Men’s Golf: UVA moves on to NCAA match play, will face Auburn in quarterfinals

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia men’s golf completed its climb up the leaderboard and finished in seventh in stroke play at NCAA Championships on Monday. The Cavaliers are one of eight teams advancing to match play on Tuesday and will square off against defending national champion Auburn in the quarterfinals.

Virginia started the day in 11th place and vaulted four more spots to qualify for match play for the third-straight season. After the first round of competition on Friday, Virginia was in 25th place. UVA is the only program in the country to reach match play in each of the last three seasons. The Cavaliers were 4-under on the day, the fourth lowest of the 15 teams competing.

The ascent to a top eight spot came down to the final hole. Virginia finished its round on the ninth, with birdies from Josh Duangmanee and Paul Chang. Duangmanee started the late momentum with a birdie putt off the fringe on nine and Chang followed up with a 20-footer to bring UVA in a tie for eighth place.

UVA could only watch as Ole Miss and Florida State were still on the course. Florida State became the odd team out and was 3-over on the day compared to a -1 under performance by Rebels. Michael La Sasso of Ole Miss won the individual title to help the Rebels edge Florida State for the eighth and final spot.

Chang delivered his second-straight 3-under 69 in the final round and finished tied for seventh. It marked the fourth round in the 60s in seven NCAA rounds this postseason. The T-7 finish was tied for the fifth-highest ever by a Cavalier at NCAA Championships.

Duangmanee and Ben James each carded a 71 in the final round. James also came up big on the final hole of the day, with an up and down for par out of the bunker. The junior was 2-over for the tournament and was tied for 27th.

Virginia will have a chance to avenge a loss against Auburn in last year’s NCAA quarterfinal match. The Tigers won 3-1 en route to their first ever national title. The two teams played in three tournaments together in 2024-25 – The Inverness Collegiate, Valero Texas Open and the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

UVA went 1-1-1 against the Tigers in the three stroke play competitions which included a UVA team win at the Inverness Collegiate and James’ individual title at The Valero Texas Open where he bested Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert in a playoff.

Tee times on Tuesday are slated to begin at 9:50 a.m. ET. The Golf Channel will pick up coverage at 1 p.m. ET.

FROM HEAD COACH BOWEN SARGENT

“Awesome week for the guys, as we kept getting better each day at La Costa. Today we played some incredible golf from start to finish. We got off to a hot start making seven birdies in the first two holes. Just proud of the guys and their resolve down the stretch; Paul (Chang) and Josh’s (Duangmanee) birdie on the last was huge, not to mention Bryan (Lee) and Ben’s (James) up-and-down from the bunker. We’re excited for tomorrow and the opportunity to win a national championship.”