Salt Lake Country Club plays to 4,600-4,800 feet in elevation.
Golfers In Utah For Big 12 Match Play
October 11, 2026 | Men's Golf
Five matches in three days
SALT LAKE CITY – The Colorado men's golf team arrived here Saturday to prep for this week's Big 12 Match Play Championships, a three-day, five-match event that features all conference members participating.
"This is really a unique event. Match play is the purest form of head-to-head competition in golf and we don't play it much until you get to the final eight at the NCAA Finals," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We like the fact that it is just simply about the team. And for the team to win a match each individual guy needs to focus on his match and do whatever he can to earn us a point. "It's a very unique event in the country as we're the only conference that does a fall match play championship."
The Salt Lake Country Club, near the mouth of Parley's Canyon in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountain Range, is serving as the host course. The course fluctuates between 4,600 and 4,800 feet in elevation and is a 7,209-yard, par-72 layout. The front nine runs along higher sloped terrain and ridges, while the back nine drops down toward Parley's Creek before climbing back up. The famous 10th hole plays from a bluff that drops 75 to 100 feet down to the green.
"The Country Club is one of the premier golf courses and clubs in the western United States," Edwards noted. "It is going to be a great match place site and they will do a wonderful job hosting the tournament. It looks like we're going to be battling some weather, which is exactly what you would expect in the Rocky Mountains in October."
Varying chances of rain are forecast at present for all three days, with temperatures peaking in the upper-50's.
Each school has six players set to participate; five are entered at any one time in a match but coaches can adjust for each upcoming match. Colorado will be represented by seniors Brandon Knight and Ty Holbrook, juniors Parker Paxton and Asher Whitaker, sophomore Tyler Long and freshman Colt Farrow. There was no event last year, but in 2024, Holbrook and Knight played, each finishing with two wins and two losses.
Knight has the most intense match play experience, as he became the first Buff to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur this past August (reaching the final eight out of the 312 in the field). Paxton is a three-time Wyoming Match Play champion.
First and second round matches are set for 8:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday, the same times for rounds three and four on Tuesday. The fifth and final round will commence at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday; all will feature shotgun starts. Teams were seeded according to their current rankings by Scoreboard and divided into four pools. CU is the 7th-seed in Pool B and will open against #10 Kansas State, and then play #15 Houston on Monday, before squaring off against #2 Texas Tech Tuesday morning. Depending on where it finishes in the pool standings, bracket play then begins and CU would then cross over and play its similar counterpart in Pool C (#3 Arizona State, $6 BYU, #11 Utah or #14 Iowa State) that afternoon, with place matches to wrap up the event.
ALUMNI UPDATE: Dylan McDermott ('25) tied for third in the Cardinal Classic on the G Tour, finishing with an 8-under par 65-68-69—202 scorecard … Jeremy Paul ('17) finished 67th in the Open de España presented by Madrid on the DP World Tour with a 2-over par 70-73-73-70—286 effort … Late last month, two CU alums finished 1-2 in the CGA's Senior Amateur Championship. Steve Ivan ('84) won it for the fourth time to go with his 2017, 2020 and 2024 titles, winning in a playoff (second hole) over Charlie Luther ('90); both turned in even-par 210 scorecards at Fox Hill Club in Longmont; Mike Glaesel ('90) tied for 25th. Former Buff player and coach Les Fowler ('48) also won it four times … Also last month, Pat Grady ('09) won the Trans-Miss Mid-Masters Amateur at Lakewood Country Club with a 5-under par 69-67-72—208 effort – one of just two players to finish under par.
"This is really a unique event. Match play is the purest form of head-to-head competition in golf and we don't play it much until you get to the final eight at the NCAA Finals," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We like the fact that it is just simply about the team. And for the team to win a match each individual guy needs to focus on his match and do whatever he can to earn us a point. "It's a very unique event in the country as we're the only conference that does a fall match play championship."
The Salt Lake Country Club, near the mouth of Parley's Canyon in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountain Range, is serving as the host course. The course fluctuates between 4,600 and 4,800 feet in elevation and is a 7,209-yard, par-72 layout. The front nine runs along higher sloped terrain and ridges, while the back nine drops down toward Parley's Creek before climbing back up. The famous 10th hole plays from a bluff that drops 75 to 100 feet down to the green.
"The Country Club is one of the premier golf courses and clubs in the western United States," Edwards noted. "It is going to be a great match place site and they will do a wonderful job hosting the tournament. It looks like we're going to be battling some weather, which is exactly what you would expect in the Rocky Mountains in October."
Varying chances of rain are forecast at present for all three days, with temperatures peaking in the upper-50's.
Each school has six players set to participate; five are entered at any one time in a match but coaches can adjust for each upcoming match. Colorado will be represented by seniors Brandon Knight and Ty Holbrook, juniors Parker Paxton and Asher Whitaker, sophomore Tyler Long and freshman Colt Farrow. There was no event last year, but in 2024, Holbrook and Knight played, each finishing with two wins and two losses.
Knight has the most intense match play experience, as he became the first Buff to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur this past August (reaching the final eight out of the 312 in the field). Paxton is a three-time Wyoming Match Play champion.
First and second round matches are set for 8:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday, the same times for rounds three and four on Tuesday. The fifth and final round will commence at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday; all will feature shotgun starts. Teams were seeded according to their current rankings by Scoreboard and divided into four pools. CU is the 7th-seed in Pool B and will open against #10 Kansas State, and then play #15 Houston on Monday, before squaring off against #2 Texas Tech Tuesday morning. Depending on where it finishes in the pool standings, bracket play then begins and CU would then cross over and play its similar counterpart in Pool C (#3 Arizona State, $6 BYU, #11 Utah or #14 Iowa State) that afternoon, with place matches to wrap up the event.
ALUMNI UPDATE: Dylan McDermott ('25) tied for third in the Cardinal Classic on the G Tour, finishing with an 8-under par 65-68-69—202 scorecard … Jeremy Paul ('17) finished 67th in the Open de España presented by Madrid on the DP World Tour with a 2-over par 70-73-73-70—286 effort … Late last month, two CU alums finished 1-2 in the CGA's Senior Amateur Championship. Steve Ivan ('84) won it for the fourth time to go with his 2017, 2020 and 2024 titles, winning in a playoff (second hole) over Charlie Luther ('90); both turned in even-par 210 scorecards at Fox Hill Club in Longmont; Mike Glaesel ('90) tied for 25th. Former Buff player and coach Les Fowler ('48) also won it four times … Also last month, Pat Grady ('09) won the Trans-Miss Mid-Masters Amateur at Lakewood Country Club with a 5-under par 69-67-72—208 effort – one of just two players to finish under par.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Thursday, March 26
Tuesday, August 12
Tuesday, February 06
Tuesday, February 06
