CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – Ole Miss junior Michael La Sasso won the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship by two strokes at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa North Course (75,272 yards), becoming just the second player in school history to win an individual NCAA title.
La Sasso, who led after the first 54 holes, got off to a slow start on Monday with double bogeys on the first nine holes, but shot a 72 over the final 18 holes to finish at 11-under 277 (68-67-70-72) (Texas A&M’s Phichon 29under). Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout tied for third with a 7-under 281. The Raleigh, North Carolina native carded 22 birdies, including a 7-under 68 in his opening-round 68, to finish with no bogeys over the final 10 holes to capture his third win of the season and his college career. La Sasso joins Branden Thornberry (2017) as the second all-time national champion from Ole Miss.
“It was a little rough in the middle of the round, but to be able to bounce back from that is really special for me,” La Sasso said. “Just being able to make it to this point is something I’ll remember forever.”
UPDATE: Click here for the 2025 DI Men’s Golf Championship
Arizona State, Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Ole Miss punched their tickets to play Tuesday at the Omni La Costa in the team’s “Race to the Eight.” Team play begins May 27, with No. 1 Arizona State taking on No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 2 Auburn Virginia, No. 3 Florida Texas and No. 4 Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals against in-state rival No. 5 Oklahoma. The quarterfinals will be played on holes 1 and 10 at 6:50 a.m. PST, 7:40 a.m. PST. The four quarterfinalists will play in the national semifinals on Tuesday at 1:15 PM and 2:05 PM PST. The Team State Championship will be announced on Wednesday, May 28th at 2:25pm PST. GOLF Channel will air Tuesday’s action live, with the quarterfinals until 1:30pm EST and the semifinals from 6-10pm EST.
Arizona State won the 72-hole team division of the championship and won the 8-under round on Monday to overtake Auburn for the top seed in the team event. The Sun Devils finished at 14-under 1138, two strokes ahead of top-seeded Auburn in the third round at 12-under 1140. Seniors Joel Ballester and Preston Summerhayes led Arizona by posting 4-under par and 68, respectively.
“I’m very happy with the lineup today,” Arizona State head coach Matt Thurmond said. “Everyone around us thinks that all you have to do is match up and that’s all that matters. That’s not the case for us. We’re competitors and it’s our habit to try our best all the time and play with all our energy to win. It’s a big deal and we’re proud of it. We won the second stroke, and it was the second last for them. As a whole team, it was our best game. They really played this round. I’m glad you took it seriously.
La Sasso’s performance helped Ole Miss clinch the team’s eighth and final game.
“I knew where we were before I talked to the coach,” La Sasso said. Luke’s (Clanton/Florida State) putt looked really good, so I thought I should make it, but it didn’t drop and then played a little softer. The goal was to get the ball down in two halves.”
Michon had the best individual finish in Texas A&M history at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships.
“I’ll think about it later, but right now it hurts a little bit not to win,” said Maichon, a senior from Bangkok, Thailand. “Hats off to Mikel (La Sasso). I had a good run but he was tough. I missed a couple of putts at the end and that could have put pressure on him. He responded with a couple of birdies.”
National champion Auburn finished 2nd in the team game.
“I’m really proud of them. Being the only team to shoot tied in four rounds, it gives us confidence to be the number one team in the nation at the end of the day,” Auburn head coach Nick Clinard said. “Obviously tomorrow will be a refresher, nothing we’ve done this year. But I’m really happy for the guys and proud of them. I’m glad to see them working so hard and playing well.”
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