PINEHURST, N.C. – Auburn is leaving the Pinehurst Intercollegiate with a double-helping of victories as the Tigers swept both the team and individual titles behind a 12-over group performance and a hard-nosed 1-under finish from freshman Jackson Koivun Tuesday at Pinehurst No. 2.
It is the first time Auburn has swept titles at a non-home event since Oct. 25, 2022, when Brendan Valdes led the Tigers to a pair of championships at the Isleworth Collegiate.
"What a tough, hard-fought finish from these guys," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "I'm overwhelmed with pride watching them never give up and battling it out to secure the win for each other. We truly earned everything out there this week, and that's exactly the mentality we want to have with postseason quickly approaching."
Auburn used a day's best, 1-under 279 in Tuesday's finale to edge out No. 15 ETSU by one stroke for the win. The Tigers were the lone squad to shoot below par in the third round.
Koivun fired a gritty 69 (-1) in his final 18 to finish tied for first with ETSU's Mats Ege. On the week, he shot 209 (-1). It is the first win of Koivun's collegiate career. Entering Pinehurst, he had two previous runner-up placements.
Koivun is the first true freshman for the Tigers to earn medalist honors at a team tournament since Matt Gilchrest (2013-17) at the UK Bluegrass Invitational in April of 2014. Brandon Mancheno (2017-20) tied for first in the stroke play portion of the 2018 NCAA Championship but fell in a playoff.
"It was a great week at Pinehurst," Koivun said. "A lot of good golf played by the guys to get the team win. Came close down at the end but was able to grind it out with an individual win as well, which felt really good to finally get my first one."
Auburn found two more brilliant performances from the duo of redshirt-juniors Carson Bacha and Ryan Eshleman. Both earned tied for sixth at 3-over for the week. It is the third consecutive top-10 outing for Eshleman.
Freshman Cayden Pope rebounded with his best stuff on Tuesday, a 1-under 69, to lower his cumulative score to 11-over. Valdes and sophomore individual player Reed Lotter wrapped the week at 13-over.
In Monday's first round, Auburn found a trio of even-par performances from the clubs of Bacha, Eshleman and Koivun. Eshleman played the cleanest round with 16 pars, a bogey on 17 and a birdie on 5. Koivun matched two bogeys with birdies on 3 and 10. Bacha bogeyed four times but erased each with birdies on 1, 2, 5 and 11.
Lotter opened the tournament with a 72 (+2). Valdes and Pope began with a 76 (+6) and 77 (+7), respectively.
Koivun delivered the lineup's low round in the second set of 18 with another even-par 70. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina native found birdies on 1, 5, 12 and 14 to counter a few blemishes on his scorecard.
Two Tigers, Valdes and Eshleman, battled for a pair of 72s (+2) in the middle round. Valdes shot 36 (+1) on the front and back halves. Eshleman earned a 38 (+3) on the front but responded with a 34 (-1) on the back.
Next down the scoresheet, Bacha fired a 73 (+3) followed by Pope at 75 (+5). Lotter added a 74 (+4) toward his total score.
In Tuesday's final round, Auburn needed a big day and that's exactly what it found. The Tigers were led by the youngsters as Pope and Koivun each threw up 69s (-1). Thanks to birdies on 2 and 9, Koivun shot 33 (-2) on the front and hung tough with a 36 (+1) on the back. Pope matched four bogeys with five birdies that came on holes 4, 10, 12, 14 and 17.
Bacha found an even 70 on his final day after making 12 pars and three clutch birdies on 1, 9 and 11. Eshleman fired a 71 (+1) with the help of three birdies of his own on 4, 10 and 11.
Valdes and Lotter finished with a 75 (+5) and 77 (+7), respectively.
Statistically, Koivun led the Orange & Blue with nine birdies made on the week. He sits at 99 for the season. Bacha, Lotter and Pope all made eight. Eshleman made seven. Valdes made six.
Next up, the Tigers return to The Plains for their lone home contest of the season, The Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner. Auburn University Club will host the tournament March 11-12. Auburn will be represented by two teams of five as well as one individual competitor.
Admission to the 2024 Tiger Invitational is free. Spectators are encouraged.
Koivun leads No. 1 Auburn to title sweep at Pinehurst Intercollegiate
