The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Auburn
No. 3 Men’s Golf falls 4-1 to No. 2 Auburn in SEC Championship Quarterfinals
04.26.2025 | Men's Golf
Daniel Bennett earns the lone point for the Longhorns with a 5&4 victory over Carson Bacha.
SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The No. 3 Texas Men's Golf team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 2 Auburn on Saturday morning in the match-play quarterfinals of the SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club. Freshman Daniel Bennett earned the lone point for the Longhorns with a dominant 5&4 victory over Carson Bacha.
The No. 8 seed in the match-play portion of the tournament, Texas took the top-seed and defending national champions down to the wire as both of the final two individual matches advanced to the 18th hole before the Tigers sealed their win. After Bennett's 5&4 victory gave the Longhorns a 1-0 lead, Auburn answered back as SEC individual medalist Jackson Koivun earned a 4&3 win over junior Luke Potter and Cayden Pope followed with a 4&2 victory against junior Tommy Morrison to give the Tigers a 2-1 advantage.
In the fourth individual match of the morning session, junior Christiaan Maas found himself 2-down through 13 holes against Josiah Gilbert. Maas won hole 14 to climb to within 1-down, but the two players halved each of the final four holes and Gilbert clinched the overall match victory with a 1-up win.
In the final match of the session, sophomore Jack Gilbert rallied from a 2-down deficit through seven holes against Brendan Valdes with wins on holes 8, 10 and 13 to grab a 1-up lead. Valdes answered with back-to-back wins on holes 14 and 15 to take a 1-up advantage. Valdes maintained the 1-up lead through 17 holes when the match was concluded, as Auburn had clinched the overall match victory.
The Longhorns will learn their NCAA Regional Championship seeding and destination during the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday, April 30 at Noon Central on Golf Channel. The NCAA Regionals will be contested May 12-14 (Monday-Wednesday) at six different sites with 13 or 14 teams at each of the six sites.
Five teams will advance from NCAA Regional play to the NCAA Championship, scheduled for May 23-28 at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. The University of Texas will serve as the host institution for both the NCAA Division I Women's and Men's Golf Championships for the second consecutive year.
The Lineup
- Freshman Daniel Bennett recorded a 5&4 victory over Carson Bacha in the opening match of the day. Bennett took a 1-up lead on hole 2 and held that margin through the first six holes. He then won holes 7, 8, 10 and 11 to build a 5-up cushion. Bacha won hole 13 to get to within 4-down, but Bennett responded with a win on hole 14 to close out his match.
- Junior Luke Potter dropped a 4&3 decision to Jackson Koivun, the SEC individual medalist. The match was all square through the opening three holes, before Koivun went on a run and built a 5-up cushion through 12 holes. Potter won hole 14 to get to within 4-down, but the two players halved hole 15 and Koivun closed out the match.
- Junior Tommy Morrison dropped a 4&2 decision to Cayden Pope. The match was all square through the first two holes, before Pope won three of the next four holes to grab a 3-up lead through six holes. Morrison won hole 10 to cut the deficit to 2-down, but Pope won hole 11 and then finished off the match with a win on hole 16.
- Junior Christiaan Maas dropped a 1-up decision to Josiah Gilbert. Maas won hole 2 and held a 1-up lead through five holes. Gilbert posted back-to-back wins on holes 6 and 7 and added a win on hole 11 to build a 2-up advantage. Maas won hole 14 to trim the deficit to 1-down, but the two players halved each of the final four holes and Gilbert closed out the 1-up victory.
- Sophomore Jack Gilbert dropped a 1-up decision to Brendan Valdes. Valdes built a 2-up lead through seven holes, before Gilbert posted wins on holes 8, 10 and 13 to grab a 1-up advantage. Valdes answered with back-to-back wins on holes 14 and 15 to take a 1-up lead. The two players halved the next two holes when the match was concluded as Auburn's Gilbert had clinched the overall match victory.
Players Mentioned
