Colorado University Athletics
Wednesday, February 26
Palm Desert, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Third Round
Knight putts for birdie on the par-5 16th Wednesday
Photo by: Roy Edwards
Knight Claims Second In Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate
February 26, 2025 | Men's Golf
Four Buffaloes competed as individuals in Palm Desert
PALM DESERT, Calif. —University of Colorado sophomore Brandon Knight finished second here Wednesday as the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate came to a conclusion.
Four Buffaloes competed individually in the event, held on the 7,305-yard, par-72 Classic Club course layout.
Knight's second place effort is his career best, as he previous was a tie for 10th in last fall's Mark Simpson-CU Invitational. He flirted on a few occasions in tying for the overall lead but would finish in the runner-up spot by one shot. He opened his round with a birdie on the 349-yard, par-4 15th, and closed it with his sixth of the day on the 560-yard, par-5 14th. He led the 90-man field with 17 birdies, also making 31 pars with just six bogeys en route to recording his second-best 54-hole score for his career. On the nine holes that played the toughest for the week, he was a combined 4-under par, 1-under on four of them and even on the other five and did not bogey the same hole twice.
"'Tremendous event from Brandon," head coach Roy Edwards said. "He Just played a solid round of golf today with all facets of his game working. He did a really good job of just slowly working his way up the leaderboard the entire tournament."
For the second time this season, Knight played all par configurations (3's, 4's and 5's) under par; he did the same to close out the fall in the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate (where he finished with a 9-under 204 count). He was 2-under on the par-3's (tied for fourth-best in the field), 4-under on the par-4's (tied for third) and 5-under on the par-5's (tied for 20th). Edwards took note of the accomplishment.
'Well, that really shows how good Brandon's tournament and each round was," he said. "That is just the definition of being consistently good."
"I played really solid all around this week," Knight said. "I was a bit nervous with my ball striking going in, but I managed my game nicely and kept the ball in play. Plus, I made a few putts on top of it to help post a nice score."
Senior Jack Holland tied for 29th, finishing up with a 2-over 74 for a 2-under 214 score overall. He had two birdies, 13 pars, two bogeys and a costly double to end the tournament. It was a tale of two stories for him all three days; always starting hot, as on his first 14 holes each day, he was a combined 10-under par; but on his last four, he was 8-over. He had 12 birdies and 34 pars against seven bogeys and one double all told.
Freshman Parker Paxton shot his best round here, a 1-under 71, finishing with a 2-over 218 that tied him for 43rd. He had four birdies and 11 pars with three bogeys to close out, opening his day with a birdie on he long 14th par-5 and was either even or 1-under throughout the round. He had nine birdies and a team-high 36 pars overall, the latter tying for 18th in the field.
Senior Tucker Clark tied for 66th as he finished up with a 3-over 75, wrapping play here with a 9-over 225 total. Still not 100 percent after suffering a back injury during the off-season, he had two birdies and 11 pars opposite five bogeys Wednesday; he was 1-under through seven holes but had four of his bogeys the rest of the way. He had eight birdies and 31 pars for the week.
"Parker had a nice round today as well," Edwards noted. "Dutchy (Holland) was in a good position for a strong finish but had a tough close. Tucker is still working his way back in and found some aspects of his game he can use to build on this week."
Colorado Christian senior Xavier Bighaus claimed medalist honors, closing with a 69 for a 12-under 204. After he bogeyed No. 16, he led Knight by a single shot but parred out to finish the round.
Colorado returns to action as a full tam in the San Diego Lamkin Invitational in Chula Vista, Calif., March 10-11.
NOTES: In the team competition, Charlotte rallied to win with a 31-under par team score of 833, edging second round leader and defending Division II champion Colorado Christian by four shots (837); Coastal Carolina was third (846) … The average score for all 270 rounds was 73.18, as the course played the toughest on Wednesday (73.98) … In the end, 37 players finished under par (no one had all three rounds in the 60's) and one other ending up even … Knight lowered his season average to 70.0 with the effort, third-best on the team behind Justin Biwer (68.78) and Dylan McDermott (68.83) … Hunter Swanson is the only other Buff to accomplish what Knight had done this season (in the opener in Washington State's Palouse Intercollegiate); on six occasions, players were under par on two of the three configurations and even on the third. Only Biwer has done it more times (three) than Knight on the current CU roster.
Four Buffaloes competed individually in the event, held on the 7,305-yard, par-72 Classic Club course layout.
Knight's second place effort is his career best, as he previous was a tie for 10th in last fall's Mark Simpson-CU Invitational. He flirted on a few occasions in tying for the overall lead but would finish in the runner-up spot by one shot. He opened his round with a birdie on the 349-yard, par-4 15th, and closed it with his sixth of the day on the 560-yard, par-5 14th. He led the 90-man field with 17 birdies, also making 31 pars with just six bogeys en route to recording his second-best 54-hole score for his career. On the nine holes that played the toughest for the week, he was a combined 4-under par, 1-under on four of them and even on the other five and did not bogey the same hole twice.
"'Tremendous event from Brandon," head coach Roy Edwards said. "He Just played a solid round of golf today with all facets of his game working. He did a really good job of just slowly working his way up the leaderboard the entire tournament."
For the second time this season, Knight played all par configurations (3's, 4's and 5's) under par; he did the same to close out the fall in the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate (where he finished with a 9-under 204 count). He was 2-under on the par-3's (tied for fourth-best in the field), 4-under on the par-4's (tied for third) and 5-under on the par-5's (tied for 20th). Edwards took note of the accomplishment.
'Well, that really shows how good Brandon's tournament and each round was," he said. "That is just the definition of being consistently good."
"I played really solid all around this week," Knight said. "I was a bit nervous with my ball striking going in, but I managed my game nicely and kept the ball in play. Plus, I made a few putts on top of it to help post a nice score."
Senior Jack Holland tied for 29th, finishing up with a 2-over 74 for a 2-under 214 score overall. He had two birdies, 13 pars, two bogeys and a costly double to end the tournament. It was a tale of two stories for him all three days; always starting hot, as on his first 14 holes each day, he was a combined 10-under par; but on his last four, he was 8-over. He had 12 birdies and 34 pars against seven bogeys and one double all told.
Freshman Parker Paxton shot his best round here, a 1-under 71, finishing with a 2-over 218 that tied him for 43rd. He had four birdies and 11 pars with three bogeys to close out, opening his day with a birdie on he long 14th par-5 and was either even or 1-under throughout the round. He had nine birdies and a team-high 36 pars overall, the latter tying for 18th in the field.
Senior Tucker Clark tied for 66th as he finished up with a 3-over 75, wrapping play here with a 9-over 225 total. Still not 100 percent after suffering a back injury during the off-season, he had two birdies and 11 pars opposite five bogeys Wednesday; he was 1-under through seven holes but had four of his bogeys the rest of the way. He had eight birdies and 31 pars for the week.
"Parker had a nice round today as well," Edwards noted. "Dutchy (Holland) was in a good position for a strong finish but had a tough close. Tucker is still working his way back in and found some aspects of his game he can use to build on this week."
Colorado Christian senior Xavier Bighaus claimed medalist honors, closing with a 69 for a 12-under 204. After he bogeyed No. 16, he led Knight by a single shot but parred out to finish the round.
Colorado returns to action as a full tam in the San Diego Lamkin Invitational in Chula Vista, Calif., March 10-11.
NOTES: In the team competition, Charlotte rallied to win with a 31-under par team score of 833, edging second round leader and defending Division II champion Colorado Christian by four shots (837); Coastal Carolina was third (846) … The average score for all 270 rounds was 73.18, as the course played the toughest on Wednesday (73.98) … In the end, 37 players finished under par (no one had all three rounds in the 60's) and one other ending up even … Knight lowered his season average to 70.0 with the effort, third-best on the team behind Justin Biwer (68.78) and Dylan McDermott (68.83) … Hunter Swanson is the only other Buff to accomplish what Knight had done this season (in the opener in Washington State's Palouse Intercollegiate); on six occasions, players were under par on two of the three configurations and even on the third. Only Biwer has done it more times (three) than Knight on the current CU roster.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| 2. | Brandon Knight | 68-70-67—205 |
| T29. | Jack Holland | 69-71-74—214 |
| T43. | Parker Paxton | 72-75-71—218 |
| T66. | Tucker Clark | 76-74-75—225 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Xavier Bighaus, Colo. Christian | 65-70-69—204 |
| 2. | Brandon Knight, Colorado | 68-70-67—205 |
| T3. | Sungyeop Cho, Colo. Christian | 68-66-72—206 |
| T3. | Justin Matthews, Charlotte | 66-71-69—206 |
| T3. | Jake Weissenburger, Drake | 65-72-69—206 |
Players Mentioned
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