Troy, ranked #51, upset the odds to qualify for its first National Championship in program history, pushing North Carolina out at the Urbana Regional and ensuring that the number 1 ranked player in college golf, David Ford, turned pro rather than finish a glittering collegiate career at La Costa. The Trojans ended the first day in the middle of the leaderboard with an opening 4-over round, 12 behind early leaders Oklahoma.

Texas A&M Senior Phichaksn Maichon came in late with the best round of day one, carding a bogey-free 66 to lead by one from Tommy Morrison (Texas) and Carter Loflin (Georgia). “It’s a championship golf course and it’s tough, so you just have to play smart shots and limit your mistakes,” said Maichon afterwards. Oklahoma led by five strokes from Florida State, Florida and Texas.

Arizona State hit the front in round two, carding a superb 11-under-par 277 to lead by three over Oklahoma and five over defending champions Auburn. Only five teams were in red figures after two rounds

The ability to walk in the fairways and watch the play down the line was a nice addition to the championship, offering a unique view of the quality of ball-striking and shot-making on show. Monday’s fourth and final round of stroke play included the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team. Auburn, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Florida, Oklahoma State, Texas, Florida State, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Virginia, Brigham Young, Pepperdine and Vanderbilt all secured their spots on Sunday.

The final team to advance to the fourth day of stroke play was decided in a playoff between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest that was conducted on the morning of Memorial Day at La Costa. Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech 19-18 to take its place in the final lap.

In the race for eight, Arizona State came out on top, earning the top seeding. The Sun Devils finished at 14-under 1,138, two strokes ahead of third-round leader Auburn. “I am so happy with the group today,” said Arizona State Head Coach Matt Thurmond. “Everyone around us thinks all you have to do is get to match play, and that is all that matters. That’s not how it works for us. We are competitors and it is a habit to give it your very best and play your hardest to try and win everything every time. It is a big deal, and we are proud of this. We won the stroke play for the second time in five years. That meant a lot to these guys. 

The 54-hole leader, Michael La Sasso of Ole Miss, started slowly on Monday with two double bogeys in the first nine holes. He recovered to shoot an even par 72 and post an 11-under 277 total (68-67-70-72), which proved to be two shots better than Texas A&M’s Phichaksn Maichon. Preston Stout of Oklahoma State finished third at seven under par.

From day one, La Sasso was never worse than two shots back of the lead and his third win of the season and collegiate career was by far his most significant. He joins Branden Thornberry (2017) as the second individual national champion from Ole Miss and very probably earns an invitation to the Masters. More importantly, his steady finish helped Ole Miss claim the eighth and final team match play position.

The top-15 individual finishers automatically earned GCAA All-America honors. Those selections included: Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss), Phichaksn Maichon (Texas A&M), Preston Stout (Oklahoma State), Jackson Koivun (Auburn), Josele Ballester (Arizona State), Pablo Ereno (UCLA), Connor Williams (Arizona State), Paul Chang (Virginia), Supapon Amornchaichan (Purdue), Matthew Kress (Florida), Preston Summerhays (Arizona State), Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine), Clark Van Gaalen (Oklahoma), Ian Gilligan (Florida), Brendan Valdes (Auburn), Ethan Fang (Oklahoma State) and Drew Goodman (Oklahoma).

The North Course at Omni La Costa drew widespread praise for its fairness, how much it had improved in the 12 months since the inaugural playing of the championship at the venue, and the questions it asked of the best players in college golf. The stretch of holes from 12 to 16 provided plenty of drama over the week, with the 14th, a par-4 measuring over 500 yards, ranking as the most difficult on the course over the four days of stroke play (4.51). The par-3 12th was the second hardest hole, and the 13th and 16th were the sixth and seventh sternest tests.

In the quarterfinals, defending national champion and No. 2 seed Auburn was eliminated by Virginia, 3-2 as Ben James, Paul Chang and Bryan Lee tallied wins for the Cavaliers. In another hard-fought match, Florida outlasted Texas 3-2 as senior Ian Gilligan (above) of the Gators won the final hole to defeat Christiaan Maas 1-up for the clinching point. Oklahoma State defeated cross-state rival Oklahoma 3-1, with the top three players in the Cowboys lineup, Fahlberg-Johnsson, Fang and Stout, all posting victories.

No. 8 seed Ole Miss upset the top seed Arizona State, 3-2. With the match tied at two wins apiece, Tom Fischer of Ole Miss rallied from down four holes to tie and then defeat Arizona State’s Michael Mjaaseth on the 21st hole to send the Rebels to the semifinals.

On Tuesday afternoon, Virginia continued to impress, rolling to a semifinal victory over Florida behind wins by Maxi Puregger over Matthew Kress (4&3), Josh Duangmanee over Jack Turner (2-up) and Ben James over Luke Poulter (1-up).

“I stayed really composed,” said James of his epic match. “I made a great birdie putt on 15 (to even the match), a 20-footer up the hill. We both hit two good shots on 16 and I made a three-footer to clean up for par. Seventeen was a crazy hole. Luke made a 30-footer and I followed with a 10-footer for par. Then I played 18 perfectly, hit a great drive and missed it in the right spot in the bunker and hit a great bunker shot.”

Oklahoma State went to almost sunset before clinching its semifinal match with Ole Miss. A six-foot par putt by sophomore Eric Lee (below) on the first playoff hole, the par-3 16th over water, pushed the Cowboys to the finals. The win over Cohen Trolio of Ole Miss was one of two playoff wins by Oklahoma State in the match, with Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson (above) defeating Cameron Tankersley of Ole Miss in an extraordinary match that lasted 20 holes and frayed the minds of those playing and watching. The other Oklahoma State win came from sophomore Preston Stout, 5&4 over Michael La Sasso of Ole Miss.

“What a great credit to the test of golf that La Costa is that all the top teams were right there,” said Oklahoma State Head Coach Alan Bratton after watching his side defeat state rivals Oklahoma in the quarterfinal and then outlast Ole Miss in the semifinal. “What a showcase for college golf with the quality shots coming in. Eric (Lee) won the match, and nobody gave it to him. It’s fun to see. It was perfect to have him in the anchor match. He’s a really good ball hitter, great approach player and he’s clutch and he showed that.”

Lee's brilliant second shot on 18 to set up an eagle opportunity that took the match into extra holes. “He needs to imprint that one for the rest of his life,” added Bratton.

Virginia was making its first appearance in the Championship Match. “I thought we played very well from what I saw,” said Head Coach Bowen Sargent after his team went down 3-1 to Oklahoma State. “I was with Bryan Lee (above) most of the day, but we played well. They made more putts than we did, and that’s usually what it comes down to in match play... It’s a game of inches at this point and they came out on top.”

Sargent was proud of his players' efforts over the season. “It is a great group of guys,” he said. “We are ACC Champions and National runner-up, so that’s a heck of a year but a little bit short of our goal. Most of our guys will be back and I’m looking forward to next year.”

Oklahoma State secured its 12th NCAA Championship thanks to victories by Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson (3&1), Gaven Lane (4&3) and Eric Lee (2-up). It was their seventh and biggest team title of the 2024-25 season, including a finishing sequence of five team wins in a row.

“We are really powerful as a team, one through five, and any week we all can win,” said sophomore Ethan Fang. “We stick to what we do best and don’t add any additional pressure. Since we are all young, freshmen and sophomores, there is no pressure on us honestly. We are all really good and work together.”

Watching his team celebrate the win, Cowboys Head Coach Alan Bratton said, “That’s what it’s all about. Oklahoma State has now won 12 championships, but it’s the first one with these kids. They’ve heard stories, and we’ve had some of our best players of all time talk to them just a couple of weeks ago. Now they have their own stories to share and a responsibility for them to continue to deliver those messages to the younger players so that we can keep this thing going. You hope for that kind of chemistry in every group, and we’ve got it with this team.”