Golf News: 5-14-2026
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Auburn Golf News: 5-14-2026
No. 1 Auburn men's golf ready for challenge that Athens Regional presents:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-mens-golf-athens-ncaa-regional-jackson-koivun-285196271/
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND: No. 7 Women’s golf wins NCAA Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship:
Auburn women's golf wins Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-womens-golf-simpsonville-regional-ncaa-championship-285161359/
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No. 1 Auburn men's golf ready for challenge that Athens Regional presents
By Christian Clemente
Auburn men's golf has put together an impressive season and spring that has the Tigers ranked as the No. 1 team in the country as NCAA postseason play begins, but everything resets now and it's survive and advance time now. Auburn will tee it up at University of Georgia Golf Course on Monday, May 18, beginning three days of stroke play for the Athens Regional where the top five teams advance to the NCAA Championship in California. The eight teams outside of the top five head home, with their season over.
Of course as the No. 1 ranked team in the country and the 1-seed in the Athens Regional, the Tigers are the favorites to not just make it through to the NCAA Championship, but to win the regional for the fourth-straight season.
But head coach Nick Clinard and his team head into unfamiliar territory and are preparing for the challenge.
"Being the No. 1 overall seed is a privilege," Clinard said. "Getting to stay close to home, well closest to home, in Athens. I have not been to the golf course, I've only been to Athens once for an Auburn football game years and years ago. We're looking forward to getting there and learning the golf course and having the opportunity to compete. It'll be a great challenge for us. Anytime you get to go play a home golf course in the toughest league in the country in the SEC."
Auburn has been preparing for the course since learning its draw from research, but will only get one opportunity to go out and fully learn the course during Sunday morning's practice round prior to the event starting next Monday.
"We've talked to some guys that have played the Korn Ferry event there when they used to have it," Clinard said. "We've talked to some other coaches in the league that have played there and been there. I think great players adapt pretty quick. It'll be a tough task for us to learn the golf course in a five-hour span, but the guys will get a good feel for it and how the ball's reacting and then their lines off the tee.
"We do a little bit of pregame, too. We have the course already mapped out in terms of where to hit it off the tee, the lines and how far the bunkers are. We've already got that kind of mapped out on a PDF so that helps us when we get there visually to be able to see things."
It will be the same lineup that Auburn has used for most of the spring, with juniors Jackson Koivun, Cayden Pope and Josiah Gilbert joined by freshmen Jake Albert and Logan Reilly. Sophomore Billy Davis will continue to serve as the substitute and available to be plugged into the lineup prior to the start of a round.
While Albert and Reilly are freshmen, they haven't shown that and have come up in big-time moments, including putting up Auburn's only two points in the 3-2 match play loss against Ole Miss in the SEC Championship semifinals. Albert was named SEC Freshman of the Year, and both made the SEC All-Freshman team.
With a postseason tournament now under their belt after playing in the SEC Championship, yes the NCAA Regional is a new experience, but it's something the two are even more prepared for.
"I asked them after SEC's, 'What did you guys think?'" Clinard said. "Their first response was, 'That was so much fun.' They look at it maybe a little bit differently than we do as coaches. They look at it as an opportunity to compete. They're fearless though, they don't care. I think that's what makes them special and makes them good.
"They just look forward to getting there and teeing it up and competing and playing hard for their teammates. They want to represent Auburn at the highest level. They want to represent their teammates, too. I'm not really worried about those guys, I think they're fearless and they're ready for the moment. They've played big-time junior golf in U.S. Juniors and U.S. Amateurs, they've played in all that stuff. It's just another golf tournament for them. But they're looking to go there to win, I can promise you that."
The junior trio has been spearheaded by the superstar in Koivun, who was recently named the SEC Player of the Year and is the favorite to win the national awards for college golf's top player. But Gilbert joined him on the first team All-SEC and Pope was named second team All-SEC for his first time making an All-SEC team.
That trio has been steady and solid, especially down the stretch of the season, which Clinard has leaned on to get Auburn to this spot.
"What a class, huh?" Clinard said. "Jackson, Josiah and Cayden, one of the better recruiting classes we've probably ever had at Auburn and in the nation, too. They've really proved themselves and played really well for us this spring, there's no doubt. Anytime you have first and second team All-SEC guys, and Josiah and Cayden are Palmer Cup representatives for the United States, too. They're two guys that are very, very confident and they honestly want the limelight on themselves, too.
"Obviously Jackson steals a lot of that limelight and they understand that and understand why, but they're like, 'Hey, don't forget about me too.' They're playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, which I love it. I love to see that because they're trying to beat each other. As much as they're pulling for each other, trust me they don't want to lose to each other, either."
Auburn will begin Monday's round of competition playing alongside No. 12 Illinois and No. 13 Vanderbilt with the first tee time set for 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. Spectators are welcome as attendance is free all three days of the regional at University of Georgia Golf Course.
In order, the complete regional field in Athens this year includes No. 1 Auburn, No. 12 Illinois, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 24 BYU, RV Georgia (host), Louisville, Kansas, Northwestern, College of Charleston, Rice, Southern Miss, Harvard and Howard.
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CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND: No. 7 Women’s golf wins NCAA Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship
By Riley Hubbard
Auburn women’s golf solidified its spot in the 2026 NCAA Championship on Wednesday as the No. 7 Tigers won the NCAA Simpsonville Regional at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky. Auburn finished 17-under (847) to win the regional by six strokes, and Anna Davis claimed medalist honors, firing a 10-under 206.
“We handled the tough conditions really well, had a huge moving day and played with a lot of confidence,” Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said after the victory. “Winning the regional and seeing Anna (Davis) take the individual title makes it even more special. We’re excited to regroup this week, keep building momentum and get ready for the national championship.”
https://twitter.com/AuburnWGolf/status/2054630963477352862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2054630963477352862%7Ctwgr%5Ecfeb91ece5360260cc07fa107fcfbeb15c12a25c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fauburntigers.com%2Fnews%2F2026%2F05%2F13%2Fchampionship-bound-no-7-womens-golf-wins-ncaa-simpsonville-regional-advances-to-ncaa-championship
By finishing in the top five, Auburn will make its 22nd NCAA Championship appearance in program history at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, to compete for the national title May 22-27. The win also sets a program record for most tournament victories in a season, with six during the 2025-26 campaign.
Davis also made Auburn history Wednesday, becoming the program’s all-time leader in tournament wins with six in her career. She has also won three events this season and has captured two NCAA regional titles in her career after winning the NCAA Auburn Regional in 2024.
Davis followed a season-low 65 (-7) in round two with a final-round 1-under 71 to win the regional by one stroke over Indiana’s Sheridan Clancy. The Auburn junior carded 15 birdies over three rounds and posted the best par-4 scoring mark in the field at 7-under.
The Tigers shot even par in Wednesday’s final round as a team. Auburn recorded the most birdies in the field with 57 over all three rounds and played the par-5s at the University of Louisville Golf Club at 16-under for the tournament.
Molly Brown Davidson secured her third top-10 finish of the season, tying for sixth at 6-under (210). She carded her third round under par of the tournament in the final round with a 1-under 71.
Auburn redshirt senior Carys Worby fired a 2-under 70 in her final round, featuring four birdies on the front nine, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. Worby finished tied for 13th at 2-under (214).
Freshman Charlotte Cantonis provided the final counting score Wednesday, carding a 4-over 76. Cantonis finished the event tied for 30th at 1-over (217).
Auburn will be one of 30 teams competing for the national title at the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 22-27. The Tigers have now qualified for the NCAA Championship in six of the last eight seasons the event has been held.
Auburn individuals:
Placement Player Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Final Rd Score Total
1 Anna Davis 70 (-2) 65 (-7) 71 (-1) 206 (-10)
T6 Molly Brown Davidson 70 (-2) 69 (-3) 71 (-1) 210 (-6)
T13 Carys Worby 75 (+3) 69 (-3) 70 (-2) 214 (-2)
T30 Charlotte Cantonis 71 (-1) 70 (-2) 76 (+4) 217 (+1)
T50 Katie Cranston 75 (+3) 74 (+2) 77 (+5) 226 (+10)
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Auburn women's golf wins Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship
By Christian Clemente
Auburn women's golf is headed to the NCAA Championship.
Simply needing to finish inside the top five at the Simpsonville Regional for the first portion of NCAA postseason play, the Tigers did much more then that by winning the event and running away from the rest of the field with a finishing score of 17-under. Houston finished at 11-under in second place, with Ole Miss, Arkansas and Iowa State the other teams that advance to the NCAA Championship.
It was All-SEC standout Anna Davis who led the way for Auburn, shooting -10 for the tournament and winning the individual title, edging out Indiana's Sheridan Clancy who shot -9. Davis shot -2 (70) on the first day of the tournament, before firing off an impressive -7 (65) on Day 2 that only had one bogey on the scorecard on hole No. 9, which was her 18th hole of the day after starting on the back nine. Headed into the final day tied for the lead Davis shot -1 (71) with two birdies and a bogey on her day.
Davis joins Anna Heck (Stanford), Jenny Bae (Georgia), Patty Tavatanakit (UCLA), Jennifer Kupcho (Wake Forest), Stephanie Meadow (Alabama) and Maria Jose Uribe (UCLA) as women's golfers in the last 20 years to win an NCAA Regional twice, per College Golf Data.
Near the top of the leaderboard with Davis was Molly Brown Davidson, who shot steady rounds of -1 (71), -3 (69) and -1 (71) to finish -6 overall and tied for fifth on the individual leaderboard for the regional.
Carys Worby also finished in the red for the tournament with a score of -2. Charlotte Cantonis was +1, while Katie Cranston was +10.
The top five teams from each of the six regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, to compete for the national title May 22-27. The 30 teams that advance to California will compete in four days of stroke play, with the top eight teams from that advancing to the match play bracket portion to determine the national champion.
Simpsonville Regional Standings:
1: Auburn (-17)
2: Houston (-11)
3: Arkansas (-10)
T4: Iowa State (-9)
T4: Ole Miss (-9)
---
6: Virginia Tech (-4)
7: Kansas State (E)
8: Indiana (+3)
9: Xavier (+10)
10: Charleston (+12)
11: Western Kentucky (+40)
12: Murray State (+56)
No. 1 Auburn men's golf ready for challenge that Athens Regional presents:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-mens-golf-athens-ncaa-regional-jackson-koivun-285196271/
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND: No. 7 Women’s golf wins NCAA Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship:
Auburn women's golf wins Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship:
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/article/auburn-tigers-womens-golf-simpsonville-regional-ncaa-championship-285161359/
************************
No. 1 Auburn men's golf ready for challenge that Athens Regional presents
By Christian Clemente
Auburn men's golf has put together an impressive season and spring that has the Tigers ranked as the No. 1 team in the country as NCAA postseason play begins, but everything resets now and it's survive and advance time now. Auburn will tee it up at University of Georgia Golf Course on Monday, May 18, beginning three days of stroke play for the Athens Regional where the top five teams advance to the NCAA Championship in California. The eight teams outside of the top five head home, with their season over.
Of course as the No. 1 ranked team in the country and the 1-seed in the Athens Regional, the Tigers are the favorites to not just make it through to the NCAA Championship, but to win the regional for the fourth-straight season.
But head coach Nick Clinard and his team head into unfamiliar territory and are preparing for the challenge.
"Being the No. 1 overall seed is a privilege," Clinard said. "Getting to stay close to home, well closest to home, in Athens. I have not been to the golf course, I've only been to Athens once for an Auburn football game years and years ago. We're looking forward to getting there and learning the golf course and having the opportunity to compete. It'll be a great challenge for us. Anytime you get to go play a home golf course in the toughest league in the country in the SEC."
Auburn has been preparing for the course since learning its draw from research, but will only get one opportunity to go out and fully learn the course during Sunday morning's practice round prior to the event starting next Monday.
"We've talked to some guys that have played the Korn Ferry event there when they used to have it," Clinard said. "We've talked to some other coaches in the league that have played there and been there. I think great players adapt pretty quick. It'll be a tough task for us to learn the golf course in a five-hour span, but the guys will get a good feel for it and how the ball's reacting and then their lines off the tee.
"We do a little bit of pregame, too. We have the course already mapped out in terms of where to hit it off the tee, the lines and how far the bunkers are. We've already got that kind of mapped out on a PDF so that helps us when we get there visually to be able to see things."
It will be the same lineup that Auburn has used for most of the spring, with juniors Jackson Koivun, Cayden Pope and Josiah Gilbert joined by freshmen Jake Albert and Logan Reilly. Sophomore Billy Davis will continue to serve as the substitute and available to be plugged into the lineup prior to the start of a round.
While Albert and Reilly are freshmen, they haven't shown that and have come up in big-time moments, including putting up Auburn's only two points in the 3-2 match play loss against Ole Miss in the SEC Championship semifinals. Albert was named SEC Freshman of the Year, and both made the SEC All-Freshman team.
With a postseason tournament now under their belt after playing in the SEC Championship, yes the NCAA Regional is a new experience, but it's something the two are even more prepared for.
"I asked them after SEC's, 'What did you guys think?'" Clinard said. "Their first response was, 'That was so much fun.' They look at it maybe a little bit differently than we do as coaches. They look at it as an opportunity to compete. They're fearless though, they don't care. I think that's what makes them special and makes them good.
"They just look forward to getting there and teeing it up and competing and playing hard for their teammates. They want to represent Auburn at the highest level. They want to represent their teammates, too. I'm not really worried about those guys, I think they're fearless and they're ready for the moment. They've played big-time junior golf in U.S. Juniors and U.S. Amateurs, they've played in all that stuff. It's just another golf tournament for them. But they're looking to go there to win, I can promise you that."
The junior trio has been spearheaded by the superstar in Koivun, who was recently named the SEC Player of the Year and is the favorite to win the national awards for college golf's top player. But Gilbert joined him on the first team All-SEC and Pope was named second team All-SEC for his first time making an All-SEC team.
That trio has been steady and solid, especially down the stretch of the season, which Clinard has leaned on to get Auburn to this spot.
"What a class, huh?" Clinard said. "Jackson, Josiah and Cayden, one of the better recruiting classes we've probably ever had at Auburn and in the nation, too. They've really proved themselves and played really well for us this spring, there's no doubt. Anytime you have first and second team All-SEC guys, and Josiah and Cayden are Palmer Cup representatives for the United States, too. They're two guys that are very, very confident and they honestly want the limelight on themselves, too.
"Obviously Jackson steals a lot of that limelight and they understand that and understand why, but they're like, 'Hey, don't forget about me too.' They're playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, which I love it. I love to see that because they're trying to beat each other. As much as they're pulling for each other, trust me they don't want to lose to each other, either."
Auburn will begin Monday's round of competition playing alongside No. 12 Illinois and No. 13 Vanderbilt with the first tee time set for 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. Spectators are welcome as attendance is free all three days of the regional at University of Georgia Golf Course.
In order, the complete regional field in Athens this year includes No. 1 Auburn, No. 12 Illinois, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 24 BYU, RV Georgia (host), Louisville, Kansas, Northwestern, College of Charleston, Rice, Southern Miss, Harvard and Howard.
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CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND: No. 7 Women’s golf wins NCAA Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship
By Riley Hubbard
Auburn women’s golf solidified its spot in the 2026 NCAA Championship on Wednesday as the No. 7 Tigers won the NCAA Simpsonville Regional at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky. Auburn finished 17-under (847) to win the regional by six strokes, and Anna Davis claimed medalist honors, firing a 10-under 206.
“We handled the tough conditions really well, had a huge moving day and played with a lot of confidence,” Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said after the victory. “Winning the regional and seeing Anna (Davis) take the individual title makes it even more special. We’re excited to regroup this week, keep building momentum and get ready for the national championship.”
https://twitter.com/AuburnWGolf/status/2054630963477352862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2054630963477352862%7Ctwgr%5Ecfeb91ece5360260cc07fa107fcfbeb15c12a25c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fauburntigers.com%2Fnews%2F2026%2F05%2F13%2Fchampionship-bound-no-7-womens-golf-wins-ncaa-simpsonville-regional-advances-to-ncaa-championship
By finishing in the top five, Auburn will make its 22nd NCAA Championship appearance in program history at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, to compete for the national title May 22-27. The win also sets a program record for most tournament victories in a season, with six during the 2025-26 campaign.
Davis also made Auburn history Wednesday, becoming the program’s all-time leader in tournament wins with six in her career. She has also won three events this season and has captured two NCAA regional titles in her career after winning the NCAA Auburn Regional in 2024.
Davis followed a season-low 65 (-7) in round two with a final-round 1-under 71 to win the regional by one stroke over Indiana’s Sheridan Clancy. The Auburn junior carded 15 birdies over three rounds and posted the best par-4 scoring mark in the field at 7-under.
The Tigers shot even par in Wednesday’s final round as a team. Auburn recorded the most birdies in the field with 57 over all three rounds and played the par-5s at the University of Louisville Golf Club at 16-under for the tournament.
Molly Brown Davidson secured her third top-10 finish of the season, tying for sixth at 6-under (210). She carded her third round under par of the tournament in the final round with a 1-under 71.
Auburn redshirt senior Carys Worby fired a 2-under 70 in her final round, featuring four birdies on the front nine, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. Worby finished tied for 13th at 2-under (214).
Freshman Charlotte Cantonis provided the final counting score Wednesday, carding a 4-over 76. Cantonis finished the event tied for 30th at 1-over (217).
Auburn will be one of 30 teams competing for the national title at the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 22-27. The Tigers have now qualified for the NCAA Championship in six of the last eight seasons the event has been held.
Auburn individuals:
Placement Player Rd 1 Score Rd 2 Score Final Rd Score Total
1 Anna Davis 70 (-2) 65 (-7) 71 (-1) 206 (-10)
T6 Molly Brown Davidson 70 (-2) 69 (-3) 71 (-1) 210 (-6)
T13 Carys Worby 75 (+3) 69 (-3) 70 (-2) 214 (-2)
T30 Charlotte Cantonis 71 (-1) 70 (-2) 76 (+4) 217 (+1)
T50 Katie Cranston 75 (+3) 74 (+2) 77 (+5) 226 (+10)
*************************
Auburn women's golf wins Simpsonville Regional, advances to NCAA Championship
By Christian Clemente
Auburn women's golf is headed to the NCAA Championship.
Simply needing to finish inside the top five at the Simpsonville Regional for the first portion of NCAA postseason play, the Tigers did much more then that by winning the event and running away from the rest of the field with a finishing score of 17-under. Houston finished at 11-under in second place, with Ole Miss, Arkansas and Iowa State the other teams that advance to the NCAA Championship.
It was All-SEC standout Anna Davis who led the way for Auburn, shooting -10 for the tournament and winning the individual title, edging out Indiana's Sheridan Clancy who shot -9. Davis shot -2 (70) on the first day of the tournament, before firing off an impressive -7 (65) on Day 2 that only had one bogey on the scorecard on hole No. 9, which was her 18th hole of the day after starting on the back nine. Headed into the final day tied for the lead Davis shot -1 (71) with two birdies and a bogey on her day.
Davis joins Anna Heck (Stanford), Jenny Bae (Georgia), Patty Tavatanakit (UCLA), Jennifer Kupcho (Wake Forest), Stephanie Meadow (Alabama) and Maria Jose Uribe (UCLA) as women's golfers in the last 20 years to win an NCAA Regional twice, per College Golf Data.
Near the top of the leaderboard with Davis was Molly Brown Davidson, who shot steady rounds of -1 (71), -3 (69) and -1 (71) to finish -6 overall and tied for fifth on the individual leaderboard for the regional.
Carys Worby also finished in the red for the tournament with a score of -2. Charlotte Cantonis was +1, while Katie Cranston was +10.
The top five teams from each of the six regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, to compete for the national title May 22-27. The 30 teams that advance to California will compete in four days of stroke play, with the top eight teams from that advancing to the match play bracket portion to determine the national champion.
Simpsonville Regional Standings:
1: Auburn (-17)
2: Houston (-11)
3: Arkansas (-10)
T4: Iowa State (-9)
T4: Ole Miss (-9)
---
6: Virginia Tech (-4)
7: Kansas State (E)
8: Indiana (+3)
9: Xavier (+10)
10: Charleston (+12)
11: Western Kentucky (+40)
12: Murray State (+56)
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