Jackson Koivun to delay turning pro
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Auburn’s bid for back-to-back national men’s golf championships came up a win short Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the 2025 NCAA Championship as the No. 1 Tigers were bested by No. 10 Virginia 3-2.
The Tigers cruised into match play as the No. 2 seed after 72 holes of stroke play. Virginia came into match play as the No. 7 seed.
Ole Miss, Florida and Oklahoma State grabbed the other semifinal berths along with Virginia.
“I’m proud of this team and I’m proud of these seniors,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “They gave their blood, sweat and tears for Auburn and this program is in a better place because of it. Today was not the result we wanted, but we’re still proud of who we are and what we’ve accomplished.”
Sophomore Jackson Koivun took advantage of a mistake from his opponent, Josh Duangmanee, on the sixth hole to take an early one-point lead that he maintained for the rest of the match. Koivun grew his lead to three and forced a tie on 16 to win his match 3&2.
Cayden Pope trailed for 13 of the first 16 holes of his match, but rallied late, starting with a chip-in birdie on 14 to whittle away at Maxi Puregger’s lead. Pope went on to win four of the last five holes, highlighted by a birdie on 18 to win 1-up.
It wasn’t all bad news for the Tigers, though. Koivun, who has already gained enough points to earn immediate PGA Tour status through the PGA Tour University, announced that he will return to the Plains for his junior year before turning professional. That gives Clinard’s team an immediate boost heading into next season.
Quarterfinal Results
(7) No. 10 Virginia def. (2) No. 1 Auburn, 3-2
Auburn’s Cayden Pope def. Maxi Puregger, 1-Up
Auburn’s Jackson Koivun def. Josh Duangmanee, 4&3
Ben James def. Carson Bacha, 2&1
Paul Chang def. Brendan Valdes, 5&3
Bryan Lee def. Josiah Gilbert, 4&3
Featured image courtesy of Auburn Athletics
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