No. 2 Virginia men’s golf defeated Stanford 3-1 in the ACC match play final at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City Beach, Fla., on Monday, securing a second consecutive ACC title for the Cavaliers.
A trio of impressive performances from seniors Ben James and Bryan Lee and graduate student Paul Chang clinched the three required points to clinch the match and the title.
James, the No. 3 amateur in the world, led the way with a dominant 6&4 victory over Stanford’s Jay Leng. Lee also provided a decisive
victory with a 4&3 win over Ethan Gao, while Chang provided the clinching point with a 3&2 victory over Dean Greyserman. The three match winners from Virginia combined to bogey just four holes in their championship matches while recording 15 birdies and an eagle.
Freshman Michael Lee, Bryan’s younger brother, lost 1 down to Edan Cui despite making seven birdies, while junior Josh Duangmanee was also 1 down with one hole to play when Virginia clinched the match.
The Cavaliers previously had finished second in the stroke play portion of the competition before beating Louisville 3.5-1.5 in the match play quarterfinals and North Carolina 3-2 in the semifinals.
James was Virginia’s top individual in stroke play, finishing T-5 at 6-under par. Chang shot even par to finish T-20, Michael Lee shot 2-over, good for T-22, Bryan Lee finished T-30 at 3-over, and Duangmanee came in at T-41 at 6-over.
The Cavaliers now await the 2026 NCAA men’s golf selection show next Wednesday, which will determine their NCAA Regional site and opponents. With No. 1 Auburn falling in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, there is a chance the Cavaliers could enter NCAA play as the top-ranked team in the country.
A year ago, Virginia was the No. 9 team in the country heading into NCAA Regionals. The Cavaliers then advanced to the NCAA Championships and eventually to the championship match. However, UVA lost 3-1 to Oklahoma State.
The selection show will air live on Golf Channel at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.
