ATLANTA — Logan Reilly and Preston Stout shared individual honors Monday at the East Lake Cup. When the co-medalists met again Wednesday, Reilly settled the score.
The Auburn sophomore defeated Stout, the world’s top-ranked amateur, 3 and 2, helping No. 1 ranked Auburn beat No. 3 Oklahoma State, 4-1, to claim a record third men’s East Lake Cup title.
Reilly played nearly flawless golf all week, making just one bogey and 22 birdies throughout the tournament. Both Reilly and Stout opened with a 7-under 65 to break the tournament’s previous 18-hole scoring record of 66, set by Scottie Scheffler in 2016.
“The first key out here is putting the ball in the fairway,” Reilly said. “I knew I could attack if I did that. My irons and wedges have been pretty dialed in, and I made a lot of putts inside 10 feet.”
After adding a semifinal victory against Arizona’s Matěj Bača on Tuesday, Reilly faced the reigning NCAA individual champion in Wednesday’s final.
Stout took a 2-up lead through five holes. Reilly then made four birdies over the next five holes to move 1 up. He maintained the pressure, closing out the match on the 16th hole to secure a point for the Tigers.
“It’s hard to beat Preston, he’s one of the best amateurs I’ve ever seen play,” Auburn coach Nick Clinard said. “Logan’s been playing some really great golf and we knew that was probably our best chance to beat him.”
“The putter just went kind of cold on me ... Logan played great and didn’t make very many mistakes,” Stout said.
Stout heads from East Lake to Mexico to compete in the VidantaWorld Mexico Open on the PGA Tour. After that, his offseason plans will take him away from golf.
“You’ll find me in a deer stand or a duck blind the rest of the winter,” Stout said.
For Reilly, the victory capped a week that brought both individual and team honors.
“To get co-medalist and to win this with the boys is great,” Reilly said. “It couldn’t be better headed into the next tournament and into the offseason.”
The team victory added to Auburn’s East Lake Cup titles in 2018 and 2024, moving the Tigers ahead of Illinois and Vanderbilt for the most men’s titles in tournament history.
Auburn concludes its fall season at the Steelwood Collegiate on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Loxley, Alabama.