Tyler Long made history with CU's first-ever known albatross.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
October 27, 2026 | Men's Golf
Sophomore Tyler Long makes program history
LAHAINA, Maui – The Colorado men's golf team behind some history on the first hole on the day moved up two notches into sixth place here Tuesday with 45 holes completed the 12th Annual Ka'anapali Classic by OUTRIGGER.
The unusual number of holes played was due to the tournament being rearranged to finish ahead of a potentially massive storm front that is expected to bring heavy rains, winds and thunderstorms to the Hawai'ian Islands sometime late Tuesday. The first 18 were played on Sunday and 27 on Monday.
No. 26 Clemson maintained its lead and goes into the final nine holes with an 18-under par team score, one ahead of No. 12 Georgia (17-under). No. 35 TCU is in third (12-under), No. 18 Kansas and No. 22 Oklahoma round out the top five with 4-under tallies, with CU lurking one stroke behind the Jayhawks and Sooners at 3-under..
Colorado moved from eighth place into a tie for sixth after shaving 15 strokes of its first round score to its second (11-over 295 to 4-under 280), but lost several strokes down the stretch. Three Buffs were flirting with bogey-free rounds until late, as at one point CU was in fourth and as much as 10-under par. CU would finish 4-under par (280 team total); one major improvement came on the first five holes on the back nine. Colorado's five designated scorers started on the 10th and 11th holes and played those at 8-over par (one birdie, five pars, eight bogeys, one double). On Monday, starting as a group four holes earlier on 6 and 7, by the time Buff the quintet all had played 10 through 14, they did so even (one birdie, 13 pars, one bogey).
However, CU proved resilient, starting well in the first portion of the third round. Halfway through the round the Buffaloes are 10-under par, the five players scoring two eagles, nine birdies, 31 pars and three bogeys.
Sophomore Tyler Long is tied for seventh with a 4-under effort through 45 holes on the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali Course layout. He had a 1-over 72 to open here and followed that up Tuesday morning with a 2-under 69. Out of the chute in the third round he scored a pair of birdies on holes 6 and 7 with an eagle on 9; a bogey on 11 dropped him back to 4-under on the round.
Long scored what is believed to be the first albatross in the 102-year history of the program. He started his day on the 460-yard, par-5 6th hole, and after a 326-yard drive on the hole that features a slight dogleg to the right, he covered the last 134 to the hole with a gap wedge. He also has an eagle, a team-high 10 birdies and 22 pars to counter 11 bogeys.
Senior Brandon Knight is tied for 14th in his bid for a fifth top 20 finish in as many meets this fall. He followed up an opening round 74 with a 2-under 69, and midway through the third round, he was 3-under after recording his second eagle of the day. The two eagles gave him a team-high three for the season and now has 13 in his career – moving him into the top 10 all-time at Colorado. He also has eight birdies, 28 pars and six bogeys – the latter the fewest holes worse that par by a Buff thus far here.
Long and Knight are both playing the par-5's at 7-under, tied for second in the 125-man field.
Senior Ty Holbrook followed up a first round 74 with an even-par 71, and being 2-under through nine in the final round, he is 1-over par overall and is tied for 26th. He has seven birdies and 31 pars with just seven holes worse than par (six bogeys). And at 3-under on the par-3's, he tied for second-best in the field, and he's also 3-under on the par-5's after scoring birdies on the two he played in the third round.
Junior Asher Whitaker is tied for 37th after ending 36 holes at 5-over par (75-72), but was 2-under halfway through round three. firing a 4-over 75. He's actually 2-under over the last 28 holes, including a pair of runs of nine straight of par or better. Hehas five birdies and 30 pars with nine bogeys entering Tuesday, while playing the par-3's his best at 3-under and the par-3's at 2-over.
Junior Parker Paxton rebounded from an opening round 80 to record an even-par 71, his second-best improvement from one round to the next in his collegiate career. He was even though nine holes in the third round, and at 9-over par, he is tied for 76th. He has three birdies with his 33 pars are the second-most in the field and is playing the par-5's even.
Sophomore Casey Kosney is competing here as an individual, and after opening with 7-over 79, he knocked 10 strokes off the score and matched Long for the best second round score by a Buff with a 2-under 69. He moved up 33 spots from a tie for 97th to 54th, and after nine holes in the third round when play was called for the day, he was 4-under par and jumped another 23 spots intp a tie for 31st, making him the day's biggest mover. He scored an eagle on the same 6th hole that Long performed his magic, the first of his collegiate career; he then came back with his second in round two, on his second hole, the 519-yard, par-5 1st.
"Overall, a pretty decent day," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "It started with Tyler's history-making albatross on 6. We did all the hard stuff really well but need to really be much better with wedges and basic short game shots. There are nine holes left, and we are in the mix for sure. I expect us to have a great nine holes to finish the fall."
Clemson's Hampton Roberts has held on to his first round lead through 45 holes, as he is 11-under par; he is ahead of Groegia's Grayson Wood by 1-shot with Oklahoma's Cayse Morgan lurking three off the pace.
Colorado will again be paired with Connecticut for the remainder of the third round Tuesday, finishing off their continuous play. They will start on holes 5 through 7 in a 12:30 p.m. MDT shotgun (8:30 a.m. HST). It will wrap up the fall season for the Buffaloes who will resume action in February.
SOME SPOT CU ALUMNI ALBATROSS HISTORY: An Email to golf alumni had four answer about their albatross history. Steve Jones ('81) had none in college but three albatrosses as a professional; in the 2015 Senior British Open on the Old Sunningdale Course in Berkshire, he opened the tournament with an albatross (and recalled he went 2-3-4-5 on his first four holes) … Matthew Zions ('03) had one in the final round of the 2007 Australian Open; he credited his wife and caddie, Leah, for it as he was going to hit his hybrid iron but she suggested his 5-wood, which he hit instead … Rick Cramer ('82) recalled having one in Shreveport when he played on the Nike Tour (said, "I'd remember one by a teammate because it would have been a big deal!") … Philip Juel-Berg ('16) had one soon after turning pro in a practice round Oct. 16 of that year in Himmerland, Denmark.
NOTES: Monday's high temperature reached 81 degrees under mostly cloudy skies; the winds weren't too strong but gradually picked up as the day wore on, working to 10-12 miles per hour at times, far lower than Sunday's gusts of 20 mph or more … CU still lacks the toughest of the "bird" related scores as do most if not all – the condor – which would be a 1 on a par-5 (or a 2 on the extremely rare par-6's) … The average score for the 250 completed rounds is 74.28 (72.62 for the second round after 75.93 for the first); the five CU scorers are averaging 72.4 (72.9 including Kosney) … There are only 22 players under par and three who stand even after 45 holes … Sixteen holes are playing over par through 36 holes, though just 13 did in the second 18 as opposed to 17 in the first round – the five toughest through two rounds, in order, were Nos. 11, 2, 17, 18 and 5. The Buff quintet played those at 11-over in round one and 6-over in round two … When play was called Tuesday, CU was playing the par-5's the second-best at 20-under (Clemson is 25-under); the par-3s at 10-over (sixth-best, Clemson is first at 2-over) and the par-4's 17-over (TCU leads at 7-under) … Also, the Buff scorers were tied for first in eagles (4), tied for 10 in birdies (34, Georgia leads with 53), is first in pars (144, Kansas is next with 141), and has the third-fewest bogeys (38; UGA has the low of 29) … CU had 10 eagles this fall coming in, but have five thus far through 45 holes (plus the albatross) … Now through two rounds, the Buffs, along with KU and TCU, remain among the 13 teams in Power-4 conference (68 in all) that have yet to lose strokes in a round versus the field (no single round scores in bottom halves of the field.
The unusual number of holes played was due to the tournament being rearranged to finish ahead of a potentially massive storm front that is expected to bring heavy rains, winds and thunderstorms to the Hawai'ian Islands sometime late Tuesday. The first 18 were played on Sunday and 27 on Monday.
No. 26 Clemson maintained its lead and goes into the final nine holes with an 18-under par team score, one ahead of No. 12 Georgia (17-under). No. 35 TCU is in third (12-under), No. 18 Kansas and No. 22 Oklahoma round out the top five with 4-under tallies, with CU lurking one stroke behind the Jayhawks and Sooners at 3-under..
Colorado moved from eighth place into a tie for sixth after shaving 15 strokes of its first round score to its second (11-over 295 to 4-under 280), but lost several strokes down the stretch. Three Buffs were flirting with bogey-free rounds until late, as at one point CU was in fourth and as much as 10-under par. CU would finish 4-under par (280 team total); one major improvement came on the first five holes on the back nine. Colorado's five designated scorers started on the 10th and 11th holes and played those at 8-over par (one birdie, five pars, eight bogeys, one double). On Monday, starting as a group four holes earlier on 6 and 7, by the time Buff the quintet all had played 10 through 14, they did so even (one birdie, 13 pars, one bogey).
However, CU proved resilient, starting well in the first portion of the third round. Halfway through the round the Buffaloes are 10-under par, the five players scoring two eagles, nine birdies, 31 pars and three bogeys.
Sophomore Tyler Long is tied for seventh with a 4-under effort through 45 holes on the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali Course layout. He had a 1-over 72 to open here and followed that up Tuesday morning with a 2-under 69. Out of the chute in the third round he scored a pair of birdies on holes 6 and 7 with an eagle on 9; a bogey on 11 dropped him back to 4-under on the round.
Long scored what is believed to be the first albatross in the 102-year history of the program. He started his day on the 460-yard, par-5 6th hole, and after a 326-yard drive on the hole that features a slight dogleg to the right, he covered the last 134 to the hole with a gap wedge. He also has an eagle, a team-high 10 birdies and 22 pars to counter 11 bogeys.
Senior Brandon Knight is tied for 14th in his bid for a fifth top 20 finish in as many meets this fall. He followed up an opening round 74 with a 2-under 69, and midway through the third round, he was 3-under after recording his second eagle of the day. The two eagles gave him a team-high three for the season and now has 13 in his career – moving him into the top 10 all-time at Colorado. He also has eight birdies, 28 pars and six bogeys – the latter the fewest holes worse that par by a Buff thus far here.
Long and Knight are both playing the par-5's at 7-under, tied for second in the 125-man field.
Senior Ty Holbrook followed up a first round 74 with an even-par 71, and being 2-under through nine in the final round, he is 1-over par overall and is tied for 26th. He has seven birdies and 31 pars with just seven holes worse than par (six bogeys). And at 3-under on the par-3's, he tied for second-best in the field, and he's also 3-under on the par-5's after scoring birdies on the two he played in the third round.
Junior Asher Whitaker is tied for 37th after ending 36 holes at 5-over par (75-72), but was 2-under halfway through round three. firing a 4-over 75. He's actually 2-under over the last 28 holes, including a pair of runs of nine straight of par or better. Hehas five birdies and 30 pars with nine bogeys entering Tuesday, while playing the par-3's his best at 3-under and the par-3's at 2-over.
Junior Parker Paxton rebounded from an opening round 80 to record an even-par 71, his second-best improvement from one round to the next in his collegiate career. He was even though nine holes in the third round, and at 9-over par, he is tied for 76th. He has three birdies with his 33 pars are the second-most in the field and is playing the par-5's even.
Sophomore Casey Kosney is competing here as an individual, and after opening with 7-over 79, he knocked 10 strokes off the score and matched Long for the best second round score by a Buff with a 2-under 69. He moved up 33 spots from a tie for 97th to 54th, and after nine holes in the third round when play was called for the day, he was 4-under par and jumped another 23 spots intp a tie for 31st, making him the day's biggest mover. He scored an eagle on the same 6th hole that Long performed his magic, the first of his collegiate career; he then came back with his second in round two, on his second hole, the 519-yard, par-5 1st.
"Overall, a pretty decent day," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "It started with Tyler's history-making albatross on 6. We did all the hard stuff really well but need to really be much better with wedges and basic short game shots. There are nine holes left, and we are in the mix for sure. I expect us to have a great nine holes to finish the fall."
Clemson's Hampton Roberts has held on to his first round lead through 45 holes, as he is 11-under par; he is ahead of Groegia's Grayson Wood by 1-shot with Oklahoma's Cayse Morgan lurking three off the pace.
Colorado will again be paired with Connecticut for the remainder of the third round Tuesday, finishing off their continuous play. They will start on holes 5 through 7 in a 12:30 p.m. MDT shotgun (8:30 a.m. HST). It will wrap up the fall season for the Buffaloes who will resume action in February.
SOME SPOT CU ALUMNI ALBATROSS HISTORY: An Email to golf alumni had four answer about their albatross history. Steve Jones ('81) had none in college but three albatrosses as a professional; in the 2015 Senior British Open on the Old Sunningdale Course in Berkshire, he opened the tournament with an albatross (and recalled he went 2-3-4-5 on his first four holes) … Matthew Zions ('03) had one in the final round of the 2007 Australian Open; he credited his wife and caddie, Leah, for it as he was going to hit his hybrid iron but she suggested his 5-wood, which he hit instead … Rick Cramer ('82) recalled having one in Shreveport when he played on the Nike Tour (said, "I'd remember one by a teammate because it would have been a big deal!") … Philip Juel-Berg ('16) had one soon after turning pro in a practice round Oct. 16 of that year in Himmerland, Denmark.
NOTES: Monday's high temperature reached 81 degrees under mostly cloudy skies; the winds weren't too strong but gradually picked up as the day wore on, working to 10-12 miles per hour at times, far lower than Sunday's gusts of 20 mph or more … CU still lacks the toughest of the "bird" related scores as do most if not all – the condor – which would be a 1 on a par-5 (or a 2 on the extremely rare par-6's) … The average score for the 250 completed rounds is 74.28 (72.62 for the second round after 75.93 for the first); the five CU scorers are averaging 72.4 (72.9 including Kosney) … There are only 22 players under par and three who stand even after 45 holes … Sixteen holes are playing over par through 36 holes, though just 13 did in the second 18 as opposed to 17 in the first round – the five toughest through two rounds, in order, were Nos. 11, 2, 17, 18 and 5. The Buff quintet played those at 11-over in round one and 6-over in round two … When play was called Tuesday, CU was playing the par-5's the second-best at 20-under (Clemson is 25-under); the par-3s at 10-over (sixth-best, Clemson is first at 2-over) and the par-4's 17-over (TCU leads at 7-under) … Also, the Buff scorers were tied for first in eagles (4), tied for 10 in birdies (34, Georgia leads with 53), is first in pars (144, Kansas is next with 141), and has the third-fewest bogeys (38; UGA has the low of 29) … CU had 10 eagles this fall coming in, but have five thus far through 45 holes (plus the albatross) … Now through two rounds, the Buffs, along with KU and TCU, remain among the 13 teams in Power-4 conference (68 in all) that have yet to lose strokes in a round versus the field (no single round scores in bottom halves of the field.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T7. | Tyler Long | 72-69-34—175 |
| T14. | Brandon Knight | 74-69-34—177 |
| T26. | Ty Holbrook | 74-71-35—180 |
| T31. | *Casey Kosney | 79-69-32—180 |
| T37. | Asher Whitaker | 75-72-36—183 |
| T76. | Parker Paxton | 80-71-35—186 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Hampton Roberts, Clemson | 67-70-31—168 |
| 2. | Grayson Wood, Georgia | 69-67-33—169 |
| 3. | Cayse Morgan, Oklahoma | 69-69-32—170 |
| 4. | Oscar Bredkjaer, Clemson | 69-69-35—173 |
| 5. | Cameron Kuchar, TCU | 72-69-33—174 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| T1. | Clemson | 282-282-134—698 |
| T1. | Georgia | 284-274-140—698 |
| T3. | TCU | 293-275-136—704 |
| T3. | Kansas | 291-283-130--704 |
| 5. | Oklahoma | 292-283-137—712 |
| 6. | COLORADO | 295-280-138—713 |
| T7. | Houston | 289-284-142—715 |
| T7. | Purdue | 299-278-144—715 |
| 9. | East Tennessee State | 300-283-136—719 |
| 10. | North Florida | 299-288-138—725 |
| 11. | Connecticut | 294-294-143—731 |
| T12. | Hawai'i | 304-283-145—732 |
| T12. | San Jose State | 305-281-146—732 |
| T12. | Wyoming | 302-287-143—732 |
| 15. | Gonzaga | 298-230-142—733 |
| 16. | Boise State | 308-283-141—732 |
| 17. | Southern Illinois | 301-295-143—739 |
| 18. | Cal State Northridge | 310-292-138—740 |
| 19. | Sacramento State | 308-293-147—741 |
| 20. | UC Irvine | 309-302-141--752 |
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