Colorado University Athletics
Hunter Swanson's 1-over 72 was the best by a Buff Monday.
Photo by: Tony Harman
Golfers Off To A Slow Start In The Prestige at PGA West
February 16, 2026 | Men's Golf
Buffaloes in 21st After Battling The Elements
LA QUINTA, Calif. – The University of Colorado men's golf team, along with half the field, had the unfortunate timing of teeing off in the afternoon Monday after heavy rains and gusting winds at times hit here, as the Buffaloes opened in 21st place after the first round in the 26th Annual "The Prestige at PGA West."
No. 91 Oregon State finished with a hot run – playing the last three holes at 6-under par – to grab the first round lead with a 9-under 275 team score. No. 77 Oregon is in second with a 2-under 282 total, with No. 53 UNC-Wilmington in third (283), the only three teams to record subpar team scores. No. 35 and co-host Stanford, No. 41 Arkansas-Little Rock and No. 68 Kansas State are tied for fourth with even-par 284 totals.
Nine of the top 11 teams in the day one standings teed off in the morning when the weather was perfect, with only Stanford and San Diego fighting off the elements of those who started with Noon tee times. The stroke averages for each told the story: it was 72.7 for the 60 players in the morning, and 75.7 for the same number in the afternoon.
Colorado ended day one in 21st place, as the No. 42 Buffaloes struggled to their worst round of the '25-26 season, a 19-over 303. Misery loves company as they say, as in 19th is No. 27 Wake Forest (299) – the second-highest ranked team competing here, with the highest the 24-team field, No. 9 Texas Tech, in 11th (291).
Monday's over-par round ended a streak 10 straight subpar rounds that CU had ended the fall season with, a number that had eclipsed the previous school record by one. It was just the second round over par out of 16 this year.
Senior Hunter Swanson turned in CU's top performance, as he is tied for 31st after fashioning a 1-over 72 on the 7,105-yard, par-71 PGA West Greg Norman Course, posting a steady round with two birdies, 13 pars and three bogeys. He hovered between 1-under and 1-over the entire round. He was just 2-over on the eight toughest holes, the best by a Buff, and he played the par-3's at 1-under, tied for fifth-best in the 120-man field.
Junior Brandon Knight carded a 5-over 76, tying him for 86th. He had two birdies and 10 pars opposite five bogeys and a double. Four-over through 10, he battled down the stretch including scoring his birds back-to-back on Nos. 11 and 12. He was 1-under on the par-5's, tied for 10th-best in the field.
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera also recorded a 5-over 76, as he recorded a team-high three birdies, all coming in succession on holes 8 through 10. He otherwise had nine pars, four bogeys and two doubles on his round. The three birdies were actually tied for 26th overall, a fairly low count but attributable to the weather.
Junior Ty Holbrook is tied for 105th after posting an 8-over 79, posting just one birdie with 11 pars and four bogeys; much of his overage came from a double- and triple-bogey. He was 7-over after eight holes, but did settle down to play his last 10 at just plus-1. He was 1-over on the par-5's, the first time in 16 rounds this season he didn't have at least one birdie on a par-5.
Sophomore Parker Paxton recorded an uncharacteristic 9-over 80, tying him for 109th. That ended his run of rounds of par or better in succession with 15, tying the school record set by Dylan McDermott last year; prior to Monday, his high score this season had been a 71 (1-under four times and even once) with a 77 for his career. He had a single bogey with 10 pars to open here, with five bogeys, a double and the first triple bogey of his career (on the par-4 18th); he had played the first 665 holes as a collegian with only 12 holes worse than bogey (all doubles).
"'Tough day and obviously not how we wanted or expected to open the spring season," head coach Roy Edwards said. "We had a particularly challenging time dealing with the wind and rain when it moved in. Only a third of the way through the tournament and have a quick turnaround with an opportunity to get back in it in the morning tomorrow.'
Oregon State's Rylan Johnson carded a 5-under 66 to hold the individual lead after one round, good for a two-shot lead over four others.
The second round is set for Tuesday; the Buffaloes will be again be paired with Northwestern and UC Davis and will tee off on No. 10 beginning at 8:45 a.m. MST. The third and final round is scheduled for Wednesday.
THE PRESTIGE INDIVIDUAL: Sophomore Michael Fang is also on the trip, competing in the companion "The Prestige Individual" at the Golf Club of Terra Lago in nearby Indio. He opened Monday with a 3-over 75 on the 7,060-yard, par 72 configuration, scoring two birdies and 13 pars and two bogeys, with a costly triple that wound up accounting for his entire overage (on the 576-yard, par-5 5th hole). He played the par-4's at 1-under, the second-best in the 52-man field, and the par-3's at 1-over in addition to plus-3 on the par-5's. He currently stands tied for 18th, with UCLA's Luciano Conlan and Stanford's Ethan Geo the co-leaders at 3-under. He will tee off on No. 1 at 10:20 a.m. MDT and will be paired with Geo and Northwestern's Akshay Anand.
NOTES: Monday's high temperature was 63 degrees, roughly the same is projected the next two days; while no rain is expected on Tuesday, it is in the forecast for Wednesday's final round … The average score for all 120 rounds was 74.19 (72.70 in the morning, 75.68 in the afternoon) … There are 21 players under par and nine who recorded even-par scores in the first round … Just over half the field – 61 players – recorded at least one double bogey … The eight-toughest holes Monday, in order, were Nos. 6, 13, 2, 3, 18, 7, 17 and 14: CU's four scorers played those at 13-over in the afternoon by comparison, first round leader Oregon State's played them even … The five CU scorers played the par-5's at 1-over (tied for 15th; Oregon State led at 7-under), the par-3's at 7-over (tied for 18th; OSU was minus-3) and the par-4's at 20-over (21st; UNC-Wilmington was 1-over) … Colorado had just nine birdies (tied for 18th; Kansas State topped the field with 22), along with 53 pars (16th; Clemson leads with 65) but had 21 bogeys (tied for the sixth-most; Oregon State had just nine) and seven doubles or worse (third; three teams had just one) … There were just four eagles Monday (Kansas had two of them) … Yannik Paul ('18) finished competing in the NTT Data Championship in George, South Africa, on Sunday, tying for 18th (68-71-69—208, -8).
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(*—playing in The Prestige Individual)
No. 91 Oregon State finished with a hot run – playing the last three holes at 6-under par – to grab the first round lead with a 9-under 275 team score. No. 77 Oregon is in second with a 2-under 282 total, with No. 53 UNC-Wilmington in third (283), the only three teams to record subpar team scores. No. 35 and co-host Stanford, No. 41 Arkansas-Little Rock and No. 68 Kansas State are tied for fourth with even-par 284 totals.
Nine of the top 11 teams in the day one standings teed off in the morning when the weather was perfect, with only Stanford and San Diego fighting off the elements of those who started with Noon tee times. The stroke averages for each told the story: it was 72.7 for the 60 players in the morning, and 75.7 for the same number in the afternoon.
Colorado ended day one in 21st place, as the No. 42 Buffaloes struggled to their worst round of the '25-26 season, a 19-over 303. Misery loves company as they say, as in 19th is No. 27 Wake Forest (299) – the second-highest ranked team competing here, with the highest the 24-team field, No. 9 Texas Tech, in 11th (291).
Monday's over-par round ended a streak 10 straight subpar rounds that CU had ended the fall season with, a number that had eclipsed the previous school record by one. It was just the second round over par out of 16 this year.
Senior Hunter Swanson turned in CU's top performance, as he is tied for 31st after fashioning a 1-over 72 on the 7,105-yard, par-71 PGA West Greg Norman Course, posting a steady round with two birdies, 13 pars and three bogeys. He hovered between 1-under and 1-over the entire round. He was just 2-over on the eight toughest holes, the best by a Buff, and he played the par-3's at 1-under, tied for fifth-best in the 120-man field.
Junior Brandon Knight carded a 5-over 76, tying him for 86th. He had two birdies and 10 pars opposite five bogeys and a double. Four-over through 10, he battled down the stretch including scoring his birds back-to-back on Nos. 11 and 12. He was 1-under on the par-5's, tied for 10th-best in the field.
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera also recorded a 5-over 76, as he recorded a team-high three birdies, all coming in succession on holes 8 through 10. He otherwise had nine pars, four bogeys and two doubles on his round. The three birdies were actually tied for 26th overall, a fairly low count but attributable to the weather.
Junior Ty Holbrook is tied for 105th after posting an 8-over 79, posting just one birdie with 11 pars and four bogeys; much of his overage came from a double- and triple-bogey. He was 7-over after eight holes, but did settle down to play his last 10 at just plus-1. He was 1-over on the par-5's, the first time in 16 rounds this season he didn't have at least one birdie on a par-5.
Sophomore Parker Paxton recorded an uncharacteristic 9-over 80, tying him for 109th. That ended his run of rounds of par or better in succession with 15, tying the school record set by Dylan McDermott last year; prior to Monday, his high score this season had been a 71 (1-under four times and even once) with a 77 for his career. He had a single bogey with 10 pars to open here, with five bogeys, a double and the first triple bogey of his career (on the par-4 18th); he had played the first 665 holes as a collegian with only 12 holes worse than bogey (all doubles).
"'Tough day and obviously not how we wanted or expected to open the spring season," head coach Roy Edwards said. "We had a particularly challenging time dealing with the wind and rain when it moved in. Only a third of the way through the tournament and have a quick turnaround with an opportunity to get back in it in the morning tomorrow.'
Oregon State's Rylan Johnson carded a 5-under 66 to hold the individual lead after one round, good for a two-shot lead over four others.
The second round is set for Tuesday; the Buffaloes will be again be paired with Northwestern and UC Davis and will tee off on No. 10 beginning at 8:45 a.m. MST. The third and final round is scheduled for Wednesday.
THE PRESTIGE INDIVIDUAL: Sophomore Michael Fang is also on the trip, competing in the companion "The Prestige Individual" at the Golf Club of Terra Lago in nearby Indio. He opened Monday with a 3-over 75 on the 7,060-yard, par 72 configuration, scoring two birdies and 13 pars and two bogeys, with a costly triple that wound up accounting for his entire overage (on the 576-yard, par-5 5th hole). He played the par-4's at 1-under, the second-best in the 52-man field, and the par-3's at 1-over in addition to plus-3 on the par-5's. He currently stands tied for 18th, with UCLA's Luciano Conlan and Stanford's Ethan Geo the co-leaders at 3-under. He will tee off on No. 1 at 10:20 a.m. MDT and will be paired with Geo and Northwestern's Akshay Anand.
NOTES: Monday's high temperature was 63 degrees, roughly the same is projected the next two days; while no rain is expected on Tuesday, it is in the forecast for Wednesday's final round … The average score for all 120 rounds was 74.19 (72.70 in the morning, 75.68 in the afternoon) … There are 21 players under par and nine who recorded even-par scores in the first round … Just over half the field – 61 players – recorded at least one double bogey … The eight-toughest holes Monday, in order, were Nos. 6, 13, 2, 3, 18, 7, 17 and 14: CU's four scorers played those at 13-over in the afternoon by comparison, first round leader Oregon State's played them even … The five CU scorers played the par-5's at 1-over (tied for 15th; Oregon State led at 7-under), the par-3's at 7-over (tied for 18th; OSU was minus-3) and the par-4's at 20-over (21st; UNC-Wilmington was 1-over) … Colorado had just nine birdies (tied for 18th; Kansas State topped the field with 22), along with 53 pars (16th; Clemson leads with 65) but had 21 bogeys (tied for the sixth-most; Oregon State had just nine) and seven doubles or worse (third; three teams had just one) … There were just four eagles Monday (Kansas had two of them) … Yannik Paul ('18) finished competing in the NTT Data Championship in George, South Africa, on Sunday, tying for 18th (68-71-69—208, -8).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T31. | Hunter Swanson | 35-37—72 |
| T86. | Jackson Rivera | 37-39—76 |
| T86. | Brandon Knight | 37-39—76 |
| T105. | Ty Holbrook | 41-38—79 |
| T109. | Parker Paxton | 39-41—80 |
| T18. | *Michael Fang | 38-37—75 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Rylan Johnson, Oregon State | 34-32—66 |
| T2. | Antoine Jasmin, Oregon State | 34-32—68 |
| T2. | Viggo Talasmaki, UA-Little Rock | 35-33—68 |
| T2. | Lequan Wang, UC Davis | 34-34—68 |
| T2. | Reed Arnaldo, San Diego | 34-34—68 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Oregon State | 275 |
| 2. | Oregon | 282 |
| 3. | UNC-Wilmington | 283 |
| T4. | Kansas State | 284 |
| T4. | Arkansas-Little Rock | 284 |
| T4. | Stanford | 284 |
| 7. | Kansas | 285 |
| T8. | Gonzaga | 287 |
| T8. | San Diego | 287 |
| 10. | Iowa State | 289 |
| 11. | Clemson | 290 |
| 12. | Texas Tech | 291 |
| T12. | Lipscomb | 292 |
| T12. | North Alabama | 292 |
| T15. | Northwestern | 294 |
| T15. | SMU | 294 |
| 17. | UC Davis | 295 |
| 18. | Washington State | 297 |
| 19. | Wake Forest | 299 |
| 20. | Princeton | 300 |
| 21. | COLORADO | 303 |
| 22. | Nevada | 304 |
| 23. | Yale | 314 |
| 24. | Colorado State | 326 |
Players Mentioned
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