University of Colorado Athletics
Associate head coach Derek Tolan and Brandon Knight between rounds Thursday.
Photo by: Roy Edwards
Knight Advances To U.S. Amateur Quarterfinals
August 13, 2026 | Men's Golf
First Buffalo to make it out of thitd round
ARDMORE, Pa. – University of Colorado senior Brandon Knight is the 13th Buffalo to advance into U.S. Amateur match play in school history; the number 13 proved lucky as he became the first to reach the quarterfinals after rallying to win two matches here Thursday.
Knight was relentless in his pursuit of advancing, never leading in the Round of 16 until he managed to conquer the tough 507-yard, par-5 18th hole at Merion Golf Club. Conquer might be the wrong adjective, survive is more accurate as he defeated Oklahoma State junior Gaven Lane, the 58th ranked amateur in the world, by making a bogey while Lane doubled.
The hole is legendary for its toughness, and it was made harder for both as each hit their tee shots left into the rough. Lane had an easier shot from his lie, while Knight was blocked and had to chip it back toward the fairway, where his ball rolled just into the rough on the right side. Both reached the green in three; Lane went first with a 30-foot putt veering short and left, while Knight's from about 12 feet rolled five feet past but underneath. Knight was still away and sank his bogey putt, while Lane's sailed just by the hole giving the Buff junior a match he never led in until the end.
"I told him to just keep believing and playing the shot at hand, not the opponent," said associate head coach Derek Tolan, who has been caddying for him all week. "He was a bit nervous. so I reminded him to just trust his training and let it fly. I also told him not to think right now and that I would do that for him."
"Today was very stressful especially the second match," Knight said. "I played well in the morning round, especially from hole 5 on making seven birdies. Round two was much more of a grind. I was crazy nervous especially after being three down through four holes. I was able to grind it back by hole 12, which is where I felt I had a good chance at winning.
"Derek was a massive help all day and has been all tournament long," he added. "It's been so helpful to be able to lean on him especially during stressful moments. He is able to keep a very level head which helped me try to stay calm and give me confidence throughout."
In fact, it appeared at first that Lane would run away with the match, as after both made par on No. 1, he scored three straight birdies to go 3-up early. Both players won two holes on the remaining five on the front nine, Lane thus maintaining his three-hole advantage. But Knight persevered, tying the match by going birdie-par-par to start the back nine. Lane then made par on the 119-yard, par-3 13th while Knight bogeyed. Both then scored pars on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 – all par 3's – setting the stage for the dramatics on 18.
"It was just a battle of a match," said CU head coach Roy Edwards, who arrived in Pennsylvania in time to watch both matches. "He did such a good job of staying in the present and continuing to grind out holes. He played really well in the first and second round matches and then wasn't his absolute best this afternoon, but he continued to just battle and scrap and it paid off. Derek Tolan may be the best coach in the country and I know having him on the bag was a huge help."
In the Round of 32 – the morning competition – Knight, seeded 48th, defeated 16th-seeded University of Florida senior Noah Kent, 3 and 2, clinching the match on the 16th hole with a birdie, his seventh in the round. Overall, he won seven holes, all with birdies, and lost four while tying five.
Knight had to rally, as after both started out with pars on Nos. 1 and 2, Kent went up by one when Knight bogeyed the par-3 3rd, and then 2-up after he birdied the 620-yard, par-5 4th hole where Knight made par. Knight would then birdie four of the next six holes (Nos. 5, 7, 8 and 10) to assume a lead who never relinquish. Kent pulled to within one after he made par on No. 11 while Knight bogeyed, who came right back with birds on No. 12 and 13 to take a three-hole lead. Kent pulled to within two when he parred No. 14, and after both bogeyed No. 15; on No. 16, Lane missed s birdie putt from 30 feet, while Knight hit a 9-iron from 166 yards out to within three feet with his birdie putt finding the cup and ended the match.
To reach the quarterfinals, Knight has defeated three players who played pivotal roles on three of last year's top six teams; No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Texas Tech. In the quarterfinals, he will square off against recent University of Georgia graduate and No. 8 seed Carter Loflin; the Bulldogs were ranked 27th in last year's final tally. Loflin advanced by defeating University of Alabama sophomore William Jennings in 19 holes.
QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS (times MDT)
11:15 #8 Carter Loflin (U. of Georgia) vs. #48 Brandon Knight (U. of Colorado)
11:30 #29 Adan Bresnu (Texas Tech) vs. #60 Jack Whaley (Florida State U.)
11:45 #7 Jack Turner (U. of Florida) vs. #15 Jay Leng Jr. (Stanford U.)
12:00 #19 Michael Lugiano (Liberty U.) vs. #11 Logan Reilly (Auburn U)
NOTES: Knight was the 534th ranked amateur in this week's latest computation; he bested the No. 25 amateur, Texas Tech's Connor Graham in the first round and defeated the 89th in Kent in the morning … He is now in the final eight after starting out in the 312-man field … Knight's mother, father and grandfather have watched him all week, traveling from Pleasanton, Calif., his hometown … The raw scores in the Round of 16 – including gimmes and pickups: Knight 38-35--73 , Lane 34-40—74 … Knight became the fifth Buffalo to make it out of the Round of 32 joining the late Dale Douglass (1959), Matt Potter (1987), David Oraee (2015) and Justin Biwer (2022); … Merion has hosted four U.S. Opens, Ben Hogan winning the first in 1950, Justin Rose the last in 2013 with Lee Trevino and David Graham in-between … The semifinals are on Saturday and the 36-hole championship match on Sunday … Television coverage is set for 1-4 p.m. MDT on Friday thru Sunday on the NBC Sports Network and Peacock, and from 2-4 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
Knight was relentless in his pursuit of advancing, never leading in the Round of 16 until he managed to conquer the tough 507-yard, par-5 18th hole at Merion Golf Club. Conquer might be the wrong adjective, survive is more accurate as he defeated Oklahoma State junior Gaven Lane, the 58th ranked amateur in the world, by making a bogey while Lane doubled.
The hole is legendary for its toughness, and it was made harder for both as each hit their tee shots left into the rough. Lane had an easier shot from his lie, while Knight was blocked and had to chip it back toward the fairway, where his ball rolled just into the rough on the right side. Both reached the green in three; Lane went first with a 30-foot putt veering short and left, while Knight's from about 12 feet rolled five feet past but underneath. Knight was still away and sank his bogey putt, while Lane's sailed just by the hole giving the Buff junior a match he never led in until the end.
"I told him to just keep believing and playing the shot at hand, not the opponent," said associate head coach Derek Tolan, who has been caddying for him all week. "He was a bit nervous. so I reminded him to just trust his training and let it fly. I also told him not to think right now and that I would do that for him."
"Today was very stressful especially the second match," Knight said. "I played well in the morning round, especially from hole 5 on making seven birdies. Round two was much more of a grind. I was crazy nervous especially after being three down through four holes. I was able to grind it back by hole 12, which is where I felt I had a good chance at winning.
"Derek was a massive help all day and has been all tournament long," he added. "It's been so helpful to be able to lean on him especially during stressful moments. He is able to keep a very level head which helped me try to stay calm and give me confidence throughout."
In fact, it appeared at first that Lane would run away with the match, as after both made par on No. 1, he scored three straight birdies to go 3-up early. Both players won two holes on the remaining five on the front nine, Lane thus maintaining his three-hole advantage. But Knight persevered, tying the match by going birdie-par-par to start the back nine. Lane then made par on the 119-yard, par-3 13th while Knight bogeyed. Both then scored pars on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 – all par 3's – setting the stage for the dramatics on 18.
"It was just a battle of a match," said CU head coach Roy Edwards, who arrived in Pennsylvania in time to watch both matches. "He did such a good job of staying in the present and continuing to grind out holes. He played really well in the first and second round matches and then wasn't his absolute best this afternoon, but he continued to just battle and scrap and it paid off. Derek Tolan may be the best coach in the country and I know having him on the bag was a huge help."
In the Round of 32 – the morning competition – Knight, seeded 48th, defeated 16th-seeded University of Florida senior Noah Kent, 3 and 2, clinching the match on the 16th hole with a birdie, his seventh in the round. Overall, he won seven holes, all with birdies, and lost four while tying five.
Knight had to rally, as after both started out with pars on Nos. 1 and 2, Kent went up by one when Knight bogeyed the par-3 3rd, and then 2-up after he birdied the 620-yard, par-5 4th hole where Knight made par. Knight would then birdie four of the next six holes (Nos. 5, 7, 8 and 10) to assume a lead who never relinquish. Kent pulled to within one after he made par on No. 11 while Knight bogeyed, who came right back with birds on No. 12 and 13 to take a three-hole lead. Kent pulled to within two when he parred No. 14, and after both bogeyed No. 15; on No. 16, Lane missed s birdie putt from 30 feet, while Knight hit a 9-iron from 166 yards out to within three feet with his birdie putt finding the cup and ended the match.
To reach the quarterfinals, Knight has defeated three players who played pivotal roles on three of last year's top six teams; No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Texas Tech. In the quarterfinals, he will square off against recent University of Georgia graduate and No. 8 seed Carter Loflin; the Bulldogs were ranked 27th in last year's final tally. Loflin advanced by defeating University of Alabama sophomore William Jennings in 19 holes.
QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS (times MDT)
11:15 #8 Carter Loflin (U. of Georgia) vs. #48 Brandon Knight (U. of Colorado)
11:30 #29 Adan Bresnu (Texas Tech) vs. #60 Jack Whaley (Florida State U.)
11:45 #7 Jack Turner (U. of Florida) vs. #15 Jay Leng Jr. (Stanford U.)
12:00 #19 Michael Lugiano (Liberty U.) vs. #11 Logan Reilly (Auburn U)
NOTES: Knight was the 534th ranked amateur in this week's latest computation; he bested the No. 25 amateur, Texas Tech's Connor Graham in the first round and defeated the 89th in Kent in the morning … He is now in the final eight after starting out in the 312-man field … Knight's mother, father and grandfather have watched him all week, traveling from Pleasanton, Calif., his hometown … The raw scores in the Round of 16 – including gimmes and pickups: Knight 38-35--73 , Lane 34-40—74 … Knight became the fifth Buffalo to make it out of the Round of 32 joining the late Dale Douglass (1959), Matt Potter (1987), David Oraee (2015) and Justin Biwer (2022); … Merion has hosted four U.S. Opens, Ben Hogan winning the first in 1950, Justin Rose the last in 2013 with Lee Trevino and David Graham in-between … The semifinals are on Saturday and the 36-hole championship match on Sunday … Television coverage is set for 1-4 p.m. MDT on Friday thru Sunday on the NBC Sports Network and Peacock, and from 2-4 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
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