Parker Paxton is tied for the lead at Air Force
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buffaloes Tied For Lead In AFA Miranda Invitational
September 19, 2026 | Men's Golf
Paxton, Amella Lead Both AFA Events
USAFA, Colo. – The Colorado men's golf team opened in a tie for the lead here Saturday in the 57th Annual Air Force Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
The Buffaloes, ranked 11th in The Differential computer rankings after finishing second by a stroke in the Vuori Invitational earlier in the week, turned in an 8-under par team score of 280, which was matched by Utah Valley. Four teams are tied for third five strokes back with 3-under 285 totals, UC Davis, Denver, Texas-El Paso and Wyoming.
CU was in first place after nine holes, making the turn at 10-under par with 12 birdies, 31 pars and just two bogeys, but had some bumps in the road early on the back nine but finished strong and maintained a share of the lead.
Junior Parker Paxton is tied for the individual lead with six others as he carded an opening round 4-under par 68 on the 7,541-yard, par-72 Eisenhower Blue Course. He had five birdies, all within the first 11 holes and tying for the eighth-most in the 90-man field, and a lone bogey (on 15), and played all hole designs subpar (2-under on the par-5's and 1-under on the 3's and 4's; he played the par-3's tied for second-best for the round).
Senior Ty Holbrook is tied for seventh after fashioning a 3-under 69, recording four birdies and 13 pars, also with a single bogey. He was 2-under on the par-5's, 1-under on the par-4's and even on the par-3's. He had a pristine front nine as well, making the turn at 3-under before playing the back nine even. The 13 pars tied for seventh-most in the field.
Junior Asher Whitaker is tied for 20th, as the Oklahoma transfer recorded his best round as a Buffalo with a 1-under 71. He had a team-high six birdies with nine pars opposite a bogey and two doubles. One of his birdies – the second-most in the field – was on No, 14, one of nine all day on what was the seventh-toughest hole of the day. He played the par-5's at 3-under, tied for second-best in the field.
Sophomore Tyler Long recorded an even par 72 that has him tied for 29th, as he had three birdies and 12 pars against three bogeys. He was 1-over through eight and then went on a birdie binge with three on the next four holes (9. 10 and 12), before two bogeys down the home stretch brought him back to even for the round.
Senior Brandon Knight rounded out the first day CU action with a 1-over 73 that has him tied for 39th. Ho started with seven straight pars and was still even through 12 before going bogey-bogey-par-birdie, and then closing with two more pare to finish just one stroke on the unhappy side of par. He had two birdies and 13 pars and three bogeys on his round, which saw him play the par-5's at 2-under, the par-3's at 1-over and the par-4's at 2-over.
AFA GENE MIRANDA FALCON INDIVIDUAL: The companion tournament for individuals from competing teams is being held on Eisenhower's other layout, the 6,510-yard, par-72 Siver Course. Four Buffaloes are entered in that event.
Freshman Gavin Amella is the leader by a stroke after the first round, as he likely was unbeknownst to him that he was flirting with a couple of CU records. Starting with a birdie on 2, he would record a season team-high eight birdies on AFA's 6,510-yard, par-72 Eisenhower Blue Course – including five in a row on holes 14 through 18. But a bogey on his final hole, the 406-yard, par-4 1st, kept him from establishing a record and tying another. However, the 7-under 65 tied the lowest score ever by a Buff freshman, previously done three times also at 7-under par (Jeremy Paul in 2013, Morton Toft Hansen in 2016 and Jack Hughes on this same golf course in 2021) and three other occasions on lower par configurations. He would have tied the overall best of 8-under had it not been for the bogey on 1. He leads the 26-man field in birdies and par-4 scoring (-3) and is second in par-3 scoring (-1), having played all three hole layouts under par and recording his first collegiate round in the 60's.
The three other Buffaloes all recorded 1-under 71 scores and are tied for eighth.
Freshman Colt Farrow experienced a "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" round. He made the turn at 2-over and they bogeyed 10 to rise to plus-3, but after parring 11. he went on to play the last seven holes at 4-under, including closing with an eagle on the 519-yard, par-5 18th. He had four birdies and five bogeys to go with the eagle and eight pars, playing the par-5's at 4-under overall, tied for third-best in the field.
Sophomore Casey Kosney had six birdies and seven pars opposite five bogeys. His six birdies were the second-most in the field, and he played the par-5's his best at 2-under, 10th among all competitors. He was cruising along and was 4-under with four holes remaining but struggled down the stretch with three straight bogeys on 17, 18 and 1 before closing with a par on 2.
Second-year graduate Jackson Rivera had the most conventional round of the three with three birdies, 13 pars and two bogeys. The bogeys were on the front side as he made the turn at 2-over, but bounced back with birdies on 11, 16 and 18 to finish the day in the red, also his best 18 hole score of the young season. He played the par-5's at 1-under and both the par-3's and 4's even.
"We played well and had a really good front nine," CU head coach Roy Edwards said, "The guys did a good job there. We were all in position on 11 but weren't able to capitalize on what is a birdie hole there. It doesn't look like we played 12 and 13 very well, but we're pretty decent coming in from there. I thought we had very consistent emotions today, which is a huge key to long-term success.
"In the individual companion event on the Silver Course, Gavin had a great round and all four guys had some good moments and finished under par," he added."
The second rounds for both events are Sunday and the final rounds on Monday. In the team event, the Buffaloes will be paired with Air Force and UC Santa Barbara and will tee off on No. 10 between 10 and 10:36 a.m. The individuals will all begin at 9:30 in a shotgun start.
SWANSON ON TO STAGE TWO: Former Buff and current assistant coach Hunter Swanson ('26) Friday advanced out of the first stage of qualifying for the DP World Tour. He tied for eighth in the 72-hole qualifying tourney with a 2-under par 278 score (68-70-70-70) on the Dunham Forest Golf and Country Club in Altrincham, England. The second stage will be held at four different sites in Spain Oct. 29-Nov. 1 (Andalucia, Almeria, Albacete and Girona) with the final stage Nov. 6-11 in Tarragona, Spain. Former Buff Yannik Paul ('18) has been a regular competitor on the DP Tour, with older twin Jeremy ('17) occasionally playing when he's not competing in the states on the PGA or Korn Ferry tours; Victor Bjorlow ('21) also has played in a few DP events. (Speaking of Jeremy Paul, he is in this week's PGA Tour event; through three rounds of the Biltmore Championship Asheville, he is tied for 32nd at 10-under par.)
NOTES: The weather was perfect at the start, sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 60's and negligible winds … CU has won this tournament nine times, the first time in 1970 and the last two back-to-back in 2018 and 2019; it's the 41st time the Buffs are playing in the meet … . The average score for all 90 completed rounds in the team event was 73.72; the five Buff duffers averaged 70.4 … The average score for the 26 players in the individual tourney was 72.42; the four Buffs combined averaged 69.5 (otherwise, the remaining 22 checked in at 73.0) … Eight Buffaloes are tied for the best round in relation to par at 8-under (five on par-72 courses and three on par-71's) … The seven toughest holes Friday, all playing at 0.21 over par, in order were 3, 15, 17, 4, 13, 2 and 14; Colorado played them combined at 7-over, while Utah Valley's quintet was also 7-over … The Buffs played the par-5's the best of the 18 teams on Saturday at 10-under (three teams were 8-under); the par-4's even (second behind Wyoming's 2-under) and the par-3's at 3-over (tied for sixth; UTEP led at 1-under) … Colorado was second in birdies (20; Utah Valley had 21), tied with UC Santa Barbara for the most pars (59), and had the fewest bogeys (9; UTEP was next with 14).
The Buffaloes, ranked 11th in The Differential computer rankings after finishing second by a stroke in the Vuori Invitational earlier in the week, turned in an 8-under par team score of 280, which was matched by Utah Valley. Four teams are tied for third five strokes back with 3-under 285 totals, UC Davis, Denver, Texas-El Paso and Wyoming.
CU was in first place after nine holes, making the turn at 10-under par with 12 birdies, 31 pars and just two bogeys, but had some bumps in the road early on the back nine but finished strong and maintained a share of the lead.
Junior Parker Paxton is tied for the individual lead with six others as he carded an opening round 4-under par 68 on the 7,541-yard, par-72 Eisenhower Blue Course. He had five birdies, all within the first 11 holes and tying for the eighth-most in the 90-man field, and a lone bogey (on 15), and played all hole designs subpar (2-under on the par-5's and 1-under on the 3's and 4's; he played the par-3's tied for second-best for the round).
Senior Ty Holbrook is tied for seventh after fashioning a 3-under 69, recording four birdies and 13 pars, also with a single bogey. He was 2-under on the par-5's, 1-under on the par-4's and even on the par-3's. He had a pristine front nine as well, making the turn at 3-under before playing the back nine even. The 13 pars tied for seventh-most in the field.
Junior Asher Whitaker is tied for 20th, as the Oklahoma transfer recorded his best round as a Buffalo with a 1-under 71. He had a team-high six birdies with nine pars opposite a bogey and two doubles. One of his birdies – the second-most in the field – was on No, 14, one of nine all day on what was the seventh-toughest hole of the day. He played the par-5's at 3-under, tied for second-best in the field.
Sophomore Tyler Long recorded an even par 72 that has him tied for 29th, as he had three birdies and 12 pars against three bogeys. He was 1-over through eight and then went on a birdie binge with three on the next four holes (9. 10 and 12), before two bogeys down the home stretch brought him back to even for the round.
Senior Brandon Knight rounded out the first day CU action with a 1-over 73 that has him tied for 39th. Ho started with seven straight pars and was still even through 12 before going bogey-bogey-par-birdie, and then closing with two more pare to finish just one stroke on the unhappy side of par. He had two birdies and 13 pars and three bogeys on his round, which saw him play the par-5's at 2-under, the par-3's at 1-over and the par-4's at 2-over.
AFA GENE MIRANDA FALCON INDIVIDUAL: The companion tournament for individuals from competing teams is being held on Eisenhower's other layout, the 6,510-yard, par-72 Siver Course. Four Buffaloes are entered in that event.
Freshman Gavin Amella is the leader by a stroke after the first round, as he likely was unbeknownst to him that he was flirting with a couple of CU records. Starting with a birdie on 2, he would record a season team-high eight birdies on AFA's 6,510-yard, par-72 Eisenhower Blue Course – including five in a row on holes 14 through 18. But a bogey on his final hole, the 406-yard, par-4 1st, kept him from establishing a record and tying another. However, the 7-under 65 tied the lowest score ever by a Buff freshman, previously done three times also at 7-under par (Jeremy Paul in 2013, Morton Toft Hansen in 2016 and Jack Hughes on this same golf course in 2021) and three other occasions on lower par configurations. He would have tied the overall best of 8-under had it not been for the bogey on 1. He leads the 26-man field in birdies and par-4 scoring (-3) and is second in par-3 scoring (-1), having played all three hole layouts under par and recording his first collegiate round in the 60's.
The three other Buffaloes all recorded 1-under 71 scores and are tied for eighth.
Freshman Colt Farrow experienced a "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" round. He made the turn at 2-over and they bogeyed 10 to rise to plus-3, but after parring 11. he went on to play the last seven holes at 4-under, including closing with an eagle on the 519-yard, par-5 18th. He had four birdies and five bogeys to go with the eagle and eight pars, playing the par-5's at 4-under overall, tied for third-best in the field.
Sophomore Casey Kosney had six birdies and seven pars opposite five bogeys. His six birdies were the second-most in the field, and he played the par-5's his best at 2-under, 10th among all competitors. He was cruising along and was 4-under with four holes remaining but struggled down the stretch with three straight bogeys on 17, 18 and 1 before closing with a par on 2.
Second-year graduate Jackson Rivera had the most conventional round of the three with three birdies, 13 pars and two bogeys. The bogeys were on the front side as he made the turn at 2-over, but bounced back with birdies on 11, 16 and 18 to finish the day in the red, also his best 18 hole score of the young season. He played the par-5's at 1-under and both the par-3's and 4's even.
"We played well and had a really good front nine," CU head coach Roy Edwards said, "The guys did a good job there. We were all in position on 11 but weren't able to capitalize on what is a birdie hole there. It doesn't look like we played 12 and 13 very well, but we're pretty decent coming in from there. I thought we had very consistent emotions today, which is a huge key to long-term success.
"In the individual companion event on the Silver Course, Gavin had a great round and all four guys had some good moments and finished under par," he added."
The second rounds for both events are Sunday and the final rounds on Monday. In the team event, the Buffaloes will be paired with Air Force and UC Santa Barbara and will tee off on No. 10 between 10 and 10:36 a.m. The individuals will all begin at 9:30 in a shotgun start.
SWANSON ON TO STAGE TWO: Former Buff and current assistant coach Hunter Swanson ('26) Friday advanced out of the first stage of qualifying for the DP World Tour. He tied for eighth in the 72-hole qualifying tourney with a 2-under par 278 score (68-70-70-70) on the Dunham Forest Golf and Country Club in Altrincham, England. The second stage will be held at four different sites in Spain Oct. 29-Nov. 1 (Andalucia, Almeria, Albacete and Girona) with the final stage Nov. 6-11 in Tarragona, Spain. Former Buff Yannik Paul ('18) has been a regular competitor on the DP Tour, with older twin Jeremy ('17) occasionally playing when he's not competing in the states on the PGA or Korn Ferry tours; Victor Bjorlow ('21) also has played in a few DP events. (Speaking of Jeremy Paul, he is in this week's PGA Tour event; through three rounds of the Biltmore Championship Asheville, he is tied for 32nd at 10-under par.)
NOTES: The weather was perfect at the start, sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 60's and negligible winds … CU has won this tournament nine times, the first time in 1970 and the last two back-to-back in 2018 and 2019; it's the 41st time the Buffs are playing in the meet … . The average score for all 90 completed rounds in the team event was 73.72; the five Buff duffers averaged 70.4 … The average score for the 26 players in the individual tourney was 72.42; the four Buffs combined averaged 69.5 (otherwise, the remaining 22 checked in at 73.0) … Eight Buffaloes are tied for the best round in relation to par at 8-under (five on par-72 courses and three on par-71's) … The seven toughest holes Friday, all playing at 0.21 over par, in order were 3, 15, 17, 4, 13, 2 and 14; Colorado played them combined at 7-over, while Utah Valley's quintet was also 7-over … The Buffs played the par-5's the best of the 18 teams on Saturday at 10-under (three teams were 8-under); the par-4's even (second behind Wyoming's 2-under) and the par-3's at 3-over (tied for sixth; UTEP led at 1-under) … Colorado was second in birdies (20; Utah Valley had 21), tied with UC Santa Barbara for the most pars (59), and had the fewest bogeys (9; UTEP was next with 14).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T1. | Parker Paxton | 32-36—68 |
| T7. | Ty Holbrook | 33-36—69 |
| T20. | Asher Whitaker | 34-37—71 |
| T29. | Tyler Long | 36-36—72 |
| T39. | Brandon Knight | 36-37—73 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| T1. | Parker Paxton, Colorado | 32-36—68 |
| T1. | Dylan Winona, Utah Valley | 33-35—68 |
| T1. | Dylan Ma, UC Santa Barbara | 32-36—68 |
| T1. | Ryder Odem, Denver | 34-34—68 |
| T1. | Trenton Stuart, UC Davis | 33-35—68 |
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS (Miranda Team) |
| 1. | Gavin Amella | 33-32—65 |
| T8. | Colt Farrow | 38-33—71 |
| T8. | Casey Kosney | 34-37—71 |
| T8. | Jackson Rivera | 38-33—71 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Miranda Individual) |
| 1. | Gavin Amella, Colorado | 33-32—65 |
| 2. | Joey Alan, San Jose State | 33-35—66 |
| T3. | Cooper Greenwood, UC Davis | 33-35—68 |
| T3. | Jack Newton, Wyoming | 34-34—68 |
| 5. | Jack Halloran, Air Force | 35-34—69 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| T1. | COLORADO | 280 |
| T1. | Utah Valley | 280 |
| T3. | UC Davis | 285 |
| T3. | Denver | 285 |
| T3. | Texas-El Paso | 285 |
| T3. | Wyoming | 285 |
| 7. | UC Santa Barbara | 286 |
| 8. | San Jose State | 287 |
| 9. | Utah State | 288 |
| 10. | Northern Colorado | 289 |
| 11. | Gonzaga | 291 |
| 12. | Air Force | 292 |
| 13. | Utah Tech | 284 |
| 14. | UC San Diego | 287 |
| 15. | CSU Northridge | 298 |
| 16. | Southern Utah | 300 |
| 17. | SIU-Edwardsville | 305 |
| 18. | Weber State | 308 |
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