PANAMA CITY, FLA. – For the second-straight year and the third time in the last six seasons, Virginia men’s golf advanced to match play at the ACC Championship. The Cavaliers finished in second place on Saturday (April 25) with a 4-under, 860 (291-278-291) in the 54-hole stroke competition and were one of eight teams to qualify for match play slated for Sunday.
Virginia will play Louisville in the quarterfinals on Sunday (April 26) at 9:20 a.m. ET and the winner will move on to play the winner of No. 3 seed Clemson/No. 6 seed North Carolina in the afternoon semifinal at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET. The ACC Champion will be decided on Monday in the match play final scheduled for 10 a.m. ET. Both the semifinals and final will be broadcast live on ACCNX.
The Cavaliers were in second place to start the day and maintained their position with a 3-over, 291 in the final round. It marked the fifth time (2010, 2012, 2019, 2025, 2026) in Tony Markel Family Men’s Head Golf Coach Bowen Sargent’s tenure (2004-present) that UVA has finished in first or second in the ACC Championship 54-hole competition. UVA finished first last year, before rattling off three match play victories to capture the program’s first ever ACC title.
Senior Ben James was UVA’s top individual at 6-under (70-68-72, 210) over the three-day tournament, good enough for a T-5 finish. He birdied his final two holes to get inside the top five. It marked the ninth time in nine starts this season he has produced a top five finish. James closes out his UVA career with three, top-five finishes in the four ACC Championships he competed in.
First year Michael Lee polished off his first ACC Championship with an even-par 72 on Saturday. He finished in a tie for 22nd with a 218 (74-72-72), the lowest score by a UVA freshman since James in 2023 (T-3 – 209)
Paul Chang registered his ninth, top-20 finish of the season after finishing even for the tournament (73-70-73).
NEXT UP: MATCH PLAY 🏆
— The ACC (@theACC) April 25, 2026
Eights teams remain with a shot at the ACC Men’s Golf title.
⛳️ Championship Info: https://t.co/1rfOzLq6kD pic.twitter.com/xHRpH8nuNT
LEADERBOARD
|
PL. |
TEAM |
RD 1 |
RD 2 |
RD 3 |
TOTAL |
TO PAR |
|
1. |
Stanford |
275 |
278 |
291 |
844 |
-20 |
|
2. |
Virginia |
291 |
278 |
291 |
860 |
-4 |
|
T3. |
North Carolina |
286 |
285 |
291 |
862 |
-2 |
|
T3. |
Georgia Tech |
287 |
290 |
285 |
862 |
-2 |
|
5. |
Florida State |
291 |
286 |
286 |
863 |
-1 |
|
6. |
Clemson |
291 |
286 |
288 |
865 |
+1 |
|
7. |
Louisville |
290 |
283 |
293 |
866 |
+2 |
|
T8. |
Wake Forest |
285 |
290 |
292 |
867 |
+3 |
|
T8 |
Duke |
296 |
287 |
284 |
867 |
+3 |
|
10. |
Notre Dame |
299 |
284 |
286 |
870 |
+6 |
|
11. |
NC State |
289 |
290 |
292 |
871 |
+7 |
|
12. |
California |
294 |
287 |
292 |
873 |
+9 |
|
13. |
SMU |
288 |
289 |
304 |
881 |
+17 |
|
14. |
Virginia Tech |
305 |
291 |
299 |
895 |
+31 |
|
15. |
Boston College |
310 |
302 |
895 |
915 |
+51 |
VIRGINIA
|
PL. |
PLAYER |
RD 1 |
RD 2 |
RD 3 |
TOTAL |
TO PAR |
|
T5. |
70 |
68 |
72 |
210 |
-6 |
|
|
T20. |
73 |
70 |
73 |
217 |
E |
|
|
T22. |
74 |
72 |
72 |
218 |
+2 |
|
|
T30. |
77 |
68 |
74 |
219 |
+3 |
|
|
T41. |
74 |
74 |
74 |
222 |
+6 |
- With a second place finish at the ACC Men's Golf Championship, the Cavaliers earn a point in the clash and lead 13-6
- Virginia clinched the 2025-26 Clash with a victory by the men's tennis team on April 9.
- The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports, points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions