After a week off following a disappointing finish at the Ben Hogan Invitational, Auburn’s struggles continued in North Carolina, where the No. 4 Tigers finished in ninth while shooting 20 over par for the week at The Williams Cup.
Star captain, Jackson Koivun entered the week with a blistering hot start, carding a 5 birdie, 3-under opening round. Freshman Jake Albert was the only other Tiger in the red on Sunday morning, but his 1-under score only contributed toward his individual ranking for the week. Auburn’s team total of +3 total left them 15 strokes behind Florida after their scorching start.
The Tigers hit a rough stretch in the second round of the outing as none of them finished better than even. This served as the valley for the team's tournament as Auburn totaled a +12-round leaving them at +15 on the week falling even further behind the leading Gators, who followed up their impressive commencing round with another 12 under score.
Tuesday marked the final outing for the three-round tournament, and Auburn’s top four found themselves with many highs and lows throughout their scorecards. Cayden Pope stepped up for his squad to finish the tournament strong as the Junior posted a 1-under 71, marking his first round below par. Koivun, Logan Reilly, and Billy Davis combined for 6 over par, leaving Auburn at 5 over for the last round and 20 over for the tournament.
After an ideal start for Koivun, a less than ideal round two and three left the Junior at even par for the week, but he was able to still finish tied for 10th in the individual rankings. This was Koivun’s 23rd career top 10 while on the Plains which places him three top 10s shy of overtaking Brendan Valdes’ program record.
Albert and Pope both finished tied for 22nd with +4 while Reilly and Davis posted a +10 to leave North Carolina tied for 56th. Josiah Gilbert’s hardships continued this week as for the second straight tournament Gilbert trailed his other teammates, finishing tied for 60 at the Cup.
Florida took the honors for team performance with a 15-under total while Texas was the only other squad to remain under par but still completed the tournament 12 stroked back of the Gators. Nate Stevens won the individual competition shooting –7 while representing Notre Dame.
Understandably so, Auburn head coach, Nick Clinard was yet again disappointed with the No. 4 team’s performance as the group did not live up to the expectations and standards set by the golfers.
“Just not good enough this week,” Clinard said. “We’ve got one more tournament to turn things around and end the fall on a positive note.”
The final tournament that Clinard mentioned will be The Clerico, hosted by Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma at Southern Hills Country Club. Play will commence with 36 holes on Monday, October 27th followed by 18 on Tuesday. The Tigers will look to finish their fall season with a trophy as the team has not claimed a victory despite a top two finish in their first competition.
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Will is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @willdembo
