Men's Golf | 10/12/2026 12:54:00 PM

Tournament Details
Event: Commander-In-Chief's Cup, hosted by Service Academies Golf Foundation
When: Tuesday-Wednesday, Oct. 13-14
Where: Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.
Format: Medal Match Play
Schedule of Play: Three 18-hole rounds
    Tuesday, Oct. 13 - Round 1 | 7:30 am 
    Tuesday, Oct. 13 - Round 2 | Upon conclusion of round 1 (approximately 1:40 pm)
    Wednesday, Oct. 14 - Round 2 | 7:30 am
Participating Teams (3): Air Force, Army, Navy

Fresh off its Star Match victory over Army, the Navy men's golf team returns to action this week when it makes the trip to Oakmont, Pa. to compete in the Commander-In-Chief's Cup. The two-day, 54-hole tournament is set to begin on Tuesday (36 holes) at the historic Oakmont Country Club with tee times beginning at 7:30 am. 

For the first time in the tournament's history, a different scoring system will be utilized in crowning both a team and individual champion.

Team Format: 54-hole Medal Match Play
• During each 18-hole round, players will play 18 holes of stroke play and their individual score will be compared against the other players in their same grouping.  
• There will be 3 matches occurring inside each grouping: Navy vs. Army, Navy vs. Air Force, Air Force vs. Army.  
• Each match is worth one point with ties receiving 1/2 point each. 
• A total of 24 points will be available in each round (3 points per grouping x 8 groupings). 
• The team accumulating the most points will be declared the Commander-In-Chief's Cup Champion. 
• In the event of a tie, a scorecard playoff will occur via the Team Playoff Procedure below.

Team Playoff Procedure:
    1. Total team score for Day 3 will be compared (totaling all 8 stroke play scores from Day 3).  If still tied;
    2. Total team score for Day 2 will be compared (totaling all 8 stroke play scores from Day 2).  If still tied;
    3. Total team score for Day 1 will be compared (totaling all 8 stroke play scores from Day 3).  If still tied;
    4. Lowest individual 18-hole score from Round 3 for each team will be compared, then 2nd lowest, 3rd lowest, etc, etc until the tie is broken.

• In the event of inclement weather where 54 holes cannot be completed, matches in progress will be scored and points awarded based on the scores at the time play is called for the day regardless of how many holes have been completed. 
• NOTE: A round will not be started unless there is a reasonable expectation, as determined by the SAGF Board and CIC Cup Rules Committee, that all groups will be able to finish at least 9 holes of that round.

Individual Format: 54 hole Stroke Play
• The lowest 54-hole total will be awarded the Commander-In-Chief's Cup medalist medallion.  In the event of a tie, co-medalists will be declared and multiple medallions awarded.

Service Academy Golf - The History
• While this is the fourth year in which the tournament between Air Force, Army and Navy has been called the Commander-In-Chief's Cup, the three previously competed in the Service Academy Golf Classic from 1993 to 2012 (except for a two-year hiatus in 2007-08). 
• Army laid claim to the first-two tournaments before Air Force won 16-consecutive tournament titles, tying Army in the final event in 2012. 
• The Classic, held in the Dallas area for its first 14 years, was moved to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for 2009 and 2010, before landing at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., in 2011 and Trump National in Colts Neck, N.J., for the 2012 tournament. 

Commander-In-Chief's Cup - A Look Back
2025-26 CIC Cup • Sept. 30-Oct. 1 / Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
• 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 at the Winged Foot Golf Club. 
• 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. 
• Tarzy is the second Navy player to claim medalist honors under the current CIC Cup moniker. Former teammate Keegan Shreves won medalist honors in the inaugural CIC Cup played at the Robert Trent Jones Club in April of 2023 with a 2-over par 218. He edged out second-place Deegan by 3 strokes.
• Navy closed out the first day holding a 22-stroke advantage over Army and a 36-stroke lead over Air Force. Navy's Chip Deegan came into the clubhouse atop the leader board with a 2-stroke lead over Tarzy, setting up a friendly joust between the two classmates in the final round.
• Though the Mids struggled as a team over the final 18 holes and shot a 60-over par 480, Tarzy turned in the second-lowest round of the day with a 4-under par 74 to leap past Deegan and claim medalist honors with a 13-over par 223. It marked Tarzy's second-collegiate victory in as many weeks, after winning The Goat on Sept. 22. Meanwhile, Deegan, who was 8-over in the final round, made it a 1-2 Navy finish with a 15-over par 225. 
• Navy had three other players secure top-10 finishes. Senior Derek Weaver tied for seventh with a 25-over par 235, while Hudson Mitchell and Ed Scott tied for ninth with a 26-over par 236. Both Danny Auffant and Sebastian Alonzo finished the tournament tied for 19th with a 35-over par 245, while Josh Durthaler placed 24th with a 45-over par 255.

2024-25 CIC Cup • Oct. 14-15 / Scottsdale National Golf Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Army held a slim 2-stroke advantage over the Midshipmen after the opening round (431-433), but shot a blistering 13-under par in the final round to win the tournament with a 14-under par 850 (431-419). 
• Navy took second with a 1-under par 863 (433-430), while Air Force finished third with an 11-over par 875 (444-431). 
• Army's John Heckel Jr. closed out the tournament 13 under (64-67=131) to earn medalist honors.
• Navy, who placed three individual among the top five, was led by Jack Tarzy, who trailed Heckel Jr. by just 2 strokes after the first round. Tarzy, however, was unable to make up ground and placed second in the standings with a 9-under par 135. 
• Chip Deegan earned a fourth-place finish with his 1-under par 143 (70-73), while Derek Weaver tied for fifth by shooting par (74-70=144). Team captain Benjamin Valdez earned a top-10 finish with his 1-over par 145 (74-71), while rookies Kaden Ausen (74-74=148) and Ed Scott (75-74=149) placed 16th and 17th, respectively. Rounding out the Mids' lineup were Owen Huntington in 19th (78-73=151) and Noah Nuez in 22nd (75-80=155).

2022-23 CIC Cup • April 17-18 / Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Gainesville, Va.
• Army won the inaugural Commander-in-Chief's Cup on a tiebreaker at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Gainesville, Va. in April of 2023.
• Army (454-448-458=1360) held a 9-stroke advantage over Navy (450-461-449=1360) heading into the final round, however, the Mids shot their low round of the tournament (+17, 449) over the final 18 holes to pull even with the Black Knights. 
• While the best 6 of 8 scores over each of the three rounds were used in the team-scored event, the 7th-best score in round three (80 A / 82 N) was used to break the tie between Army and Navy. 
• Air Force placed third with a 77-over par 1373.
• Navy placed three individuals in the top five, including medalist Keegan Shreves
• Chip Deegan (74-78-72=223) tied for 2nd, followed by Benjamin Valdez (71-79-75=225) in 5th, Jack Tarzy (75-82-70=227) in 6th, Owen Huntington (79-77-77-233) in 13th, Derek Weaver (80-74-81=235) in 17th, Noah Nuez (85-81-82=248) in 21st and Braxton Tracy (82-81-85=248) in 21st.

The Course
• The Oakmont Country Club is a par-70, playing at 7,427 yards. 
• Over the last century-plus, Oakmont has hosted 18 USGA Championships. 
• The U.S. Open Championship has been contested there a record ten times, including in 2025. The U.S. Open will return in 2033.
• The U.S. Amateur Championship was the first USGA event at the Club in 1919 and has been played there six times overall. 
• In 1992, the Club hosted its first of two U.S. Women's Open Championships. The U.S. Women's Open returns to Oakmont in 2028.
• Of the 18 champions, eight have been enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. 
• In 2032, the Club will host its first Walker Cup Matches.

Navy's Lineup
(Golfer / Yr / Hometown)
1 | Hudson Mitchell (So / Pensacola, Fla.)
2 | Josh Durthaler (So / Dunwoody, Ga.)
3 | Tim Luckett (So / Annapolis, Md.)
4 | Payton Cowhey (Fr / Tallahassee, Fla.)
5 | Elijah Estonilo (Fr / Allen, Texas)
6 | Sebastian Alonzo (So / Azusa, Calif.)
7 | Danny Auffant (Sr / Bellevue, Wash.)
8 | Collin Alstrin (Fr / Prosper, Texas)

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 Longhornsfinished 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.
• Navy won five of the seven singles matches, including the final two, to defeat the Black Knights 6.5-4.5 in the annual Army-Navy Star Match. 
• Playing in his first Star Match, Tim Luckett gave Navy the go-ahead point with an eagle putt on the 18th, before Sebastian Alonzo secured the final point to lead the Mids to their second-consecutive Star victory and their first at West Point since 2016. 
• Army held a 2.5-1.5 lead over the Mids going into singles play and pushed its lead to 3.5-1.5 before Navy rallied to win five of the next six matches for the win.

What's Ahead
• Navy will play its final match of the fall season Oct. 19-20 when it travels to Oxford, Pa. to play in the Blue Hen Intercollegiate at Wyncote Golf Club.

### Go Navy ###