Knight tees off on one of Royal Ka'apalani's scenic holes.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
October 27, 2026 | General, Men's Golf
Colorado's fall season now complete
LAHAINA, Maui – The Colorado men's golf team flirted with a top five finish and fluctuated between fourth and where it would up, placing sixth here Tuesday in the 12th Annual Ka'anapali Classic by OUTRIGGER.
No. 12 Georgia slipped past No. 26 Clemson down the stretch to win the team title, as the Bulldogs finished with a 23-under par team score of 829. No. 26 Clemson made a late push and finished one back in second (830), with No. 35 TCU (838), No. 22 Oklahoma (846) and No. 18 Kansas (848) completing the top five in the 20-team event. The Buffs ended the meet one-strpke behind the Jayhawks with a 2-under 849.
The Buffs rebounded strong after opening with their worst single round of the year – an 11-over 295 – with two subpar scores, a 4-under 280 followed by a 10-under 274 Tuesday. It tied the second-best score in relation to par and done against one of the strongest fields CU saw all fall along with the weather conditions.
The tournament with assorted tinkering to the schedule due to a major storm front moving in Tuesday, closed with nine holes after teams played 27 Monday after the standard first round on Sunday. Originally it was supposed to run Monday through Wednesday.
Senior Brandon Knight, in leading the Buffaloes outright for a third straight tourney and fourth in a row overall, wrapped things here with a 5-under 66 on the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali Course layout. That polished off a 4-under 209 that tied for 10th, his third top 10 and fifth top 20 finish in as many meets this fall. Midway through the third round, he was 3-under, and added to that with two birdies (and seven pars) down the stretch toward the finish. He finished with two eagles, 10 birdies and 35 pars against six bogeys and a quadruple bogey he had seven holes into the meet. He was 8-under on the par-5's, the second-best in the 125-man field, behind only KU's William Baker who was minus-10. He was even on the par-4's (tied for 15th) and 4-over on the par-3's. His six bogeys were tied for the sixth-fewest among all players, and his seven holes worse than par was the team low.
Sophomore Tyler Long tied for 17th as he fashioned a 1-under 70 to finish with a 2-under 211 total. He was 6-under on the par-5's, tying for sixth in the field. He was rolling when the first half of the third round started Monday – 3-under par – hut the break cooled him off and he had a birdie but three bogeys to wrap the round. He had an albatross, an eagle, 11 birdies, 27 pars and 14 bogeys and played the par-5's the best at 6-undeer, which tied for sixth in the entire field.
Long scored the first known albatross (double eagle) in CU's history to open his second round on Monday. He holed out from 134 yards using a gap wedge on the 460-yard, par-5 6th hole. It was the individual highlight of the tournament, not only for CU but for all players as it would have taken a hole-in-one to match.
"It felt almost surreal making an albatross," Long said of his Monday accomplishment. "It was super cool to do it in front of both (CU) coaches and a teammate (Knight). Overall I played decent, and there were a lot of highs and lows. I just made too many bogeys but also making a good amount of birdies."
(Sidebar: for anyone not familiar with what an albatross is, they are large, highly efficient pelagic seabirds belonging to the family Diomedeidae, renowned for having the longest wingspans of any living birds.)
Junior Parker Paxton closed with a 5-under 66, his best round of the fall, and in doing so tied for 47th with a 4-over 217 total, fully putting an opening round 80 in his rearview mirror. He moved up 31 spots from his second round standing (78th), as he was the fifth-biggest mover in the final round. He was even though nine holes when play was suspended Monday and cam came out on fire, making three birdies in his first seven holes (on 13, 16 and 1), before bogeying 2. After a par on 3, eagled 4 and 6 bookending a par on 5, thus all of his 5-under came after resuming play. He had the two eagles, five birdies with 37 pars -- tying for the sixth-most in the field – with seven bogeys and three doubles. He played the par-5's his best at 3-under.
Paxton's first eagle was on the 373-yard, par-4 4th hole – he hit his drive into the left rough, 92 yards away from the pin, which was toward the front on an elevated green that had a false front. He used his 60 degree wedge that hit off the backstop and rolled back to the hole and trickled in. It was the third time in his college career he holed out for an eagle on a par-4 hole, the first time this year, and also was the third time he has at least two eagles in a round ((he holds the CU record with three), and now has 12 in his career.
Senior Ty Holbrook closed with a 2-over 73 for a 5-over 218, tying him for 56th. The fractured final round uprooted his momentum, as he was 2-under through nine and on Tuesday, he had three bogeys and a double, offset by just one birdie that unfortunately zoomed him to 2-over. He had eight birdies and 35 pars with nine bogeys and two doubles. He was 1-under on the tough par-3's, tying for fourth-best in the field and the best by a Buff, and was 3-under on the par-5's but plus-9 on the par-4's,
Junior Asher Whitaker fired a 1-over 72 to end in a tie for 59th with a 6-over 219 effort. Just like Long, after resuming the final round, he has a birdie and three bogeys that prevented him from posting a subpar round. He had seven birdies, 34 pars and 13 bogeys, and played the par-5's the best at 4-under.
Whitaker and Long did share another instance – neither did not have what CU coaches call a "jumbo" – a score worse than a bogey on a hole. They were two of 18 players who avoided one.
Sophomore Casey Kosney competed here as an individual, tying for 37th with a 3-over par 216 total. After he struggled to an opening round 80 that had him 97th, he bounced back with two subpar efforts, a second round 69 and a final round 68. Among the 25 players who played as individuals, he tied for the fourth-best overall score and tying for the second-best Tuesday. He had two eagles – the first of his collegiate career – eight birdies and 30 pars against 13 bogeys and one double, playing the par-5's the best at 5-under, 12th-best in the field.
"We beat some good teams in a big and strong field but we could, should and will be a lot better," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We had a great week for hole-outs but a terrible week for hitting greens with wedges. Right now we have a pretty good team, a team that is as competitive as top teams in the country, but we can be a great team if we want to be and are willing to go the extra mile. This offseason will go a long way in determining that. I'm excited about it as I know we have the team with the drive and attitude to improve."
Clemson's Hampton Roberts and Georgia's Grayson Wood shared medalist honors with 11-under par 202 totals.
The team will now commence on the annual holidays and winter break and will return to action with the start of the spring season in The Prestige at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif., Feb. 15-17.
NOTES: At the start of play Tuesday, it was 74 degrees under overcast skies and minimal win (4-6 miles per hour), but the tropical storm headed toward the Hawai'ian Islands was fast approaching … Several alums answered an Email or text inquiries about if they ever had an albatross at CU or at any point in their career; no one while at CU did and most never have, including World Golf Hall-of-Famer Hale Irwin ('67; who answered, "As we age, we tend to forget many things. But an albatross is not something that would be forgotten!") … CU posted 12 subpar team rounds out of 15 this fall … The average score for all 375 players was 73.23 (71.14 for the final round); the five CU scorers averaged 71.6 (71.7 including Kosney) … There were only 23 players under par and four who finished even (how did the windy conditions affect this year's field? – Last year, 66 players finished under par with six even) … Sixteen holes played over par all told,– the five toughest all over +0.30 in order were Nos. 2, 17, 11, 18 and 5. The Buff quintet played those at 17-over first two rounds but just 5-over Tuesday )the same as first place Georgia) … CU played the par-5's the second-best at 24-under (behind Clemson's 26-under); the par-4's at 19-over (seventh; Georgia and TCU were 11-under, the only two subpar) and the par-3's 14-over (tied for eighth; Clemson topped all being even) … The Buff scorers led the event in eagles (6, four others had 4), tied for 13th in birdies (41, Georgia led with 66), was third in pars (168, Kansas topped all with 172), and has the sixth-fewest bogeys (49; UGA had the low of 34) … CU had 10 eagles this fall coming in, but had eight here including two by Kosney (plus the albatross) … The Buffs, along with KU and TCU, remained among the 13 teams in Power-4 conference (68 in all) that did not lose strokes in a round versus the field (no single round scores in bottom halves of the field … CU just missed by one stroke to finish in the top five in seven of the last eight fall seasons (there was no fall 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic) … Knight ended the fall as CU's stroke average leader (69.87 for 15 rounds), the sixth best in school history for a fall campaign (he also owns the seventh, 69.93 last year); Long owned a mark of 70.60, the 16th-best fall in school annals … With two rounds in the 60's, Knight also ended the fall seventh in both career rounds in the 60's (33) and subpar rounds (48). And with three top 10 and five top 20 finishes this fall, he cracked CU's all-time list in both (tied for 17th and 18th, respectively) … Holbrook and Colt Farrow also had eagles this fall on par-4 holes … Three players ended the fall with sub-71 final round averages: Long 69.0, Knight 69.8 and Paxton 70.2 … Of the seven top 35 teams that No. 38 CU competed with here, it beat No. 7 East Tennessee State and No. 19 Purdue … CU finished the fall with a 63-17-1 record against Division I competition (78.4 percentage; 186-41-7 in single rounds); the Buffs were 14-5 and 41-14-2 here, respectively.
No. 12 Georgia slipped past No. 26 Clemson down the stretch to win the team title, as the Bulldogs finished with a 23-under par team score of 829. No. 26 Clemson made a late push and finished one back in second (830), with No. 35 TCU (838), No. 22 Oklahoma (846) and No. 18 Kansas (848) completing the top five in the 20-team event. The Buffs ended the meet one-strpke behind the Jayhawks with a 2-under 849.
The Buffs rebounded strong after opening with their worst single round of the year – an 11-over 295 – with two subpar scores, a 4-under 280 followed by a 10-under 274 Tuesday. It tied the second-best score in relation to par and done against one of the strongest fields CU saw all fall along with the weather conditions.
The tournament with assorted tinkering to the schedule due to a major storm front moving in Tuesday, closed with nine holes after teams played 27 Monday after the standard first round on Sunday. Originally it was supposed to run Monday through Wednesday.
Senior Brandon Knight, in leading the Buffaloes outright for a third straight tourney and fourth in a row overall, wrapped things here with a 5-under 66 on the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali Course layout. That polished off a 4-under 209 that tied for 10th, his third top 10 and fifth top 20 finish in as many meets this fall. Midway through the third round, he was 3-under, and added to that with two birdies (and seven pars) down the stretch toward the finish. He finished with two eagles, 10 birdies and 35 pars against six bogeys and a quadruple bogey he had seven holes into the meet. He was 8-under on the par-5's, the second-best in the 125-man field, behind only KU's William Baker who was minus-10. He was even on the par-4's (tied for 15th) and 4-over on the par-3's. His six bogeys were tied for the sixth-fewest among all players, and his seven holes worse than par was the team low.
Sophomore Tyler Long tied for 17th as he fashioned a 1-under 70 to finish with a 2-under 211 total. He was 6-under on the par-5's, tying for sixth in the field. He was rolling when the first half of the third round started Monday – 3-under par – hut the break cooled him off and he had a birdie but three bogeys to wrap the round. He had an albatross, an eagle, 11 birdies, 27 pars and 14 bogeys and played the par-5's the best at 6-undeer, which tied for sixth in the entire field.
Long scored the first known albatross (double eagle) in CU's history to open his second round on Monday. He holed out from 134 yards using a gap wedge on the 460-yard, par-5 6th hole. It was the individual highlight of the tournament, not only for CU but for all players as it would have taken a hole-in-one to match.
"It felt almost surreal making an albatross," Long said of his Monday accomplishment. "It was super cool to do it in front of both (CU) coaches and a teammate (Knight). Overall I played decent, and there were a lot of highs and lows. I just made too many bogeys but also making a good amount of birdies."
(Sidebar: for anyone not familiar with what an albatross is, they are large, highly efficient pelagic seabirds belonging to the family Diomedeidae, renowned for having the longest wingspans of any living birds.)
Junior Parker Paxton closed with a 5-under 66, his best round of the fall, and in doing so tied for 47th with a 4-over 217 total, fully putting an opening round 80 in his rearview mirror. He moved up 31 spots from his second round standing (78th), as he was the fifth-biggest mover in the final round. He was even though nine holes when play was suspended Monday and cam came out on fire, making three birdies in his first seven holes (on 13, 16 and 1), before bogeying 2. After a par on 3, eagled 4 and 6 bookending a par on 5, thus all of his 5-under came after resuming play. He had the two eagles, five birdies with 37 pars -- tying for the sixth-most in the field – with seven bogeys and three doubles. He played the par-5's his best at 3-under.
Paxton's first eagle was on the 373-yard, par-4 4th hole – he hit his drive into the left rough, 92 yards away from the pin, which was toward the front on an elevated green that had a false front. He used his 60 degree wedge that hit off the backstop and rolled back to the hole and trickled in. It was the third time in his college career he holed out for an eagle on a par-4 hole, the first time this year, and also was the third time he has at least two eagles in a round ((he holds the CU record with three), and now has 12 in his career.
Senior Ty Holbrook closed with a 2-over 73 for a 5-over 218, tying him for 56th. The fractured final round uprooted his momentum, as he was 2-under through nine and on Tuesday, he had three bogeys and a double, offset by just one birdie that unfortunately zoomed him to 2-over. He had eight birdies and 35 pars with nine bogeys and two doubles. He was 1-under on the tough par-3's, tying for fourth-best in the field and the best by a Buff, and was 3-under on the par-5's but plus-9 on the par-4's,
Junior Asher Whitaker fired a 1-over 72 to end in a tie for 59th with a 6-over 219 effort. Just like Long, after resuming the final round, he has a birdie and three bogeys that prevented him from posting a subpar round. He had seven birdies, 34 pars and 13 bogeys, and played the par-5's the best at 4-under.
Whitaker and Long did share another instance – neither did not have what CU coaches call a "jumbo" – a score worse than a bogey on a hole. They were two of 18 players who avoided one.
Sophomore Casey Kosney competed here as an individual, tying for 37th with a 3-over par 216 total. After he struggled to an opening round 80 that had him 97th, he bounced back with two subpar efforts, a second round 69 and a final round 68. Among the 25 players who played as individuals, he tied for the fourth-best overall score and tying for the second-best Tuesday. He had two eagles – the first of his collegiate career – eight birdies and 30 pars against 13 bogeys and one double, playing the par-5's the best at 5-under, 12th-best in the field.
"We beat some good teams in a big and strong field but we could, should and will be a lot better," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We had a great week for hole-outs but a terrible week for hitting greens with wedges. Right now we have a pretty good team, a team that is as competitive as top teams in the country, but we can be a great team if we want to be and are willing to go the extra mile. This offseason will go a long way in determining that. I'm excited about it as I know we have the team with the drive and attitude to improve."
Clemson's Hampton Roberts and Georgia's Grayson Wood shared medalist honors with 11-under par 202 totals.
The team will now commence on the annual holidays and winter break and will return to action with the start of the spring season in The Prestige at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif., Feb. 15-17.
NOTES: At the start of play Tuesday, it was 74 degrees under overcast skies and minimal win (4-6 miles per hour), but the tropical storm headed toward the Hawai'ian Islands was fast approaching … Several alums answered an Email or text inquiries about if they ever had an albatross at CU or at any point in their career; no one while at CU did and most never have, including World Golf Hall-of-Famer Hale Irwin ('67; who answered, "As we age, we tend to forget many things. But an albatross is not something that would be forgotten!") … CU posted 12 subpar team rounds out of 15 this fall … The average score for all 375 players was 73.23 (71.14 for the final round); the five CU scorers averaged 71.6 (71.7 including Kosney) … There were only 23 players under par and four who finished even (how did the windy conditions affect this year's field? – Last year, 66 players finished under par with six even) … Sixteen holes played over par all told,– the five toughest all over +0.30 in order were Nos. 2, 17, 11, 18 and 5. The Buff quintet played those at 17-over first two rounds but just 5-over Tuesday )the same as first place Georgia) … CU played the par-5's the second-best at 24-under (behind Clemson's 26-under); the par-4's at 19-over (seventh; Georgia and TCU were 11-under, the only two subpar) and the par-3's 14-over (tied for eighth; Clemson topped all being even) … The Buff scorers led the event in eagles (6, four others had 4), tied for 13th in birdies (41, Georgia led with 66), was third in pars (168, Kansas topped all with 172), and has the sixth-fewest bogeys (49; UGA had the low of 34) … CU had 10 eagles this fall coming in, but had eight here including two by Kosney (plus the albatross) … The Buffs, along with KU and TCU, remained among the 13 teams in Power-4 conference (68 in all) that did not lose strokes in a round versus the field (no single round scores in bottom halves of the field … CU just missed by one stroke to finish in the top five in seven of the last eight fall seasons (there was no fall 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic) … Knight ended the fall as CU's stroke average leader (69.87 for 15 rounds), the sixth best in school history for a fall campaign (he also owns the seventh, 69.93 last year); Long owned a mark of 70.60, the 16th-best fall in school annals … With two rounds in the 60's, Knight also ended the fall seventh in both career rounds in the 60's (33) and subpar rounds (48). And with three top 10 and five top 20 finishes this fall, he cracked CU's all-time list in both (tied for 17th and 18th, respectively) … Holbrook and Colt Farrow also had eagles this fall on par-4 holes … Three players ended the fall with sub-71 final round averages: Long 69.0, Knight 69.8 and Paxton 70.2 … Of the seven top 35 teams that No. 38 CU competed with here, it beat No. 7 East Tennessee State and No. 19 Purdue … CU finished the fall with a 63-17-1 record against Division I competition (78.4 percentage; 186-41-7 in single rounds); the Buffs were 14-5 and 41-14-2 here, respectively.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T10. | Brandon Knight | 74-69-66—209 |
| T17. | Tyler Long | 72-69-70—211 |
| T37. | *Casey Kosney | 79-69-68—216 |
| T47. | Parker Paxton | 80-71-66—217 |
| T56. | Ty Holbrook | 74-71-73—218 |
| T59. | Asher Whitaker | 75-72-72—219 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| T1. | Hampton Roberts, Clemson | 67-70-65—202 |
| T1. | Grayson Wood, Georgia | 69-67-66—202 |
| 3. | Cayse Morgan, Oklahoma | 69-69-66—204 |
| 4. | Oscar Bredkjaer, Clemson | 69-69-67—205 |
| T5. | Jenson Forrester, Purdue | 69-69-68—206 |
| T5. | Arthur Carlier, Kansas | 70-70-66—206 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Georgia | 284-274-271—829 |
| 2. | Clemson | 282-282-266—830 |
| 3. | TCU | 293-275-268—836 |
| 4. | Oklahoma | 292-283-271—846 |
| 5. | Kansas | 291-283-274—848 |
| 6. | COLORADO | 295-280-274—849 |
| 7. | Purdue | 299-278-274—851 |
| 8. | Houston | 289-284-286—859 |
| 9. | North Florida | 299-288-275—862 |
| T10. | Hawai'i | 304-283-279—866 |
| T10. | East Tennessee State | 300-283-284—867 |
| 12. | Wyoming | 302-287-281—870 |
| 13. | San Jose State | 305-281-285—871 |
| 14. | Connecticut | 294-294-285—873 |
| 15. | Gonzaga | 298-293-285—876 |
| 16. | Boise State | 308-283-286—877 |
| 17. | Southern Illinois | 301-295-289—885 |
| 18. | Cal State Northridge | 310-292-284—886 |
| 19. | Sacramento State | 308-293-286—887 |
| 20. | UC Irvine | 309-302-293—904 |
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
Wednesday, October 28
Monday, October 26
Monday, October 26
Monday, October 26
