UCLA men’s golf fizzles in NCAA final after sizzling run of upsets

Some rebuilding year.

The UCLA men’s golf team nearly won it all.

In what was shaping up as a slice of a season, with the Bruins holding a losing record in the middle of the spring, they found themselves at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad on Wednesday with a chance to hoist the national championship trophy.

But having pushed through a four-team playoff in stroke play before pulling off two upsets in match play in the NCAA Championships, a fantastic run met a forgettable finish.

UCLA men’s golfer Alex Papayoanou competes for the Bruins on Wednesday against Auburn in the NCAA championship round in Carlsbad. Ross Turteltaub/UCLA Athletics

The seventh-seeded Bruins found a team they could not conquer in top-seeded Auburn, which lived up to its billing by winning the first three matches to notch its second national title in three years.

UCLA coach Armen Kirakossian pinned his team’s fortunes on a rough start in unfamiliar territory. While the Bruins won national championships in 1988 and 2008, they had not advanced to the championship round since the current match play format was adopted in 2009.

“We came out nervous and gave up some holes early,” Kirakossian said, “and against a team like that, you just can’t do that and get away with it.”

In a battle of two of the nation’s top freshmen, Auburn’s Jake Albert won his first two holes against UCLA counterpart Tyler Loree on the way to a 5-and-3 victory.

Jackson Koivin, the world’s top-ranked amateur, clinched Auburn’s second match with a birdie putt on the 15th hole to beat UCLA’s Baylor Larrabee, 4-and-3.

UCLA men’s golfer Baylor Larrabee competes for the Bruins against Auburn in the NCAA championship round in Carlsbad. Ross Turteltaub/UCLA Athletics

“He showed me the level it takes to get your PGA scorecard at 21 years old,” Larrabee said, “so I would say I’ve got some work to do over the offseason, but I’m excited for it.”

With UCLA’s Alex Papayoanou and Auburn’s Logan Reilly tied going into the 18th hole, Papayoanou badly mishit his tee shot, allowing Reilly to two-putt for par to clinch the match for the Tigers.

UCLA freshman Josh Kim was leading Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert, 3-up, through 14 holes when the match ended.

It was a bittersweet finish for a team that persevered through a collapse near the end of stroke play last week, necessitating a four-team playoff. Emerging from that playoff with a jolt of momentum helped the Bruins knock off sixth-seeded Arizona and second-seeded Texas on Tuesday. 

“I think that by dropping those strokes and putting us in that playoff,” Kirakossian said, “it kind of put our guys on edge and put them in this kind of hyper intense competitive zone that kind of prepared them for match play. … That [playoff] celebration, it just felt like this big boost of energy and I think it’s what spurred us on.”

This was another major step for a team that did not make it past stroke play last season. The departure of senior stars Pablo Ereno and Omar Morales led many to believe that UCLA would take a step back this season before it found its footing over the last month, winning the Big Ten Championships and nearly going all the way.

Considering that Larrabee is a sophomore and Kim and Loree are freshmen, the Bruins could be ready to make that final push a year from now.

“It’s just a group of gutty guys that have big hearts, are willing to compete and give it everything all the time,” Kirakossian said only moments after completing his fourth season. “I never take these moments for granted. We’re going to have to go and try to do it again next year and re-earn everything, but it’s certainly a nice upward trajectory.”