By the end of day two at the Pauma Valley Invitational in the heart of Northern San Diego County, Calif., hosted by Loyola Marymount, No. 2 Virginia appeared headed for its first true clunker after an impressive and consistent rollout of performances — the Cavaliers have racked up top-2 finishes in five of six of their tournaments this season.
Virginia sat in 12th place out of 16 teams after the second round of the 71-par course, despite senior and No. 2-ranked individual Ben James’ near-bogey-free outing at three-under par and graduate Paul Chang’s second one-under-par day of the tournament.
Overall, though, the Cavaliers looked stuck in the mud for much of the first two rounds, finishing both day one and day two over par, at three-over and one-over, respectively.
But in the final round Wednesday, Virginia completely flipped the script.
The Cavaliers fired a 10-under par round, as four of the five members of their lineup scored under par. Even though Virginia was ultimately unable to record a podium-level finish due to a slow first 36 holes and well-executed performances from competitors, a commendable sixth-place finish, including a six-team leap, marked the second-lowest round in the invitational.
James and Chang, the key headliners for Virginia throughout the tournament, both led the Cavaliers with three-under-par final rounds. They leaped seven positions each on the individual standings. Chang finished tied for eighth at five-under as an individual after a masterfully consistent 54-hole sequence, while James finished tied for fifth at six-under, continuing a perfect streak of seven starts and seven top-five finishes in the 2025-26 season.
Freshman Michael Lee and sophomore Maxi Puregger also carded crucial birdies down the stretch on the remaining 18 to each finish with a 69. Lee completed a three-over-par performance overall, rising 15 ranks on the individual leaderboard, while Puregger finished with four-over, carding an 11-position jump individually. Junior Josh Duangmanee capped the Cavaliers’ slate of performers with a one-over-par day and finished nine-over par overall.
Ultimately, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 20 Georgia Tech — a notable ACC competitor — tied at 16-under par to take first-place honors, as both teams quickly raced ahead in the earlier rounds. The other opponents just ahead of Virginia on the leaderboard — the likes of No. 6 LSU, No. 3 Florida and No. 7 Oklahoma State — represent some of the fiercest competition and exceptional talent in the country. Tennessee’s Lance Simpson and SMU’s William Sides shared the tournament’s individual honors, finishing at 10-under.
The end result may not be what the No. 2-ranked team in the nation hoped — and certainly not ideal after a second consecutive sixth-place finish. However, the Cavaliers still have ample time to build off the elite tsunami of a round they displayed Wednesday, especially given their proven dominance all season long.
No matter how exposed the team looked in the opening rounds, comebacks in this fashion are incredibly rare, particularly on a course as deceptively tricky as Pauma Valley. The Cavaliers’ ability to correct what plagued them early and power past ranked competition over the final 18 holes is a promising sign.
It is also worth noting that teams utilize the Pauma Valley Country Club as a proving grounds of sorts to survey elite opponents and preview conditions for the NCAA Championship in May, held just under an hour away at the North Course in Omni La Costa Spa & Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.
Until then, the Cavaliers will hope to continue their wave of late-round momentum into the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate in Williamsburg, Va., hosted by William & Mary March 23-24, where they will enter select individuals before preparing for their final road tournament of the season — the Calusa Cup.
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