Colorado University Athletics
Paxton's birdies binge led him to a collegiate-best 7-under par 64.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Buff Golfers Move Up Into Fifth In Ka'anapali Classic
October 28, 2025 | Men's Golf
Paxton Sets Birdie Marks; Along with Swanson both card 7-under 64’s
Support CU Men's Golf in two ways: Excellence Fund (day-to-day needs, etc.): Give to the Excellence Fund here;
Colorado Drive (non-profit advancing golf through scholarship and NIL opportunities): Give to Colorado Drive here
LAHAINA, Maui – The University of Colorado men's golf team, with three players recording scores in the mid-60's, moved up three spots into fifth place here Tuesday after the second round of the 11th Annual Ka'anapali Classic by OUTRIGGER was completed here Tuesday.
No. 21 Oklahoma, the three-time defending champion here, has three players in the top five that has propelled the Sooners into a 12-shot lead with a team score of 47-under par 521. No. 59 TCU held on to second place (533), with No. 40 Georgia in third (536), No. 58 Florida Gulf Coast in fourth (540) and No. 39 Colorado rounding out the top five with a 26-under 542 tally.
This was the 10th straight subpar round as a team, setting a school record, as the 2017-18 and '24 -25 teams each had nine. CU is 112-under par during the streak, as compared to 50-under in '17-18 and 80-under last year. Colorado has now been under par in 13 out of 14 rounds thus far season, with Tuesday's 18-under the second-best score in relation t par but the lowest gross score of the fall.
Sophomore Parker Paxton set a school record as he opened his round with six straight birdies on holes 4 through 9, the impetus to an eventual collegiate-best 7-under 64; also with a 36-hole CU best of 9-under 133 for 36 holes, he's tied for seventh after conquering the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali golf course on the west side of Maui with 10 birdies overall (with five pars and three bogeys).
Those 10 birdies also tied the CU record for the most in single round, and with seven birdies and two pars on the front nine (which plays to a par-37), his 7-under also set the CU mark for stroke count in relation to par on nine holes, and is one of 11 Buffaloes to score a 30 on either the front or back nine. His 16 birdies lead the field, and he's tied for seventh in playing the par-4's at 5-under.
"I made six birdies in a row one other time, but I was just playing for fun, it wasn't in a competition," Paxton said. "All I can say is that today, my putter felt really nice." He computed the lengths on his birdie putts – the six in a row added to approximately 63 feet, including a 20-footer (on No. 8) and two 15-feet makes (on Nos. 4 and 5), and his 10 overall added to 119 feet, including a 30-footer on No. 11 and another 20-footer on No. 14.
Senior Hunter Swanson had long been waiting to tear up the Royal Ka'anapali course; this is the fourth time he has played here and had just four rounds out of 10 in the 60's, with a low of 67. In fact, he was 1-over in total for those 10 rounds, but on Tuesday he finally exacted some revenge in recording his collegiate best score of 7-under 64 (though he has two 7-under 65's); he's tied for 12th overall with an 8-under 134 total, his third-best 36 hole score in 42 tournaments. He had eight birdies and nine pars with one bogey Tuesday (12 birdies and 21 pars over the two days), and played all configurations multiple strokes under par (3-under on the par-4's and 2-under on the par-3's and par-4's). The 12 birdies and 5-under on the par-4's are both tied for seventh in the 120-man field, with his two bogeys also tied for the seventh-fewest.
"I played pretty solid today, a much better round (than his opening 70)," Swanson said. "I hit the ball great, a good combination of off the tee and into the greens. But the main thing that stood out today as the fact that I felt very focused and locked in, where I needed to hit the ball and just playing smart overall. Even my bogey was solid, I got plugged up against the lip in the bunker."
It was the 10th time in school history that two players recorded scores of 66 or better that applied to the team total, the first time with a pair of 64's and the third time in this tournament.
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera is tied for 29tht after posting a 4-under 67 which has him standing a 5-under 137 – his best 36-hole score as a Buffalo. He had five birdies and 12 pars with a single bogey on Tuesday, playing all configurations under par (2-under on the par-5's, 1-under on the par-3's and par-4's). He has been solid over the two rounds, with nine birdies and 24 pars, with just three holes worse than par (his two bogeys are tied for the seventh-fewest here, matching Swanson). Settling in around his new environment, it was his seventh straight round of par or better.
With the trio all recording scores in the mid-60's, they had some of the largest jumps in the standings Tuesday. Swanson moved up 39 places, Paxton 27 and Rivera 22.
Junior Ty Holbrook shot an even-par 71 for a 4-under 138 total that has him tied for 40th. He eagled the 324-yard, par-4 7th hole, his third eagle this fall and 14th of his career (now eighth all-time at CU); it was his second on a par-4. He otherwise had four birdies, eight pars, four bogeys and a double, and after a bogey-free round to open here, he has eight birdies and 22 pars overall. He's playing the par-4's here at 4-under, tied for 10th in the field, the par-5's at 3-under and the par-3's at 3-over. He continues to flirt with the par-5's this fall: he has birdied three of the six here so far (with three pars), and of the 54 par-5's this fall, he has two eagles, 35 birdies, 15 pars and two bogeys, which computes to 37-under par.
Junior Brandon Knight is tied for 96th after posting a 1-over 72 score for a two round total of 3-over 145. He had four birdies and 10 pars with three bogeys and a double Tuesday, with seven birdies and 21 pars overall. He was 3-over on the par-3's in the second round, but was 2-under on the par-4's and even on the par-5's.
Freshman Tyler Long is competing here as an individual (his scores are not counting toward CU's team total); he had 1-over 72 for a 2-under 140 total, tying him for 56th. The score did end a run of eight straight rounds of par or better (seven of those subpar), which had tied the freshman school record set twice previously. Long was 1-under on the par-3's and par-5's but was 3-over on the par-4's while scoring four birdies (10 through two rounds), 11 pars, two bogeys and the first triple bogey of his collegiate career, which came on his 23rd hole played at Colorado.
"Two great rounds by Hunter and Parker," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Anytime you shoot 64 you always did a lot of really good things. Jackson had a really nice round as well. The other guys struggled a bit but battled well and that will bode well for the final round. We let a few shots slip away that prevented us from shooting a historic round but a really nice day nonetheless.
As far as Paxton's six straight birdies, asked if he had ever seen that before, Edwards simply responded, "Certainly no one I have ever coached that I can think of."
Oklahoma's Ryder Cowan took over the individual lead from teammate Jase Summy, as he fired a 9-under 62 to stand at 16-under 126 entering the final round; Summy carded a 67 and is in at 13-under 129, tied with TCU's Sam Udovich. Georgia freshman J.D. Culbreth shot school record 10-under 61 to move into fourth (11-under 131).
The third and final round is set for Wednesday with a shotgun at 12:30 p.m. MDT; Colorado will be paired with San Jose State and Southern Illinois and for third straight round will tee off between the No. 4 and No. 6 holes. This will conclude CU's schedule for the '25-26 fall season.
NOTES: The temperature practically a carbon copy of Monday's conditions, temperatures in the mid-80's, under mostly cloudy skies with occasional wind gusts from 8-10 miles per hour … There are 19 teams from 15 states and 11 athletic conferences competing here over the three days; this is the fifth straight year the Buffaloes are entered … CU continues its great success here, as three of its top 14 tournament scores in relation to par (54 holes) were recorded here in 2021, 2022 and 2024, with a chance to crack that list for a fourth time (with two runner-up and a fourth-place finish to show for those previous efforts) … The two players who previously made 10 birdies in a single round were Jeremy Paul in 2013 (UTEP Give 'Em Five Invitational, first round) and Morton Toft Hansen, 2019 CU-Simpson Invitational (second round) … The average score for all 240 rounds is 70.34 (70.22 Tuesday after 70.47 in the first round) … There are 73 players under par and 12 others who are in at even through 36 holes … CU's scorers were 1-under on the nine toughest holes Tuesday (only Oklahoma was better at 5-under), after playing those at 9-over during the first round … The five CU scorers are playing the par-4's at 15-under (second behind Oklahoma's 16-under), the par-5's at 16-under (eighth; North Florida is 24-under) and the par-3's at 8-over, 17th in the field (Oklahoma tops the list at 9-under) … Colorado has the second-most birdies (52; Oklahoma leads with 60), tied for the 18th-most pars (102; Kansas has the most with 125) and have the sixth-fewest bogeys (19; OU has just 11) … The school best of 29 subpar rounds was set last year, with 25 in 2017-18 the second-most.
Colorado Drive (non-profit advancing golf through scholarship and NIL opportunities): Give to Colorado Drive here
LAHAINA, Maui – The University of Colorado men's golf team, with three players recording scores in the mid-60's, moved up three spots into fifth place here Tuesday after the second round of the 11th Annual Ka'anapali Classic by OUTRIGGER was completed here Tuesday.
No. 21 Oklahoma, the three-time defending champion here, has three players in the top five that has propelled the Sooners into a 12-shot lead with a team score of 47-under par 521. No. 59 TCU held on to second place (533), with No. 40 Georgia in third (536), No. 58 Florida Gulf Coast in fourth (540) and No. 39 Colorado rounding out the top five with a 26-under 542 tally.
This was the 10th straight subpar round as a team, setting a school record, as the 2017-18 and '24 -25 teams each had nine. CU is 112-under par during the streak, as compared to 50-under in '17-18 and 80-under last year. Colorado has now been under par in 13 out of 14 rounds thus far season, with Tuesday's 18-under the second-best score in relation t par but the lowest gross score of the fall.
Sophomore Parker Paxton set a school record as he opened his round with six straight birdies on holes 4 through 9, the impetus to an eventual collegiate-best 7-under 64; also with a 36-hole CU best of 9-under 133 for 36 holes, he's tied for seventh after conquering the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali golf course on the west side of Maui with 10 birdies overall (with five pars and three bogeys).
Those 10 birdies also tied the CU record for the most in single round, and with seven birdies and two pars on the front nine (which plays to a par-37), his 7-under also set the CU mark for stroke count in relation to par on nine holes, and is one of 11 Buffaloes to score a 30 on either the front or back nine. His 16 birdies lead the field, and he's tied for seventh in playing the par-4's at 5-under.
"I made six birdies in a row one other time, but I was just playing for fun, it wasn't in a competition," Paxton said. "All I can say is that today, my putter felt really nice." He computed the lengths on his birdie putts – the six in a row added to approximately 63 feet, including a 20-footer (on No. 8) and two 15-feet makes (on Nos. 4 and 5), and his 10 overall added to 119 feet, including a 30-footer on No. 11 and another 20-footer on No. 14.
Senior Hunter Swanson had long been waiting to tear up the Royal Ka'anapali course; this is the fourth time he has played here and had just four rounds out of 10 in the 60's, with a low of 67. In fact, he was 1-over in total for those 10 rounds, but on Tuesday he finally exacted some revenge in recording his collegiate best score of 7-under 64 (though he has two 7-under 65's); he's tied for 12th overall with an 8-under 134 total, his third-best 36 hole score in 42 tournaments. He had eight birdies and nine pars with one bogey Tuesday (12 birdies and 21 pars over the two days), and played all configurations multiple strokes under par (3-under on the par-4's and 2-under on the par-3's and par-4's). The 12 birdies and 5-under on the par-4's are both tied for seventh in the 120-man field, with his two bogeys also tied for the seventh-fewest.
"I played pretty solid today, a much better round (than his opening 70)," Swanson said. "I hit the ball great, a good combination of off the tee and into the greens. But the main thing that stood out today as the fact that I felt very focused and locked in, where I needed to hit the ball and just playing smart overall. Even my bogey was solid, I got plugged up against the lip in the bunker."
It was the 10th time in school history that two players recorded scores of 66 or better that applied to the team total, the first time with a pair of 64's and the third time in this tournament.
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera is tied for 29tht after posting a 4-under 67 which has him standing a 5-under 137 – his best 36-hole score as a Buffalo. He had five birdies and 12 pars with a single bogey on Tuesday, playing all configurations under par (2-under on the par-5's, 1-under on the par-3's and par-4's). He has been solid over the two rounds, with nine birdies and 24 pars, with just three holes worse than par (his two bogeys are tied for the seventh-fewest here, matching Swanson). Settling in around his new environment, it was his seventh straight round of par or better.
With the trio all recording scores in the mid-60's, they had some of the largest jumps in the standings Tuesday. Swanson moved up 39 places, Paxton 27 and Rivera 22.
Junior Ty Holbrook shot an even-par 71 for a 4-under 138 total that has him tied for 40th. He eagled the 324-yard, par-4 7th hole, his third eagle this fall and 14th of his career (now eighth all-time at CU); it was his second on a par-4. He otherwise had four birdies, eight pars, four bogeys and a double, and after a bogey-free round to open here, he has eight birdies and 22 pars overall. He's playing the par-4's here at 4-under, tied for 10th in the field, the par-5's at 3-under and the par-3's at 3-over. He continues to flirt with the par-5's this fall: he has birdied three of the six here so far (with three pars), and of the 54 par-5's this fall, he has two eagles, 35 birdies, 15 pars and two bogeys, which computes to 37-under par.
Junior Brandon Knight is tied for 96th after posting a 1-over 72 score for a two round total of 3-over 145. He had four birdies and 10 pars with three bogeys and a double Tuesday, with seven birdies and 21 pars overall. He was 3-over on the par-3's in the second round, but was 2-under on the par-4's and even on the par-5's.
Freshman Tyler Long is competing here as an individual (his scores are not counting toward CU's team total); he had 1-over 72 for a 2-under 140 total, tying him for 56th. The score did end a run of eight straight rounds of par or better (seven of those subpar), which had tied the freshman school record set twice previously. Long was 1-under on the par-3's and par-5's but was 3-over on the par-4's while scoring four birdies (10 through two rounds), 11 pars, two bogeys and the first triple bogey of his collegiate career, which came on his 23rd hole played at Colorado.
"Two great rounds by Hunter and Parker," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Anytime you shoot 64 you always did a lot of really good things. Jackson had a really nice round as well. The other guys struggled a bit but battled well and that will bode well for the final round. We let a few shots slip away that prevented us from shooting a historic round but a really nice day nonetheless.
As far as Paxton's six straight birdies, asked if he had ever seen that before, Edwards simply responded, "Certainly no one I have ever coached that I can think of."
Oklahoma's Ryder Cowan took over the individual lead from teammate Jase Summy, as he fired a 9-under 62 to stand at 16-under 126 entering the final round; Summy carded a 67 and is in at 13-under 129, tied with TCU's Sam Udovich. Georgia freshman J.D. Culbreth shot school record 10-under 61 to move into fourth (11-under 131).
The third and final round is set for Wednesday with a shotgun at 12:30 p.m. MDT; Colorado will be paired with San Jose State and Southern Illinois and for third straight round will tee off between the No. 4 and No. 6 holes. This will conclude CU's schedule for the '25-26 fall season.
NOTES: The temperature practically a carbon copy of Monday's conditions, temperatures in the mid-80's, under mostly cloudy skies with occasional wind gusts from 8-10 miles per hour … There are 19 teams from 15 states and 11 athletic conferences competing here over the three days; this is the fifth straight year the Buffaloes are entered … CU continues its great success here, as three of its top 14 tournament scores in relation to par (54 holes) were recorded here in 2021, 2022 and 2024, with a chance to crack that list for a fourth time (with two runner-up and a fourth-place finish to show for those previous efforts) … The two players who previously made 10 birdies in a single round were Jeremy Paul in 2013 (UTEP Give 'Em Five Invitational, first round) and Morton Toft Hansen, 2019 CU-Simpson Invitational (second round) … The average score for all 240 rounds is 70.34 (70.22 Tuesday after 70.47 in the first round) … There are 73 players under par and 12 others who are in at even through 36 holes … CU's scorers were 1-under on the nine toughest holes Tuesday (only Oklahoma was better at 5-under), after playing those at 9-over during the first round … The five CU scorers are playing the par-4's at 15-under (second behind Oklahoma's 16-under), the par-5's at 16-under (eighth; North Florida is 24-under) and the par-3's at 8-over, 17th in the field (Oklahoma tops the list at 9-under) … Colorado has the second-most birdies (52; Oklahoma leads with 60), tied for the 18th-most pars (102; Kansas has the most with 125) and have the sixth-fewest bogeys (19; OU has just 11) … The school best of 29 subpar rounds was set last year, with 25 in 2017-18 the second-most.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T7. | Parker Paxton | 69-64—133 |
| T12. | Hunter Swanson | 70-64—134 |
| T29. | Jackson Rivera | 70-67—137 |
| T40. | Ty Holbrook | 67-71—138 |
| T56. | *Tyler Long | 68-72—140 |
| T96. | Brandon Knight | 73-72—145 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma | 64-62—126 |
| T2. | Jase Summy, Oklahoma | 62-67—129 |
| T2. | Sam Udovich, TCU | 65-64--129 |
| 4. | J.D. Culbreth, Georgia | 70-61—131 |
| T5. | Brett Moore, Florida Gulf Coast | 65-67—132 |
| T5. | P.J. Maybank III, Oklahoma | 67-65--132 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Oklahoma | 263-258—521 |
| 2. | TCU | 267-266—533 |
| 3. | Georgia | 273-263—536 |
| 4. | Florida Gulf Coast | 273-267—540 |
| 5. | COLORADO | 276-266--542 |
| 6. | San Jose State | 276-269—545 |
| 7. | North Florida | 272-274—546 |
| T8. | Southern Illinois | 275-275—550 |
| T8. | Kansas | 281-269—550 |
| 10. | Wyoming | 285-267—552 |
| 11. | Indiana | 280-274—554 |
| 12. | Connecticut | 281-275—556 |
| 13. | East Tennessee State | 281-276—557 |
| T14. | Boise State | 273-285—558 |
| T14. | Hawai'i | 276-282—558 |
| T16. | Sacramento State | 276-288—564 |
| T16. | Gonzaga | 276-288—564 |
| 18. | CSU Northridge | 291-278—569 |
| 19. | UC Irvine | 288-286—574 |
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Join us for the 15th Annual Colorado Golf Day on August 25 at Boulder Country Club! ⛳
Tuesday, August 12
Buffalo Stampede WEEK 24
Tuesday, February 06
Buffalo Stampede Week 24 TUCKER CLARK
Tuesday, February 06
Afternoon Tee with Matt Thurmond
Monday, June 08