Parker Paxton led the Buffaloes Monday in their own Simpson Invitational.
Photo by: Tony Harman
Golfers In Third In Own Mark Simpson-CU Invitational
September 29, 2025 | Men's Golf
Three Buffaloes In Top 10
ERIE — The University of Colorado men's golf team opened strong here Monday and is in a likely dogfight for the title heading into the final round of its own 15th annual Mark Simpson-CU Invitational.
Long Beach State, fresh off a victory in New Mexico's Tucker Invitational, assumed the lead with a sparkling second round effort here Monday, as the Beach as it is known has a 32-under par 544 team score. That leads Arkansas State by one, with the Buffaloes checking in with a 28-under 548 score, good for third place and just four off the lead, as the three traded off leading at one time or another throughout the first 36 holes. Southern Illinois holds down fourth (554), with Loyola-Marymount a distant fifth (562).
Colorado was in first place after the first round, its 20-under 268 total the second-best in relation to par in its history, bested only by a 22-under par in the second round of the 2017 Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate; it tied for the third-lowest gross score on all par configurations. All five designated scorers were under par for the 10th time in school annals as well, the second time this season (and the third time all five recorded scores of par or better). It was also the 12th time four Buff scorers fashioned scores in the 60's in the same team round.
"There was 'a lot of good golf today from all of the guys," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Maybe we weren't totally at our best but did a really nice job of competing and hanging in there. We are really looking forward to tomorrow's final round and having a great opportunity for everybody to move up the board individually, as well as being right there in the mix for the team championship."
"We're expecting good weather for the final 18 holes, and it will be a lot of fun being out there competing for the title," Edwards added. The Buffaloes have won the event eight times, but haven't cracked the winner's circle since 2019, with runner-up finishes in each of the last three years.
Sophomore Parker Paxton is CU's front man after two rounds, his 66-69—135 effort (9-under par) good for a tie for fourth. He had two eagles, nine birdies and 21pars opposite four bogeys Monday on the 7,787-yard, par-72 Colorado National Golf Club Course layout. The 66 was one off his collegiate best, but his 135 is his top score through 36 holes. One of his eagles came in the first round on the 364-yard, par-4 17th hole (that was playing closer to 315 yards), when he drove the green with a 3-wood and sank about a 45-foot putt. He is playing all three par configurations in the red – 4-under on the par-5's, 3-under on the par-4's (tied for the best in the field) and 2-under on the par-3's and was under par on all nines (33, 33, 34, 35).
Junior Ty Holbrook is tied for seventh after a 66-70—136 (8-under par) day, his collegiate best score for 36 holes. His opening round 66 was the first bogey-free round of his collegiate career, and combined with four holes coming in and seven holes in the second round of par or better, gave him a career best of 29 consecutive subpar or par holes. He had a team-high 11 birdies – tied for the fourth-most in the field – with 23 pars, one bogey and CU's lone double. He continued his outright dominance on par-5 holes this season: he birdied five of the eight Monday, and of the 32 par-5's holes thus far this fall, he has two eagles, 23 birdies, six pars and just one bogey. His 5-under on the par-5's tied for fifth-best Monday, and he also checked in a 3-under on the par-4's and even on the par-3's.
Junior Brandon Knight bogeyed his first hole (the 468-yard, par-4 3rd), but then went on a tear – playing his next 34 holes all at par or better (nine birdies) – before bogeying his last hole (dealing with a bit of wind, the 626-yard, par-5 2nd). The end result was a tie for ninth place with a 7-under 67-70—137 effort, as he recorded nine birdies and 25 pars against just the two bogeys. He is playing the par-4's at 5-under, tied for the fifth-best of all competitors, the par-5's at 2-under and the par-3's even.
Freshman Tyler Long, a designated scorer for the first time in in his young career didn't disappoint. He recorded his first round in the 60's in the morning – a 3-under 69 – and a 1-under 71 in the afternoon for a 4-under 140 that has him tied for 20th. He had an eagle in each round, with six birdies and 22 pars and six bogeys – though two came on his last two holes of the day (Nos. 2 and 3). He played the par-5's at 4-under an the par-4's at 1-under (and the par-3's at 1-over).
Senior Hunter Swanson is tied for 39th after posting a 2-under 70-72—142 scorecard. He had a steady day with seven birdies and 24 pars with five bogeys, playing the par-4's well at 4-under (10th-best in the field). He's 1-under on the par-5's and 3-over on the par-3's. Even through 16 holes in the first round, he closed with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18
Three Buffaloes are participating here as individuals; thus their scores do not count toward the CU team total.
Freshman Casey Kosney is tied for 30th after fashioning a 73-68—141 (3-under) effort. He was also a model of consistency, with nine birdies and 21 pars opposite six bogeys (just one in the afternoon) while playing all three par configurations at 1-under (with 14 in a row of par or better at one juncture).
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera is tied for 39th, starting with some struggles en route to a first round 76 before he bounced back with CU's best afternoon round – a 6-under 66 – which has him in at 2-under 142. The 66 was his best round since the spring of his freshman year at Southern California (a 5-under 66 in the first round of the Vaspar Collegiate), with the 6-under effort his collegiate best in relation to par. He had 10 birdies Monday – including a team-best eight in round two – with 18 pars and eight bogeys. He played the par-5's the best at 4-under.
Sophomore Michael Fang is tied for 46th after recording a 1-under 70-73—143 effort (his 36-hole collegiate career-best); he was also consistent across the board, with seven birdies, 23 pars and six bogeys while playing the par-5's at 3-under and the par-3's and par-4's both at 1-over. Between the two rounds, he had a career-best stretch of 15 holes or par or better.
Arkansas State senior Thomas Schmidt is running away with medalist honors through 36 holes, as he sizzled both times around the Colorado National track. He opened with an 8-under 64 (nine birdies, one bogey), and then tied the tournament record with a 9-under 63, going bogey-free in the afternoon with seven birdies and an eagle. His 15-under 127 set the Simpson mark for 36 holes, and it's good for a five-stroke lead heading into Tuesday's final round.
The third and final round of the Simpson will take place Tuesday, with the top four teams teeing off on No. 1 in 10-minute intervals beginning at 7:55 a.m.; CU will be paired with Long Beach State, Arkansas State and Southern Illinois. The rest of the field with start on holes 4 through 18 in a shotgun format beginning at 8:15 a.m.
NOTES: The weather was perfect in the morning, the high temperature reaching 77 degrees; but a storm from moved in mid-afternoon, dropping the temperature into the upper 50's with winds gusting to 15 to 20 miles per hour with a slight drizzle at times … All 10 occasions where each of the five designated scorers recorded subpar scores in a single round have occurred since 2014, all under Edwards; five of those have happened in the last 11 months … The average score for all 200 rounds is 71.90; the second round average was slightly less at 71.88 after the first round came in at 71.91 … There are 52 players who are under par and another 10 sitting at even through 36 holes in the 100-man field … The six toughest holes overall thus far have been Nos. 16, 9, 3, 5, 6 and 10 (16, 9 and 5 being par-3's ), along with Nos. 8 and 11 (par-3's); Long Beach's scorers have played those at 5-under through two rounds, while CU and Arkansas State's quintets have played them at 1-over … The scorers played the par-3's at 1-over (tied for best in the field with Arkansas State), the par-4's at 15-under (second behind Long Beach State at 26-under) and the par-5's at 16-under (also second, behind 26-under by Arkansas State) … Colorado led the way with four eagles, along with the fourth-most birdies (42; Long Beach has the most with 49), and has 113 pars (seventh, UTEP tops the list with 129), with its 18 bogeys tied for the fewest with CSULB and ASU) and just one double bogey (tied for the lowest with four others) … Colorado already has 10 eagles this season – the school record of 30 was set last year … Long and Paxton were two of four players with two eagles Monday … Through eight rounds this young season, CU's scorers are an impressive 71-under par … Going back to the last 11 holes in last week's New Mexico Tucker Invitational, Knight has recorded par or better scores on 46 of his last 48 holes … UTEP's Dylan Teeter, a tri-medalist a year ago at 13-under par 203, is tied for 53rd after two rounds with a 73-71—144 even-par effort … Northern Colorado and Wyoming joined CU in participating in all 15 of the Simpson events … Long Beach State senior Jack Cantlay (tied for 14th with a 71-68—139 score), is the younger brother of PGA Tour regular Patrick Cantlay, who competed this past weekend in the Ryder Cup … Speaking of the latter, Hale Irwin ('67) was on five U.S. Ryder Cup teams, with a 13-5-2 match record; the U.S. won all five times. That's a 70 percent winning percentage, behind only Sam Snead (10-2-1, .808) and Arnold Palmer (22-8-2, .719) and tied with Tom Watson (10-4-1, .700) … May graduate Justin Biwer won an Asher Tour event last Thursday at Southern Dunes with a 22-under par 194 score; his final round 62 was his career best round (10 birdies, 29 on the front nine and bogey-free overall).
(*—playing as an individual)
Long Beach State, fresh off a victory in New Mexico's Tucker Invitational, assumed the lead with a sparkling second round effort here Monday, as the Beach as it is known has a 32-under par 544 team score. That leads Arkansas State by one, with the Buffaloes checking in with a 28-under 548 score, good for third place and just four off the lead, as the three traded off leading at one time or another throughout the first 36 holes. Southern Illinois holds down fourth (554), with Loyola-Marymount a distant fifth (562).
Colorado was in first place after the first round, its 20-under 268 total the second-best in relation to par in its history, bested only by a 22-under par in the second round of the 2017 Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate; it tied for the third-lowest gross score on all par configurations. All five designated scorers were under par for the 10th time in school annals as well, the second time this season (and the third time all five recorded scores of par or better). It was also the 12th time four Buff scorers fashioned scores in the 60's in the same team round.
"There was 'a lot of good golf today from all of the guys," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Maybe we weren't totally at our best but did a really nice job of competing and hanging in there. We are really looking forward to tomorrow's final round and having a great opportunity for everybody to move up the board individually, as well as being right there in the mix for the team championship."
"We're expecting good weather for the final 18 holes, and it will be a lot of fun being out there competing for the title," Edwards added. The Buffaloes have won the event eight times, but haven't cracked the winner's circle since 2019, with runner-up finishes in each of the last three years.
Sophomore Parker Paxton is CU's front man after two rounds, his 66-69—135 effort (9-under par) good for a tie for fourth. He had two eagles, nine birdies and 21pars opposite four bogeys Monday on the 7,787-yard, par-72 Colorado National Golf Club Course layout. The 66 was one off his collegiate best, but his 135 is his top score through 36 holes. One of his eagles came in the first round on the 364-yard, par-4 17th hole (that was playing closer to 315 yards), when he drove the green with a 3-wood and sank about a 45-foot putt. He is playing all three par configurations in the red – 4-under on the par-5's, 3-under on the par-4's (tied for the best in the field) and 2-under on the par-3's and was under par on all nines (33, 33, 34, 35).
Junior Ty Holbrook is tied for seventh after a 66-70—136 (8-under par) day, his collegiate best score for 36 holes. His opening round 66 was the first bogey-free round of his collegiate career, and combined with four holes coming in and seven holes in the second round of par or better, gave him a career best of 29 consecutive subpar or par holes. He had a team-high 11 birdies – tied for the fourth-most in the field – with 23 pars, one bogey and CU's lone double. He continued his outright dominance on par-5 holes this season: he birdied five of the eight Monday, and of the 32 par-5's holes thus far this fall, he has two eagles, 23 birdies, six pars and just one bogey. His 5-under on the par-5's tied for fifth-best Monday, and he also checked in a 3-under on the par-4's and even on the par-3's.
Junior Brandon Knight bogeyed his first hole (the 468-yard, par-4 3rd), but then went on a tear – playing his next 34 holes all at par or better (nine birdies) – before bogeying his last hole (dealing with a bit of wind, the 626-yard, par-5 2nd). The end result was a tie for ninth place with a 7-under 67-70—137 effort, as he recorded nine birdies and 25 pars against just the two bogeys. He is playing the par-4's at 5-under, tied for the fifth-best of all competitors, the par-5's at 2-under and the par-3's even.
Freshman Tyler Long, a designated scorer for the first time in in his young career didn't disappoint. He recorded his first round in the 60's in the morning – a 3-under 69 – and a 1-under 71 in the afternoon for a 4-under 140 that has him tied for 20th. He had an eagle in each round, with six birdies and 22 pars and six bogeys – though two came on his last two holes of the day (Nos. 2 and 3). He played the par-5's at 4-under an the par-4's at 1-under (and the par-3's at 1-over).
Senior Hunter Swanson is tied for 39th after posting a 2-under 70-72—142 scorecard. He had a steady day with seven birdies and 24 pars with five bogeys, playing the par-4's well at 4-under (10th-best in the field). He's 1-under on the par-5's and 3-over on the par-3's. Even through 16 holes in the first round, he closed with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18
Three Buffaloes are participating here as individuals; thus their scores do not count toward the CU team total.
Freshman Casey Kosney is tied for 30th after fashioning a 73-68—141 (3-under) effort. He was also a model of consistency, with nine birdies and 21 pars opposite six bogeys (just one in the afternoon) while playing all three par configurations at 1-under (with 14 in a row of par or better at one juncture).
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera is tied for 39th, starting with some struggles en route to a first round 76 before he bounced back with CU's best afternoon round – a 6-under 66 – which has him in at 2-under 142. The 66 was his best round since the spring of his freshman year at Southern California (a 5-under 66 in the first round of the Vaspar Collegiate), with the 6-under effort his collegiate best in relation to par. He had 10 birdies Monday – including a team-best eight in round two – with 18 pars and eight bogeys. He played the par-5's the best at 4-under.
Sophomore Michael Fang is tied for 46th after recording a 1-under 70-73—143 effort (his 36-hole collegiate career-best); he was also consistent across the board, with seven birdies, 23 pars and six bogeys while playing the par-5's at 3-under and the par-3's and par-4's both at 1-over. Between the two rounds, he had a career-best stretch of 15 holes or par or better.
Arkansas State senior Thomas Schmidt is running away with medalist honors through 36 holes, as he sizzled both times around the Colorado National track. He opened with an 8-under 64 (nine birdies, one bogey), and then tied the tournament record with a 9-under 63, going bogey-free in the afternoon with seven birdies and an eagle. His 15-under 127 set the Simpson mark for 36 holes, and it's good for a five-stroke lead heading into Tuesday's final round.
The third and final round of the Simpson will take place Tuesday, with the top four teams teeing off on No. 1 in 10-minute intervals beginning at 7:55 a.m.; CU will be paired with Long Beach State, Arkansas State and Southern Illinois. The rest of the field with start on holes 4 through 18 in a shotgun format beginning at 8:15 a.m.
NOTES: The weather was perfect in the morning, the high temperature reaching 77 degrees; but a storm from moved in mid-afternoon, dropping the temperature into the upper 50's with winds gusting to 15 to 20 miles per hour with a slight drizzle at times … All 10 occasions where each of the five designated scorers recorded subpar scores in a single round have occurred since 2014, all under Edwards; five of those have happened in the last 11 months … The average score for all 200 rounds is 71.90; the second round average was slightly less at 71.88 after the first round came in at 71.91 … There are 52 players who are under par and another 10 sitting at even through 36 holes in the 100-man field … The six toughest holes overall thus far have been Nos. 16, 9, 3, 5, 6 and 10 (16, 9 and 5 being par-3's ), along with Nos. 8 and 11 (par-3's); Long Beach's scorers have played those at 5-under through two rounds, while CU and Arkansas State's quintets have played them at 1-over … The scorers played the par-3's at 1-over (tied for best in the field with Arkansas State), the par-4's at 15-under (second behind Long Beach State at 26-under) and the par-5's at 16-under (also second, behind 26-under by Arkansas State) … Colorado led the way with four eagles, along with the fourth-most birdies (42; Long Beach has the most with 49), and has 113 pars (seventh, UTEP tops the list with 129), with its 18 bogeys tied for the fewest with CSULB and ASU) and just one double bogey (tied for the lowest with four others) … Colorado already has 10 eagles this season – the school record of 30 was set last year … Long and Paxton were two of four players with two eagles Monday … Through eight rounds this young season, CU's scorers are an impressive 71-under par … Going back to the last 11 holes in last week's New Mexico Tucker Invitational, Knight has recorded par or better scores on 46 of his last 48 holes … UTEP's Dylan Teeter, a tri-medalist a year ago at 13-under par 203, is tied for 53rd after two rounds with a 73-71—144 even-par effort … Northern Colorado and Wyoming joined CU in participating in all 15 of the Simpson events … Long Beach State senior Jack Cantlay (tied for 14th with a 71-68—139 score), is the younger brother of PGA Tour regular Patrick Cantlay, who competed this past weekend in the Ryder Cup … Speaking of the latter, Hale Irwin ('67) was on five U.S. Ryder Cup teams, with a 13-5-2 match record; the U.S. won all five times. That's a 70 percent winning percentage, behind only Sam Snead (10-2-1, .808) and Arnold Palmer (22-8-2, .719) and tied with Tom Watson (10-4-1, .700) … May graduate Justin Biwer won an Asher Tour event last Thursday at Southern Dunes with a 22-under par 194 score; his final round 62 was his career best round (10 birdies, 29 on the front nine and bogey-free overall).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T4. | Parker Paxton | 66-69—135 |
| T7. | Ty Holbrook | 66-70—136 |
| T9. | Brandon Knight | 67-70—137 |
| T20. | Tyler Long | 69-71—140 |
| T30. | *Casey Kosney | 73-68—141 |
| T39. | Hunter Swanson | 70-72—142 |
| T39. | *Jackson Rivera | 76-66—142 |
| T46. | *Michael Fang | 70-73—143 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State | 64-63—127 |
| 2. | Steen Zeman, Long Beach State | 67-65—132 |
| 3. | Cooper Tate, Northern Colorado | 66-67—133 |
| T4. | Parker Paxton, Colorado | 66-69—135 |
| T4. | Alejandro De Castro, Long Beach St. | 67-68—135 |
| T4. | Jake Wallis, Arkansas State | 68-67—135 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Long Beach State | 276-268—544 |
| 2. | Arkansas State | 275-270—545 |
| 3. | COLORADO | 268-280—548 |
| 4. | Southern Illinois | 269-285—554 |
| 5. | Loyola-Marymount | 281-281—562 |
| 6. | Texas-El Paso | 283-280—563 |
| T7. | Texas State | 279-287—566 |
| T7. | Wyoming | 286-280—566 |
| 9. | Creighton | 284-284—568 |
| 10. | Tarleton State | 284-286—570 |
| 11. | Boise State | 282-290—572 |
| 12. | Sacramento State | 288-286—574 |
| T13. | Gonzaga | 289-286—575 |
| T13. | UC Irvine | 286-288—575 |
| 15. | Eastern Washington | 293-283—576 |
| 16. | Denver | 283-294—577 |
| 17. | Utah State | 292-288—580 |
| 18. | Northern Colorado | 292-292—584 |
| 19. | CSU Fullerton | 306-297—603 |
Players Mentioned
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