Ty Holbrook continued to tear up the par-5s in leading CU in Albuquerque.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Men's Golfers Tie For Third In UNM Tucker Invitational
September 20, 2025 | Men's Golf
Near Record Second Round Effort Propelled Buffs
ALBUQUERQUE — The University of Colorado men's golf team came close to defending its title here Saturday, but settled for a tie for third place as the 70th annual New Mexico William H. Tucker Invitational came to a close.
Long Beach State, in fourth after two rounds, shot the day's best team score – an 11-under 277 – that vaulted the Beach into the winner's circle with a 23-under par 841 team score. Host New Mexico, who led the Buffs by two strokes heading into Saturday, took second with an 18-under 846 tally. Colorado and Southern California tied for third (15-under 847 scores), with Texas El-Paso rounding out the top five with an 852 score.
Colorado, ranked 26th in the preseason by Golfweek, was in 11th place after the first round due to a slow start. But the second time around the 7,555-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course track, the Buffaloes recorded a 17-under 271 score – the best single round by any team in the event, one that matched CU's second-best gross score in its history on a par-72 course as well as the 17-under tying the best on any course configuration.
The five designated scorers were 5-over par through five holes, but reversed that the second time around the course, this time the five combined to be 6-under, the kickstart to the near-record round. The course was laid out tougher for the final round, this time the quintet playing them 5-over, but as most of the field did other than Long Beach State (1-under on those same five holes).
"That was a really great job by the team after about 13 or 14 holes," head coach Roy Edwards said. "We started on some harder holes so we knew it wasn't as bad as it looked on the leaderboard, but it was a very poor start. It was an incredible finish (Friday) right as some bad weather moved in.
"It was a good event for us overall," Edwards added. "Again (Saturday) we started a little but slow, but everyone fought hard. The hole locations were tougher, what they almost always are for the final round. It was a very consistent day from all six players (all scores between 71 and 73).
Junior Ty Holbrook led the Buffaloes here this weekend with a tie for seventh in the standings after he fashioned a 6-under 68-69-73—210 effort. He had an eagle, 13 birdies and 32 pars with seven bogeys and a double. He continued his tear on par-5 holes this season, playing them at 8-under here – and 18-under over six rounds this fall. Of the 24 par-5's holes thus far this fall, he has two eagles, 15 birdies, three pars and just one bogey. That included a run of 10 straight par-5's where he either eagled (one) or birdied (nine). In addition, he played the par-3's at 2-under, tied for second-best in the field, the par-4's at 4-over with his seven bogeys the 10th-fewest.
Sophomore Parker Paxton recorded three straight 1-under 71's, his 3-under 213 tying him for 19th. He had 14 birdies – tying for the team-high as well as for seventh in the field, with 29 pars and 11 bogeys. His subpar hole percentage through two events is 28.7, with 30 birdies and an eagle in 108 holes of play. He was 7-under on the par-5's, 1-over on the par-3's and 3-over on the par-4's.
Junior Brandon Knight finished in a tie for 24th, posting a 2-under 75-66-73—214 performance. His second round 66 matched his career-best low gross score he recorded in last year's Washington State event, but the 6-under 66 here is his best score in relation to par. He had 14 birdies – tying Paxton for the team high and the seventh-most in the field, with 29 pars opposite 10 bogeys and a double. He was 6-under on the par-5's, and 2-over on both the par-3's and par-4's.
Senior Hunter Swanson rebounded from one of his highest scores as a collegian to match his best, and eventually finished tied for 27th with a 1-under 78-65-72—215 performance. His 13-stroke improvement between the first and second rounds tied for the 19th-best in program history – but the 7-under 65 was the second-lowest score of all 18 ahead of him on the list (in the 2005 PING-Arizona Intercollegiate, Edward McGlasson opened with a 79 and bounced back with a 63, the latter tying the school record round). He moved from a tie for 92nd after 18 holes into one for 36th, the 56-spot improvement the largest in the field either day
Swanson finished with an eagle, eight birdies, 36 pars (ninth-most in the field) against nine bogeys – just three over his last 38 holes. He played the par-5's at 4-under, the par-4's at 1-under, and the par-3's at 4-over. He ended the event with 14 straight holes of par or better – the last 13 of which we all pars.
"That was an amazing comeback by Hunter, immediately after one of the worst rounds I've ever seen from him" Edwards said. "But he's a very tough player and always does a great job of not dwelling on the past. He just moves on."
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera tied for 55th after fashioning a 2-over 75-72-71—218 scorecard. He tied the school record for the most pars in a single round – all 18 – when he scooted around the UNM course the second time Friday afternoon. He became the fourth known Buffalo to do so, joining Beau Schoolcraft (2012 Wyoming Cowboy Classic), Johnny Hayes (2013 Wyoming Cowboy Classic) and Morton Toft-Hansen (2016 CU-Mark Simpson Invitational)
Rivera led the field with 42 pars, with six birdies; his four bogeys were the fewest in the field as well, though he did have two double bogeys. He played the par-5's at 3-under, the par-3's at 1-over and the par-4's at 4-over.
Freshman Tyler Long played as an individual, also tying for 55th with a 2-over par 72-74-72—218 effort. He had nine birdies and 34 pars with 11 bogeys, playing the par-5's the best at 5-under; he was 2-over on the par-3's and 5-over on the par-4's. He tied for fourth among the 10 players who competed here as individuals.
New Mexico's Emil Abers claimed medalist honors with a 13-under 203 score, which included a final round 68 – one of ust 10 scores in the 60's Saturday and tied for the second-lowest (there was one 67). He was playing as an individual and bested his Lobo teammates by seven shots. Grand Canyon's Matthew Diehl finished one back in second (12-under 204), also carding a final round 68.
The Buffaloes will return to action in the 15 annual Mark Simpson-CU Invitational, set for Sept. 29-30 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie; a "companion" tournament for individuals will be held roughly five miles south in Broomfield at the Broadlands, with around 40 players to compete in the second annual Les Fowler Invitational.
NOTES: The weather was essentially the same both days, temps reaching the low 80s Friday and about 10 degrees cooler Saturday, with skies ranging from clear to cloudy at times with no real wind issues … The official name of the event has fluctuated through the years as either the Intercollegiate or Invitational … CU has appeared in all 70 UNM Tucker meets; before Friday, it's best score here was a 6-under 282. The Buffs have recorded 10 subpar team rounds out of over 200 here down south on Interstate 25 … Long Beach State used to be known as the 49ers but changed its nickname to Beach Athletics in 2018 … The average score for all 300 rounds was 72.53; it peaked at 73.20 for third round after Friday's numbers of 72.76 (first round) and 71.63 (second) … There were 43 players who finished under par and another four who ended up even in the 100-man field … Five of the seven toughest holes overall were par-4's (Nos. 10, 5, 8, 7 and 2), along with Nos. 8 and 11 (par-3's); CU's scorers played those at just 3-over in the second round, a major reason for the jump of nine spots in the standings … The scorers played the par-3's at 6-over (tied for fourth; Fresno State played them the best at even), the par-4's at 13-over (fifth; USC and Long Beach State were 6-over) and the par-5's at 29-under (seventh; Oral Roberts was 37-under) … Colorado finished with two eagles, the fifth-most birdies (55; New Mexico led with 64), and had 168 pars (second), 41 bogeys (tied for the second fewest) and four doubles (third lowest); Long Beach topped all three categories with 175, 37 and just one double … In the two tournaments CU has played this year, the Buffs have combined to finish 43-under par … Colorado was 14-2-1 here against Division I competition, improving to 22-4-2 after two meets; the Buffs also tied for third last week in the season opener, the Washington State Palouse Collegiate … Matt Call ('01) competed in the U.S. Mid-Amateur this week at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale; he missed the cut by five shots after posting a 79-73—152 scorecard; his second round 73 did tie for the 55th best score in the 312-man field (the top 64 advanced to match play).
Long Beach State, in fourth after two rounds, shot the day's best team score – an 11-under 277 – that vaulted the Beach into the winner's circle with a 23-under par 841 team score. Host New Mexico, who led the Buffs by two strokes heading into Saturday, took second with an 18-under 846 tally. Colorado and Southern California tied for third (15-under 847 scores), with Texas El-Paso rounding out the top five with an 852 score.
Colorado, ranked 26th in the preseason by Golfweek, was in 11th place after the first round due to a slow start. But the second time around the 7,555-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course track, the Buffaloes recorded a 17-under 271 score – the best single round by any team in the event, one that matched CU's second-best gross score in its history on a par-72 course as well as the 17-under tying the best on any course configuration.
The five designated scorers were 5-over par through five holes, but reversed that the second time around the course, this time the five combined to be 6-under, the kickstart to the near-record round. The course was laid out tougher for the final round, this time the quintet playing them 5-over, but as most of the field did other than Long Beach State (1-under on those same five holes).
"That was a really great job by the team after about 13 or 14 holes," head coach Roy Edwards said. "We started on some harder holes so we knew it wasn't as bad as it looked on the leaderboard, but it was a very poor start. It was an incredible finish (Friday) right as some bad weather moved in.
"It was a good event for us overall," Edwards added. "Again (Saturday) we started a little but slow, but everyone fought hard. The hole locations were tougher, what they almost always are for the final round. It was a very consistent day from all six players (all scores between 71 and 73).
Junior Ty Holbrook led the Buffaloes here this weekend with a tie for seventh in the standings after he fashioned a 6-under 68-69-73—210 effort. He had an eagle, 13 birdies and 32 pars with seven bogeys and a double. He continued his tear on par-5 holes this season, playing them at 8-under here – and 18-under over six rounds this fall. Of the 24 par-5's holes thus far this fall, he has two eagles, 15 birdies, three pars and just one bogey. That included a run of 10 straight par-5's where he either eagled (one) or birdied (nine). In addition, he played the par-3's at 2-under, tied for second-best in the field, the par-4's at 4-over with his seven bogeys the 10th-fewest.
Sophomore Parker Paxton recorded three straight 1-under 71's, his 3-under 213 tying him for 19th. He had 14 birdies – tying for the team-high as well as for seventh in the field, with 29 pars and 11 bogeys. His subpar hole percentage through two events is 28.7, with 30 birdies and an eagle in 108 holes of play. He was 7-under on the par-5's, 1-over on the par-3's and 3-over on the par-4's.
Junior Brandon Knight finished in a tie for 24th, posting a 2-under 75-66-73—214 performance. His second round 66 matched his career-best low gross score he recorded in last year's Washington State event, but the 6-under 66 here is his best score in relation to par. He had 14 birdies – tying Paxton for the team high and the seventh-most in the field, with 29 pars opposite 10 bogeys and a double. He was 6-under on the par-5's, and 2-over on both the par-3's and par-4's.
Senior Hunter Swanson rebounded from one of his highest scores as a collegian to match his best, and eventually finished tied for 27th with a 1-under 78-65-72—215 performance. His 13-stroke improvement between the first and second rounds tied for the 19th-best in program history – but the 7-under 65 was the second-lowest score of all 18 ahead of him on the list (in the 2005 PING-Arizona Intercollegiate, Edward McGlasson opened with a 79 and bounced back with a 63, the latter tying the school record round). He moved from a tie for 92nd after 18 holes into one for 36th, the 56-spot improvement the largest in the field either day
Swanson finished with an eagle, eight birdies, 36 pars (ninth-most in the field) against nine bogeys – just three over his last 38 holes. He played the par-5's at 4-under, the par-4's at 1-under, and the par-3's at 4-over. He ended the event with 14 straight holes of par or better – the last 13 of which we all pars.
"That was an amazing comeback by Hunter, immediately after one of the worst rounds I've ever seen from him" Edwards said. "But he's a very tough player and always does a great job of not dwelling on the past. He just moves on."
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera tied for 55th after fashioning a 2-over 75-72-71—218 scorecard. He tied the school record for the most pars in a single round – all 18 – when he scooted around the UNM course the second time Friday afternoon. He became the fourth known Buffalo to do so, joining Beau Schoolcraft (2012 Wyoming Cowboy Classic), Johnny Hayes (2013 Wyoming Cowboy Classic) and Morton Toft-Hansen (2016 CU-Mark Simpson Invitational)
Rivera led the field with 42 pars, with six birdies; his four bogeys were the fewest in the field as well, though he did have two double bogeys. He played the par-5's at 3-under, the par-3's at 1-over and the par-4's at 4-over.
Freshman Tyler Long played as an individual, also tying for 55th with a 2-over par 72-74-72—218 effort. He had nine birdies and 34 pars with 11 bogeys, playing the par-5's the best at 5-under; he was 2-over on the par-3's and 5-over on the par-4's. He tied for fourth among the 10 players who competed here as individuals.
New Mexico's Emil Abers claimed medalist honors with a 13-under 203 score, which included a final round 68 – one of ust 10 scores in the 60's Saturday and tied for the second-lowest (there was one 67). He was playing as an individual and bested his Lobo teammates by seven shots. Grand Canyon's Matthew Diehl finished one back in second (12-under 204), also carding a final round 68.
The Buffaloes will return to action in the 15 annual Mark Simpson-CU Invitational, set for Sept. 29-30 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie; a "companion" tournament for individuals will be held roughly five miles south in Broomfield at the Broadlands, with around 40 players to compete in the second annual Les Fowler Invitational.
NOTES: The weather was essentially the same both days, temps reaching the low 80s Friday and about 10 degrees cooler Saturday, with skies ranging from clear to cloudy at times with no real wind issues … The official name of the event has fluctuated through the years as either the Intercollegiate or Invitational … CU has appeared in all 70 UNM Tucker meets; before Friday, it's best score here was a 6-under 282. The Buffs have recorded 10 subpar team rounds out of over 200 here down south on Interstate 25 … Long Beach State used to be known as the 49ers but changed its nickname to Beach Athletics in 2018 … The average score for all 300 rounds was 72.53; it peaked at 73.20 for third round after Friday's numbers of 72.76 (first round) and 71.63 (second) … There were 43 players who finished under par and another four who ended up even in the 100-man field … Five of the seven toughest holes overall were par-4's (Nos. 10, 5, 8, 7 and 2), along with Nos. 8 and 11 (par-3's); CU's scorers played those at just 3-over in the second round, a major reason for the jump of nine spots in the standings … The scorers played the par-3's at 6-over (tied for fourth; Fresno State played them the best at even), the par-4's at 13-over (fifth; USC and Long Beach State were 6-over) and the par-5's at 29-under (seventh; Oral Roberts was 37-under) … Colorado finished with two eagles, the fifth-most birdies (55; New Mexico led with 64), and had 168 pars (second), 41 bogeys (tied for the second fewest) and four doubles (third lowest); Long Beach topped all three categories with 175, 37 and just one double … In the two tournaments CU has played this year, the Buffs have combined to finish 43-under par … Colorado was 14-2-1 here against Division I competition, improving to 22-4-2 after two meets; the Buffs also tied for third last week in the season opener, the Washington State Palouse Collegiate … Matt Call ('01) competed in the U.S. Mid-Amateur this week at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale; he missed the cut by five shots after posting a 79-73—152 scorecard; his second round 73 did tie for the 55th best score in the 312-man field (the top 64 advanced to match play).
|
| T7. | Ty Holbrook | 68-69-73—210 |
| T19. | Parker Paxton | 71-71-71—213 |
| T24. | Brandon Knight | 75-66-73—214 |
| T27. | Hunter Swanson | 78-65-72—215 |
| T55. | Jackson Rivera | 75-72-71—218 |
| T55. | *Tyler Long | 72-74-72—218 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Emil Abers, New Mexico | 67-68-68—203 |
| 2. | Matthew Diehl, Grand Canyon | 66-70-68—204 |
| 3. | Ben Gratzi, Oral Roberts | 67-69-71—207 |
| T4. | Jack Cantlay, Long Beach State | 67-69-67—209 |
| T4. | Nicolas Dominguez, USC | 67-68-70—209 |
| T4. | Jaden Huggins, Long Beach State | 67-70-69—209 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Long Beach State | 284-280-277—841 |
| 2. | New Mexico | 276-282-288—846 |
| 3. | COLORADO | 289-271-287—847 |
| 4. | Southern California | 279-282-286—847 |
| 5. | Texas-El Paso | 287-283-282—852 |
| 6. | Fresno State | 284-286-284—854 |
| 7. | Grand Canyon | 280-284-291—855 |
| 8. | Santa Clara | 287-277-292—856 |
| 9. | San Francisco | 285-286-287—858 |
| 10. | Oral Roberts | 291-278-291—860 |
| T11. | North Texas | 292-285-288—865 |
| T11. | Arkansas State | 291-282-292—865 |
| 13. | Tarleton State | 286-284-296—866 |
| 14. | Stetson | 290-286-293—869 |
| T15. | Colorado State | 292-284-295—871 |
| T15. | Eastern Michigan | 295-286-290—871 |
| 17. | Rice | 288-287-299—874 |
| 18. | New Mexico State | 295-291-289—875 |
Players Mentioned
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