The 2026-27 Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA continues this weekend when Navy travels to West Point for the 89th edition of the Army-Navy Men's Golf Star Match. The West Point Golf Club will serve as the backdrop for the two-day event which will be scored as match play, or the more familiar Ryder Cup-style format, with four four-ball matches played on Saturday (8:30 am) and capped off with seven singles matches on Sunday (8:30 am). The first team to reach six points will be declared the winner.

The Star Series
This week's golf match marks the third among 26 Army-Navy Star competitions played over the course of the academic year that determine the winner of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The annual showdown between the two rivals in each sport is deemed the Star Game / Match / Meet with the athletes from the winning team receiving a Star for their letter sweaters. For those sports who face Army multiple times in a season, the Star Game is designated prior to the start of the year.  

The annual rivalry kicked off on Sept. 25 with Army capturing a 21-12 victory over Navy in sprint football. Less than 24 hours later, Navy scored a 26-14 win over the Black Knights in men's rugby to even the series. 

Navy leads the all-time overall series against Army, 1225-928-46 (56.8), including a 179-132-5 (57.5) mark over the last 10 years. Additionally, the Mids own a 127-81-5 (60.9) advantage in the Star Series over that same timeframe (2017-18 to present). In 2021-22, Navy had unprecedented success in both the Star and overall series, posting a 20-4 (83.3) mark in Star competitions and a 27-9 record in overall contests against Army. Last year, Navy won the series for the 11th time in the last 12 years, posting a 17-8-1 record in Star events and a 25-12-1 mark in head-to-head events.

Men's Golf Series History
Navy's golf team enters this year's competition with a 46-41-1 advantage over the Black Knights in the annual men's golf dual which was first played in 1939 at Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Sherwood Forest, Md. Among the 88 previously-played duals, 61 have utilized the familiar Ryder Cup format, including each of the last 24 (10 wins by Navy, 14 by Army). Army holds a 24-15 lead in Star Matches played its home course, winning each of the last four played at West Point. Navy's last win at Army was a 6-5 decision on Oct. 1-2, 2016.

Army-Navy Rewind - 2025 Star Match
Navy won four of the first-five singles matches en route to capturing a 6-5 victory over the Black Knights in the annual Army-Navy Star Match played at the Naval Academy Golf Club in Annapolis. Luke Lombardo secured the final point on the 18th green, as the Mids claimed the program's first Star win against their archrival since 2021. 

Not only was it Navy's first Star victory in the annual Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, it was also the first Star win for Naval Academy Director of Athletics Michael Kelly and Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte who were in attendance and celebrated the win alongside the team.

Additionally, the win marked the school's 1,200th victory over Army.

Oct. 11-12, 2025 | Annapolis, Md.
Navy 6 | Army 5
 
Four-Ball Matches
Hudson Mitchell / Ed Scott (N) def Drew Jeffords and Grant Paolucci (A) / 5&4
Griffin Garvin and William Huang (A) def. Danny Auffant and Luke Lombardo (N) / 3&2
Rob Ferris and Matthew Duke (A) def. Jack Tarzy and Sebastian Alonzo (N) / 1-up
Chip Deegan and Derek Weaver (N) def. Tyson Sparks and Ryan Lopez (A) / 1-up
 
Singles Matches
Hudson Mitchell (N) def Griffin Garvin (A) / 3&1
William Huang (A) def Ed Scott (N) / 2-up
Jack Tarzy (N) def Drew Jeffords (A) / 2&1
Luke Lombardo (N) def Matthew Duke (A) / 1-up
Sebastian Alonzo (N) def Grant Paolucci (A) / 3&2
Rob Ferris (A) def Derek Weaver (N) /  2-up
Tyson Sparks (A) def Chip Deegan (N) /  2-up

The Mids This Year
Folds of Honor Collegiate • Sept. 7-9 / American Dunes Golf Club, Grand Haven, Mich.
• Navy opened the 2026 campaign with a 14th-place finish at the fifth-annual Folds of Honor Collegiate played at the par-71 American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich. The Mids shot a 62-over par 914 (305-316-293).
• Navy's 9-over par 293 was its lowest round in its five appearances at the Folds of Honor Collegiate
• Danny Auffant (73-81-73) and Payton Cowhey (72-84-71) led the Mids with a 14-over par 227 to tie for 59th
• It was the first collegiate tournament for Cowhey, a freshman, along with sophomore Tim Luckett (76-77-77=230) and Collin Alstrin (79-78-75=232)
• The nationally-televised event featured 19 teams that were represented at the 2026 NCAA Regionals, including Navy, 11 that advanced to the NCAA Championships, and 12 that ended the spring ranked inside the top 35 in the country. 
• Among the NCAA Regional qualifiers from a year ago, Georgia Tech led wire to wire to claim the 2026 Folds of Honor Collegiate team title. The Yellow Jackets opened the tournament with a 12-under par 272, but Texas and Notre Dame came roaring back in the second round to close to within a stroke. Georgia Tech held off both the Longhorns and Fighting Irish in Wednesday's final round with its 6-under par 278 to win the tournament with an 18-under par 834 (272-284-278). 

Jackson T. Stephens Cup • Sept. 14-15 / PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas
• Danny Auffant represented the Naval Academy at the 2026 Jackson T. Stephens Cup where he placed 34th with a 21-over par 237 (76-81-80).
• The field included full teams from Houston, Rice, SMU, 24th-ranked Texas, Texas A&M and Utah, along with individuals Danny Auffant (Navy), Andre Chang (Army), Eli Huntington (Air Force), Sascha Robinson (Florida A&M), Bear Huff (Howard), Francisco Perez (Howard)
• Texas, ranked 24th in the preseason national rankings, easily won the stroke play portion of the tournament. The Longhorns finished the tournament with a 25-under par 839, 21 strokes ahead of Texas A&M who finished second with a 4-under par 860 (285-287-288). Preseason All-American Daniel Bennett and Matt Comegys, both of Texas, tied for individual medalist honors with a 9-under par 207.

The Goat • Sept. 19-20 / Naval Academy Golf Club, Annapolis, Md.
• Sebastian Alonzo, Danny Auffant and Collin Alstrin placed among the top 25 to help lead Navy to a seventh-place team finish at The Goat. The Mids shot a 26-over par 878 (293-292-293), finishing just four strokes out of the top five. 
• Alonzo secured his first-career top-10 performance by shooting a 2-over par 73 in the final round. He recorded six birdies over the weekend en route to his 2-over par 215, his lowest three-round score and lowest in relation to par. Finishing in a three-way tie for ninth, Alonzo finished just four strokes behind the leaders and three strokes outside of the top five.
• Meanwhile, Auffant and Alstrin shot mirroring rounds throughout the tournament to tie for 25th with a 7-over par 220. The two shot 74, 74 and were a stroke over in the final round with a 72. 
• George Washington, who trailed William & Mary by just one stroke heading into the final round, earned the team title by posting a 4-over par 856 (290-281-285).

Army - Star Match • Oct. 3-4 / West Point Golf Club, West Point, N.Y.
• Five of the eight players who contributed to Navy's winning efforts in last year's Star Match return to the roster, including Hudson Mitchell who won both his four-ball match as well as his singles match. Chip Deegan and Derek Weaver, who won a four-ball match, and Jack Tarzy, who won his singles match, graduated in May.
• Just six players on Navy's 15-man roster have previously played in arguably the most important event of the year.
• Seniors Danny Auffant and Luke Lombardo have played in each of the last three Star Matches.

Navy's Roster (Golfer / Yr / Hometown)
Sebastian Alonzo  (So / Azusa, Calif.)
    Four-Ball    
    2025 - (Tarzy) lost to Rob Ferris / Matthew Duke, 1-up
    Singles
    2025 - def. Grant Paolucci, 3&2

Danny Auffant (Sr / Bellevue, Wash.)
    Four-Ball    
    2023 - (Lombardo) def. John Heckel Jr. / Zach Clark, 1-up
    2024 - (Lombardo) lost to Rob Ferris / Josh Rooker, 3&2
    2025 - (Lombardo) lost to Griffin Garvin / William Huang, 3&2
    Singles
    2023 - lost to Drew Jeffords, 5&4

Kaden  Ausen  (Jr / Puyallup, Wash.)
    Four-Ball    
    2024 - (Deegan) lost to Josh Kim / Tyson Sparks, 3&1
    Singles
    2024 - lost to Lake Kim, 3&1

Luke Lombardo (Sr / Severna Park, Md.)
    Four-Ball    
    2023 - (Auffant) def. John Heckel Jr. / Zach Clark, 1-up
    2024 - (Auffant) lost to Rob Ferris / Josh Rooker, 3&2
    2025 - (Auffant) lost to Griffin Garvin / William Huang, 3&2
    Singles
    2023 - halved Lake Kim
    2024 - lost to Drew Jeffords, 5&3
    2025 - def. Matthew Duke, 1-up

Hudson Mitchell  (So / Pensacola, Fla.)
    Four-Ball    
    2025 - (Scott) def. Drew Jeffords / Grant Paolucci, 5&4
    Singles
    2025 - def. Griffin Garvin, 3&1

Ed Scott  (Jr / Lemont, Ill.)
    Four-Ball    
    2024 - (Tarzy) lost to John Heckel Jr. / Drew Jeffords, 7&6
    2025 - (Mitchell) def. Drew Jeffords / Grant Paolucci, 5&4
    Singles
    2024 - lost to John Heckel Jr., 8&6
    2025 - lost to William Huang, 2-up

About the Black Knights
Army opened the season by placing 12th at the Folds of Honor Collegiate with a 49-over par 901. Like Navy, the Black Knights also competed at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, sending newcomer Andre Chang who turned in a 14-over par 230 to place 32nd in the event. To prepare for its match against the Mids, Army traveled to Sheboygan, Wis. where it tied Wisconsin 4-4 in the Bush Cup.

The seven players on Army's roster who are not freshmen, have all seen action in an Army-Navy match at least once. In fact, all seven of those players - senior Drew Jeffords, juniors Matthew Duke, Griffin Garvin, Ryan Lopez and Tyson Sparks and sophomores William Huang and Grant Paolucci - played in last year's Star Match. The Black Knights have five freshmen on their roster this fall.

What's Ahead
• Navy will make the trip to Oakmont, Pa. to battle rival service academies Army and Air Force in the Commander-In-Chief's Cup slated for Oct. 13-14.
• Oakmont Country Club, widely regarded as the "oldest top-ranked golf course in the United States and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, will serve as the host of the tournament. Oakmont most recently hosted its record tenth U.S. Open in 2025.
• With five players finishing among the top 10, including individual medalist Jack Tarzy, Navy dominated Army and Air Force to win the program's first outright Commander-In-Chief's Cup last October at the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The Mids, who shot a 128-over par 1388 (play 8, count 6), defeated Army (1406, +146) by 18 strokes and Air Force (1411, +151) by 23 strokes.

### Go Navy ###