florida) vs. Maxi Puregger (Virginia)
- 1:25pm PT off Hole 1: Jack Turner (Florida) vs. Josh Duangmanee (Virginia)
- 1:35pm PT off Hole 1: Luke Poulter (Florida) vs. Ben James (Virginia)
- 1:45pm PT off Hole 1: Zack Swanwick (Florida) vs. Paul Chang (Virginia)
- 1:55pm PT off Hole 1: Ian Gilligan (Florida) vs. Bryan Lee (Virginia)
Match 6: Oklahoma State (#4) vs. Ole Miss (#8)
- 2:15pm PT off Hole 1: Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson (Oklahoma State) vs. Cameron Tankersley (Ole Miss)
- 2:25pm PT off Hole 1: Ethan Fang (Oklahoma State) vs. Tom Fischer (Ole Miss)
- 2:35pm PT off Hole 1: Preston Stout (Oklahoma State) vs. Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss)
- 2:45pm PT off Hole 1: Gaven Lane (Oklahoma State) vs. Kye Meeks (Ole Miss)
- 2:55pm PT off Hole 1: Eric Lee (Oklahoma State) vs. Cohen Trolio (Ole Miss)
