Virginia Captures Back-to-Back ACC TitlesVirginia Captures Back-to-Back ACC Titles

Virginia Captures Back-to-Back ACC Titles

by Scott Fitzgerald

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Led by decisive victories from Paul Chang, Ben James and Bryan Lee, Virginia defeated Stanford, 3-1 in the ACC match play final, sealing its second-straight conference championship. The Cavaliers are the first ACC team in the match play era (2021-present) to win back-to-back titles.

The clinching point was delivered by Chang, UVA’s anchor, who halved the 16th hole with a par. The match with Stanford’s Dean Greyserman was all square after 10 holes before Chang ripped off four-straight wins beginning on No. 11. It was punctuated by an eagle on the 13th hole, a 531-yard par 5. Chang won all three of his matches and finishes his ACC match play career with a 5-1 mark.

 

After dropping his semifinal match against North Carolina’s Carson Bertagnole in the morning, James rebounded with a dominating victory Stanford’s Jay Leng. He never trailed after capturing a 1UP lead with a par on the fourth hole. He was 5UP after 12 holes and closed out the match on the 13th hole with his fourth birdie in six holes. 

Bryan Lee secured UVA’s second point to set the stage for Chang. Lee took down Ethan Gao, 4&3 in a match that he led since the second hole. Bryan Lee was unbeaten in match play at the 2026 ACC Championship (2-0-1).

The Cavaliers were the top-seed going into the ACC Championship and finished second in the 54-hole stroke play. UVA is ranked No. 2 in the country in the Scoreboard and Golf Coaches Association of America top-25.

The 2026 NCAA men’s golf selection show is set for Wednesday, May 6 at 2 p.m. and it will air live on the Golf Channel.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Virginia is the first men’s golf program to win back-to-back championships since Georgia Tech (2018-2019).
  • Virginia has now won an ACC-record, six-straight matches in league championship competition dating back to last season. Match play was added in to the championship format it 2021.

ACC Championship – Match Play Final vs. Stanford
Edan Cui (Stanford) d. Michael Lee (UVA), 1UP
Nathan Wang (Stanford) d. Josh Duangmanee (UVA), unfinished
Ben James (UVA), d. Jay Leng (Stanford), 6&4
Bryan Lee (UVA) d. Ethan Gao (Stanford), 4&3
Paul Chang (UVA) d. Dean Greyserman (Stanford), 3&2