HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's golf team shot a -15 in its final round to come from behind and win the 2026 NCAA Division III national championship in a playoff over Illinois Wesleyan for the program's second national title on Friday at the Mission Resort.
Sebi Aliaga won the individual national championship with a -10, including -5 (67) for his final round, birdieing the 18th on the Stags' final regulation hole. That birdie broke a tie for first on the individual leaderboard and a tie for first on the team leaderboard, before Illinois Wesleyan was able to pull back even after 72 holes.
All five golfers for both teams went back to re-play the 18th hole for the playoff in two groups of five.
Arnold He birdied in the first group with a long 20-foot putt to give CMS a one-shot lead, Aliaga made another clutch 20-foot putt for another birdie in the second group, and
Samson Li made a 10-footer for par to clinch the national title
Logan Mills had two eagles on his way to a final-round 65 (-7) to vault up into 18th place, after starting the day in 51st.
Arnold He shot -2 on Friday to finish in 12th place at -3, while
Samson Li had three straight birdies to close out at -1 for the final round and 36th for the tournament.
The five Stags competing shot a collective -12 on the last five holes, as they made a furious rally to take the clubhouse lead at -13. Aliaga's birdie on the 18th capped off his second straight 67 (-5) and left him at -10 for the tournament, one shot ahead of Jonathan McEwen of Washington & Lee. The birdie also moved CMS one shot ahead of Illinois Wesleyan, which was in a later group and still had several holes to play.
The Titans took the lead for a moment with a pair of birdies on the closing holes, then dropped a stroke to fall back in a tie with CMS. Pablo Castro had a birdie putt on No. 18 for Illinois Wesleyan with a chance to win it, which missed by about an inch, resulting in a playoff, and the Stags warmed back up after watching the finish for over an hour and were able to prevail on the extra hole for the championship.
CMS came into the day in fourth place at +2, seven shots behind Illinois Wesleyan, before finishing at -13 in a two-team battle. Aurora was third at -5, before a big dropoff to Sewanee in fourth place at +4.
The Stags got off to a torrid start in their first two holes, shooting -7, as Mills eagled the par-5 first, and Aliaga, He and Li all had birdies. Aliaga and He followed with birdies on the par-3 second hole, to allow CMS to move into a tie for first at -5, before Illinois Wesleyan even started.
However, Aurora had a strong start of its own and surged past CMS, as the Stags dropped back to even par, six shots off the lead in third, and appeared to be fading. However, Mills had an eagle on No. 14 and Aliaga had an eagle on No. 10 within minutes of each other to jump start the final push for the Stags.
As the Stags came down the stretch,
Jamison Tan had two birdies in his final five holes,
Arnold He had two straight birdies on No. 14 and No. 15, and Mills had birdies on No. 16 and No. 18 to finish off his 65. Li then had a huge finish with four birdies on four of the final five holes, including No. 16, No. 17 and No. 18 in succession, to get to -1 for the day, helping the Stags surge momentarily into a one-shot lead at -12, before Illinois Wesleyan picked up a birdie of its own to tie. Aliaga then had his birdie on No. 18 to give CMS another brief lead, before it was decided in a playoff.
The -15 at Mission Resort continued a trend of incredible final round performances for CMS in the last two years. This year, the Stags shot -16 on the final day of the SCIAC Tournament to run away with the title, with Li, Aliaga, Mills and He all shooting -4 on the final round, and Tan shooting -2.
A year ago, CMS came from 13 shots down with a -22 on the last day of SCIACs, with He, Tan and graduated senior Michael Ma all shooting 66. (CMS didn't make the cut at the NCAA Championships last year and didn't compete in the final round).
CMS won the national title in 2016, and earned third-place finishes in both 2022 and 2023. The Stags will be in strong shape to try to repeat in 2027, as they return all five golfers from their young NCAA squad, as Li, Mills and Aliaga are freshmen, He is a sophomore, and Tan is a junior.
