CARLSBAD, Calif. – Preston Stout wanted to hit the shot, so he crawled into the back left bunker on La Costa’s par-5 18th hole, took his stance and blasted out to about 7 feet past the hole. He would’ve had that for birdie, and with his opponent Jackson Koivun facing a near-impossible, 25-yard chip – downhill lie in the rough, over the cart path and a bunker, to a green running away from him – Stout probably could’ve sent the match to extras with two putts.
But alas, none of that mattered.
A few hundred yards away on the 16th green, Stout’s teammate Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson missed a birdie roll to extend his anchor match against Cayden Pope, whose winning point sent Auburn, the national champion two seasons ago, to its second NCAA final in three years.
It was one of the biggest matchups this championship has ever seen: Koivun, the top-ranked amateur in the world who has twice swept the national player of the year honors and has had PGA Tour card in hand for a year, versus Stout, a fellow junior who captured the NCAA individual title on Monday and whose five-win seasons would’ve earned him those big awards most other years.
There were shades of 14 years ago when Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas faced off in the final of the 2012 NCAA Championship at Riviera. That week, Texas coach John Fields and Alabama coach John Fields had a gentleman’s agreement to pit the two star freshmen against each other, and the morning of their match, Thomas was named winner of the Nicklaus Award, which motivated Spieth, who ended up holing out on the 15th hole for eagle and winning the point to help the Longhorns to the title.
“Jordan got to have the intangibles,” said Vanderbilt coach Scott Limbaugh, then the Alabama assistant. “That’s the one player that Jordan could’ve played where Jordan gets to be the underdog. That stuff freaking matters, and anybody that thinks that it doesn’t ain’t done it.”
Stout, the world’s third-ranked amateur, had the chip on his shoulder in this instance, having lost the Haskins Award to Koivun earlier in the day. But at least in Koivun’s mind, he, too, had something to prove, losing to Stout by seven shots in stroke play and then dropping his quarterfinal match.
“It was kind of refreshing to go into the match feeling almost like an underdog,” Koivun said.
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 02: Preston Stout looks on during a match against Matthew Kress of the Florida Gators during the Division I Men’s Golf Championship held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa on May 02, 2026 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Tanner Pearson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Neither coach shied away from the heavyweight bout. Auburn’s Nick Clinard threw Koivun out first in that second match, praying that Bratton would counter with his big horse. Bratton, of course, wasted no time.
“We wanted to go strength on strength,” Bratton said.
Added Clinard: “That’s exactly what we wanted. That’s exactly what TV wanted. That’s exactly what everybody wanted.”
Trey Jones, the Florida State coach who serves on the NCAA golf committee, perhaps put it best, comparing the strategy to college baseball: “If you don’t throw your Friday starter against their Friday starter, you’re telling your guy that you don’t think he’s as good.”
Battle of the heavyweights, now on @GolfChannel 💥 pic.twitter.com/rOwJaAcZIL
— Auburn Men's Golf (@AuburnMGolf) June 2, 2026
Once could cut the tension with a knife on the first tee as the starter introduced each player by rattling off long lists of accomplishments. The two were Walker Cup teammates last summer, but now they were tasked with delivering easily the toughest point of the afternoon.
Stout gave some holes away early, three-putting the par-5 second for bogey and missing a short par save at the par-4 fourth after his approach hit a shuttle parked on the cart path left of the green; the fortunate bounce kept Stout’s ball from going out of bounds. Koivun, who birdied the par-3 third from 10 feet, led 3 up after four holes. But even after an unreal second shot by Koivun from the cross bunker at the par-4 ninth, Stout was the only one to birdie that hole, clawing back to 1 down at the turn. The pair tied just two holes on that front nine.
— Auburn Men's Golf (@AuburnMGolf) June 2, 2026
“Two special players, two guys who are going to win on the PGA Tour,” said Clinard, who joined Bratton in walking ever hole. “I had a front-row seat, so I was just enjoying the walk to be honest.”
It wasn’t the best golf – each player carded four birdies, and they combined to shoot 3 under – but it had its moments, including at the par-3 12th hole, where Koivun chipped in for birdie to push his advantage back to 2 up. Koivun’s putter, usually his greatest weapon, let him down a few times, including down the stretch as he bogeyed No. 15 and then missed a birdie chance to close out the match on No. 17.
Stout certainly had the momentum when they were called off the golf course, but Koivun will be credited officially with a 1-up victory, one of five points in Auburn’s semifinal sweep of the defending team champs.
The Auburn junior, who still has a decision to make whether he wants to activate his PGA Tour membership this summer or return to school for his senior year, waited like Stout to take a crack at his chip, but Auburn assistant Chris Williams plucked the ball out of the rough before Koivun could try it.
“I knew it was going to be a fun, hard-fought match,” Koivun said. “I just kind of wish we saw how it all played out.”
That’s what everybody else wanted, too.
