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Auburn men's golf celebrates first national championship win in program history

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•05/29/24•

BarkleyTruax

Photo by Auburn Athletics
Photo by Auburn Athletics

Auburn men’s golf won its first-ever national championship in program history on Wednesday, defeating Florida State to do so.

The Tigers won 3-2 over the No. 6 FSU at the Omni La Costa Champions Course in the California hills. It was their seventh-straight tournament victory to end the season. J.M. Butler clinched the win for the Tigers with a birdie on 17 to win after Jackson Koivun and Brendan Valdes had previously won their matches. 

Check out the moment the Tigers realized their dreams of becoming national champions:

The victory is Auburn’s 23rd national championship across all sports and their first since the Equestrian team achieved the feat in 2019. In fact, the Equestrian team accounts for five of those titles, all of which came between 2011 and 2019. As Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson pointed out, the 2024 men’s golf title is the first non-Equestrian national championship for the university since football won the national championship in 2010.

Men’s Golf now joins Equestrian, Football, Men’s Swimming and Diving, Women’s Swimming and Diving and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field as sports that have won a national championship at Auburn. The Women’s Golf team, both basketball teams, soccer, softball and baseball, among others, are still seeking their first-ever national titles.

This was certainly the best season in Auburn Men’s Golf team in program history. After winning its fifth SEC championship, a second consecutive NCAA Regional title — the Tigers have now laid claim to its first-ever nation title. Not to mention freshman phenom Jackson Koivun claiming both the Ben Hogan Award and Fred Haskins Award, which are both regarded as college golf’s highest individual honors. 

Auburn beat No. 9 Virginia in the quarterfinals and No. 31 Ohio State in the semifinals to reach the finals. Florida State beat No. 4 North Carolina in the quarterfinals and No. 17 Georgia Tech in the semifinals. The Seminoles were also participating in their first NCAA final.

The Tigers schedule this season set them up for success, however. Heading into the NCAA Championships with a 39-3-1 record against the teams in the field. Only UNC, Tennessee and Oklahoma saw success against the Tigers this season out of that group.

They’ll be looking to repeat this success next season. For now, the job is finished and the Tigers can head back to Auburn with a title that no one can take away from them — 2024 national champions.