In a field packed with some of the best teams in college golf, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 20 Georgia Tech finished locked together at the top, sharing the Pauma Valley Invitational title at 16-under 836.
Georgia Tech began the final round just one shot off the lead and went head-to-head with Tennessee over the closing 18 holes. The Yellow Jackets made their move behind Benjamin Reuter, whose final-round 5-under 66 provided the push they needed. Tennessee, meanwhile, matched the charge with a 5-under 279 team effort to ensure the title would be shared.
Behind them, No. 3 Florida and No. 6 LSU finished T-3 at 13-under, while No. 7 Oklahoma State took fifth at 8-under. No. 2 Virginia and No. 9 Illinois shared sixth at 6-under, underlining the depth of a field that featured 11 top-50 teams, nine of them inside the top 25.
For Tennessee, the result marked its second win of the season following its triumph at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, and the 21st season in program history with multiple titles. For Georgia Tech, it was the first win of the 2025–26 season and the program’s first since last year’s Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational.
The individual title also reflected the tightly contested nature of the week. Tennessee redshirt senior Lance Simpson and SMU senior William Sides shared medalist honors at 10-under 203.
Simpson earned his first collegiate victory with rounds of 66-68-69, while Sides claimed his third career title, adding to wins at the Stephens Cup in 2024 and 2025. Sides closed with a steady final round to set the target, and Simpson matched it with a composed finish over his final holes.
Tennessee placed another player inside the top 15, with sophomore Jackson Herrington finishing T-14 at 3-under 210 (69-69-72).
Georgia Tech’s depth also proved crucial. Aidan Tran led the team with a T-5 finish at 6-under (66-70-71), while Hiroshi Tai finished T-8 at 5-under (70-67-71). Tran’s steady finish, including pars over his closing holes, helped secure the share of the title.