Golf News: 6-10-2026
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Dudley Dent
8:25 AM (3 hours ago) 8:25 AM
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Auburn Golf News: 6-10-2026
Auburn AD calls out the GCAA after golf coach Nick Clinard’s coach of the year snub:
https://www.al.com/auburn/2026/06/auburn-ad-calls-out-the-gcaa-after-golf-coach-nick-clinards-coach-of-the-year-snub.html
Spain Park, Auburn golfers survive the longest day to reach the U.S. Open:
https://www.al.com/sports/2026/06/spain-park-auburn-golfers-survive-the-longest-day-to-reach-the-us-open.html
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Auburn AD calls out the GCAA after golf coach Nick Clinard’s coach of the year snub
By Jerry Humphrey III
al.com
After Auburn’s men’s golf team won its second national championship in three years, it seemed clear that head coach Nick Clinard was the favorite to win the Golf Coaches Association of America national coach of the year award.
However, the award was given to Virgina’s Dave Williams, as the GCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
Auburn fans were not pleased with the decision and voiced their opinions on social media. The noise even garnered the attention of athletics director John Cohen who released a statement on behalf of the university.
https://x.com/JohnCohenAD/status/2064463841316966509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2064463841316966509%7Ctwgr%5Ea96fdb56789ceba9b55d52fe7eb1bab790cc1b9a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.al.com%2Fauburn%2F2026%2F06%2Fauburn-ad-calls-out-the-gcaa-after-golf-coach-nick-clinards-coach-of-the-year-snub.html
“Under Coach Clinard’s leadership, Auburn won its 2nd national championship in three years with two freshmen and no seniors in its lineup,” Cohen said in a statement. “With five tournament wins, including a record-setting four-round showing in SEC Championship stroke play, a record of 187-23-1 and becoming only the 2nd men’s team ever to win both stroke play and match play in the same season at the NCAA Championship - Auburn’s Nick Clinard is most deserving to be recognized as D-l’s national coach of the year. Any other result is simply unacceptable by any measure.”
Auburn’s men’s golf team social media also spoke on Clinard’s behalf on the team’s X account, saying that the GCAA made the wrong decision.
“Sometimes they just get it wrong. While we are deeply disappointed in the GCAA’s decision for National Coach of the Year, we will always be proud of what we accomplished this season and know that none of that would be possible without the leadership of Nick Clinard.”
The Tigers took down UCLA at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California, last week to win the national championship. Auburn dominated the field winning 4-1.
On the Brightside, Auburn’s Jackson Koivun was awarded the Ben Hogan and Fred Haskins Award and finished his dominant season ranked as the No. 1 ranked amateur golfer in the world.
*****************************
Spain Park, Auburn golfers survive the longest day to reach the U.S. Open
By Mark Inabinett
al.com
Last year, Chase Kyes won the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A boys’ golf championship. This year, Kyes will play in the U.S. Open.
The former Spain Park High School standout was among the survivors of “golf’s longest day” who earned spots in next week’s major-championship tournament.
Kyes wasn’t the only former Alabama high school champion or college freshman with Alabama golf roots to make it through Monday to reach the U.S. Open field. Davis Thompson from Lee-Scott Academy and Logan Reilly from Auburn University also will tee off on June 18 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
On Monday, 713 golfers played in 36-hole tournaments at 10 sites in the last chance to advance to the field for the 126th U.S. Open. Forty-three made it through.
At Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Georgia, Kyes birded his 36th hole to tie for fourth and earn one of the five spots available at the tournament after rounds of 67 and 66.
“There’s not much pressure because no really expects a freshman to get through,” said Kyes, who just completed his first season at Tennessee. “No one really expects much, so you either make it or you miss, so you kind of can swing free. It’s kind of nice.”
Because of a weather delay, the light was fading when Kyes rolled in his final putt on Monday, but he said in a Golf Channel interview the conditions weren’t a problem for him.
“Honestly, like growing up with me and my friends back home, I played so much golf in the dark,” Kyes said. “Like, we’d still get 30 minutes out of today, so it wasn’t that bad, to be honest with you.”
Kyes said he didn’t know the big tournament was next week. But he did know playing in the U.S. Open is “going to be awesome.”
Kyes won the AHSAA individual boys’ golf championship in Class 7A in 2023 and 2024 and 6A in 2025.
On Wednesday, Reilly closed out Auburn’s victory over UCLA in the NCAA men’s golf championship match. On Monday, he shot rounds of 68 and 67 to tie for second at the qualifier on the North Course at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.
“It’s no doubt been the best week of my life,” Reilly said. “You couldn’t dream of anything better. Winning a national championship with my best friends and coaches, and now coming home yesterday and now getting into the U.S. Open. Couldn’t dream of anything better.”
Reilly will be joined in the U.S. Open field by Auburn teammate Jackson Koivun, who qualified as the winner of the 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal. The honor is presented annually by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews to the leading player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Koivun also played in last year’s U.S. Open.
Thompson qualified as the medalist at Lakes Golf and Country Club in Westerville, Ohio, with rounds of 66 and 67 on Monday. Thompson has played in the past three U.S. Opens as well as the 2020 tournament. He finished ninth in the 2023 U.S. Open. The winner of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in 2024, Thompson has played in 13 PGA Tour events this season,
Former UAB golfer Graeme McDowell qualified through an earlier tournament. A tie for fifth with two rounds of 69 at Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas, on May 18 returned McDowell to the U.S. Open for the 16th time. McDowell won the U.S. Open in 2010 and finished tied for second in 2012.
The qualifiers join former Alabama All-American Justin Thomas, who automatically qualified three ways for the U.S. Open field, in the tournament. In 10 U.S. Open appearances, Thomas had a best showing of eighth in 2020, but he’s missed the cut in the past three U.S. Opens.
Auburn AD calls out the GCAA after golf coach Nick Clinard’s coach of the year snub:
https://www.al.com/auburn/2026/06/auburn-ad-calls-out-the-gcaa-after-golf-coach-nick-clinards-coach-of-the-year-snub.html
Spain Park, Auburn golfers survive the longest day to reach the U.S. Open:
https://www.al.com/sports/2026/06/spain-park-auburn-golfers-survive-the-longest-day-to-reach-the-us-open.html
*************************
Auburn AD calls out the GCAA after golf coach Nick Clinard’s coach of the year snub
By Jerry Humphrey III
al.com
After Auburn’s men’s golf team won its second national championship in three years, it seemed clear that head coach Nick Clinard was the favorite to win the Golf Coaches Association of America national coach of the year award.
However, the award was given to Virgina’s Dave Williams, as the GCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
Auburn fans were not pleased with the decision and voiced their opinions on social media. The noise even garnered the attention of athletics director John Cohen who released a statement on behalf of the university.
https://x.com/JohnCohenAD/status/2064463841316966509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2064463841316966509%7Ctwgr%5Ea96fdb56789ceba9b55d52fe7eb1bab790cc1b9a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.al.com%2Fauburn%2F2026%2F06%2Fauburn-ad-calls-out-the-gcaa-after-golf-coach-nick-clinards-coach-of-the-year-snub.html
“Under Coach Clinard’s leadership, Auburn won its 2nd national championship in three years with two freshmen and no seniors in its lineup,” Cohen said in a statement. “With five tournament wins, including a record-setting four-round showing in SEC Championship stroke play, a record of 187-23-1 and becoming only the 2nd men’s team ever to win both stroke play and match play in the same season at the NCAA Championship - Auburn’s Nick Clinard is most deserving to be recognized as D-l’s national coach of the year. Any other result is simply unacceptable by any measure.”
Auburn’s men’s golf team social media also spoke on Clinard’s behalf on the team’s X account, saying that the GCAA made the wrong decision.
“Sometimes they just get it wrong. While we are deeply disappointed in the GCAA’s decision for National Coach of the Year, we will always be proud of what we accomplished this season and know that none of that would be possible without the leadership of Nick Clinard.”
The Tigers took down UCLA at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California, last week to win the national championship. Auburn dominated the field winning 4-1.
On the Brightside, Auburn’s Jackson Koivun was awarded the Ben Hogan and Fred Haskins Award and finished his dominant season ranked as the No. 1 ranked amateur golfer in the world.
*****************************
Spain Park, Auburn golfers survive the longest day to reach the U.S. Open
By Mark Inabinett
al.com
Last year, Chase Kyes won the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A boys’ golf championship. This year, Kyes will play in the U.S. Open.
The former Spain Park High School standout was among the survivors of “golf’s longest day” who earned spots in next week’s major-championship tournament.
Kyes wasn’t the only former Alabama high school champion or college freshman with Alabama golf roots to make it through Monday to reach the U.S. Open field. Davis Thompson from Lee-Scott Academy and Logan Reilly from Auburn University also will tee off on June 18 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
On Monday, 713 golfers played in 36-hole tournaments at 10 sites in the last chance to advance to the field for the 126th U.S. Open. Forty-three made it through.
At Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Georgia, Kyes birded his 36th hole to tie for fourth and earn one of the five spots available at the tournament after rounds of 67 and 66.
“There’s not much pressure because no really expects a freshman to get through,” said Kyes, who just completed his first season at Tennessee. “No one really expects much, so you either make it or you miss, so you kind of can swing free. It’s kind of nice.”
Because of a weather delay, the light was fading when Kyes rolled in his final putt on Monday, but he said in a Golf Channel interview the conditions weren’t a problem for him.
“Honestly, like growing up with me and my friends back home, I played so much golf in the dark,” Kyes said. “Like, we’d still get 30 minutes out of today, so it wasn’t that bad, to be honest with you.”
Kyes said he didn’t know the big tournament was next week. But he did know playing in the U.S. Open is “going to be awesome.”
Kyes won the AHSAA individual boys’ golf championship in Class 7A in 2023 and 2024 and 6A in 2025.
On Wednesday, Reilly closed out Auburn’s victory over UCLA in the NCAA men’s golf championship match. On Monday, he shot rounds of 68 and 67 to tie for second at the qualifier on the North Course at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.
“It’s no doubt been the best week of my life,” Reilly said. “You couldn’t dream of anything better. Winning a national championship with my best friends and coaches, and now coming home yesterday and now getting into the U.S. Open. Couldn’t dream of anything better.”
Reilly will be joined in the U.S. Open field by Auburn teammate Jackson Koivun, who qualified as the winner of the 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal. The honor is presented annually by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews to the leading player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Koivun also played in last year’s U.S. Open.
Thompson qualified as the medalist at Lakes Golf and Country Club in Westerville, Ohio, with rounds of 66 and 67 on Monday. Thompson has played in the past three U.S. Opens as well as the 2020 tournament. He finished ninth in the 2023 U.S. Open. The winner of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in 2024, Thompson has played in 13 PGA Tour events this season,
Former UAB golfer Graeme McDowell qualified through an earlier tournament. A tie for fifth with two rounds of 69 at Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas, Texas, on May 18 returned McDowell to the U.S. Open for the 16th time. McDowell won the U.S. Open in 2010 and finished tied for second in 2012.
The qualifiers join former Alabama All-American Justin Thomas, who automatically qualified three ways for the U.S. Open field, in the tournament. In 10 U.S. Open appearances, Thomas had a best showing of eighth in 2020, but he’s missed the cut in the past three U.S. Opens.
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