Colorado University Athletics
Rivera zoomed into the lead after a 5-under 67 Tuesday.
Golfers Extend Lead In Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate
February 24, 2026 | Men's Golf
Rivera Moves Into Lead; Five Buffaloes In Top 18
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PALM DESERT, Calif. – The University of Colorado men's golf team executed one of its best single rounds in its long history here Tuesday and extended its lead to 15 strokes through two rounds of Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate.
The No. 46 Buffaloes led Sacramento State by three heading into the round and turned in a 17-under par 271 team score, to end 36-holes with a 29-under 547 team score; the Hornets could not keep up, though still held second with a 562 score. Host Wyoming in in third (563), with Cal Baptist (565) and Maryland (566) rounding out the top five. Eight teams remained under par with two others even heading into Wednesday's final round.
Tuesday's round made it into the CU record book on several fronts. It was the 13th time in program history that four designated scorers recorded scores in the 60's, and the 35th time all five scored rounds of par or better. The 17-under 271 team score tied the third best effort on a par-72 course, with 17-under tying the fourth-best in relation to par on any configuration. The 36-hole total of 547 was the fifth-best in program history, but the 29-under par is a school-best for two rounds, eclipsing 28-under set last fall in CU's Mark Simpson Invitational. And with no eagles to help inflate the stroke count on the positive side, the 27 birdies set a school mark for the most in a single round, topping the 26 CU had here in the second round in 2017 and in the third round of the 2022 Ka'anapali College Collegiate.
The Buffs pulled away from the field early, scoring eight birdies on their first four holes (with no bogeys), and led by double figures the remainder of the round. At one point, CU was 31-under par late but closed with four bogeys combined on Nos. 16 and 17 before scoring two birdies on No. 18. As a result, there are four Buffaloes in the top seven and all five designated scorers in the top 18 on The Classic Club's 7,305-yard, par-72 course layout.
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera is starting to return to the form he showed early in his career at the University of Southern California before injuries hampered his final two seasons there. In recording his second bogey-free round as a Buff, he carded a 5-under 67 for a 36-hole total of 8-under 136 (his CU best), he moved from a tie for seventh into sole possession of the lead. He had five birdies in all with 13 pars (and now has 10 birdies and 24 pars with two bogeys through two rounds), running his streak to 23 straight holes of par or better, his second-longest run as a Buff. He made the turn at 3-under and added back-to-back birdies on the back nine on Nos. 13 and 14. He's played the par-4's the best in the 124-man field at 5-under, is tied for 10th in birdies and has the third-fewest bogeys overall.
Juniors Ty Holbrook and Brandon Knight were tied for 14th after one round, and remain tied through 36 holes, jumping up 11 spots into a tie for third with identical 6-under, 70-68—138 scorecards; both in fact opened and closed their rounds with birdies. Holbrook had a team-high seven birdies with eight pars and three bogeys en route to his 68, while Knight had six birdies and 10 pars with two bogeys for his.
Holbrook is tied for first in the field with 13 birdies, as his 6-under efforts on the par-5s. He has continued his impressive mastery of the par-5 holes this season, as now on 71 such holes dating back to last September, he has two eagles, 41 birdies, 24 pars and four bogeys, which is 41-under par; he birdied three of the four on Tuesday. He's also playing the par-4's at 1-under and the par-3's at 1-over. He was cruising along, firing a 5-under 31 on the front nine and was 6-under through 14, but then had the misfortune of scoring three straight bogeys on Nos. 15 through 17. He did rebound to finish his day with a birdie No. 18,
Knight's 10 birdies are tied for fifth, and his 3-under par efforts on the par-4's are tied for third in the field. He was 1-under through 11 and then birdied three of his next four holes to get deeper into the red for the round, and the closed with a bogey on No. 17 but also rallied with a birdie to close his round like Holbrook. His four bogeys are tied for the 16th-fewest after two rounds.
Sophomore Parker Paxton, one of four players tied for the lead after the first round, carded an even-par 72 for a 5-under 139 total, thus remains in the hunt, three behind Rivera. While not as hot as he was on Monday when he led the field with seven birdies, he was consistent with two birdies and 14 pars opposite two bogeys in the second round; he thus has nine, 23 and four of each, respectively. He's played the par-4's at 2-under, seventh-best in the field, and matched Knight's four bogeys to tie for the 16th-fewest.
Senior Hunter Swanson is tied for 18th after fashioning a 4-under 68 that has him in at 3-under 141. He was 1-under through 10, but birdied four of this next six holes to get to 5-under at one point until No. 17 got the better of him as it did Holbrook and Knight, also making bogey. He tied for the team-high with seven birdies with eight pars and three bogeys, and played the par-4's at 4-under, the best by a Buff over the two days; he's 3-under those like Knight and has thus also played them the third-best in the field. One of his birdies came on the 443-yard, par-4 3rd hole, one of only eight scored on it by the entire field on Tuesday.
Three Buffaloes are competing here as individuals, as all eight players on the '25-26 roster are participating.
Freshman Tyler Long is tied for 48th after a 3-under 74 in the second round has him in at 1-over 145. He had five birdies and seven pars, opposite five bogeys and CU's only double in 144 holes of play Tuesday; he has eight birdies and 20 pars overall through 36 holes and is playing the par-5 holes the best at 4-under.
Freshman Casey Kosney is tied for 60th after a second straight 1-over 73, thus has a 2-over 146 total. He was steady for the most part in round two, with three birdies and 11 pars and four bogeys. He bounced back-and-forth most of the round hanging around 1-over, with all his overage due to playing the par-4's at 4-over; he's 1-under on the tough par-3's and par-5's overall.
Sophomore Michael Fang is tied for 65th after he carded a 2-over 74, which has him at 3-over 147 overall. He tied for the team-high in pars Tuesday with 14, along with one birdie and three bogeys. He's been consistent, playing the par-5's even, the par-3's at 1-over and the par-4's at plus -2, with his 25 total pars tied for 17th in the field.
"Overall good day by the team," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Really nice rounds from Jackson, Ty, Hunter and Brandon. The rest of the guys hung in there and fought hard. We did a nice job of staying patient and in the present all day. It will take more focus on that for Wednesday's final round. The goal doesn't change tomorrow – have a good plan, be patient, compete and be confident and decisive. The format is such here where two teammates play together in the foursomes, and they do a good job of giving each other energy and feeding off each other.
"We also want to congratulate the women's team on their win today," he added. "We were tracking their scores all day and theu did a great job of hanging on for the victory."
Rivera leads Wyoming's Brody Knowlton by one stroke, with his fellow Buffs to off the pace, with 24 players within five strokes of the top spot.
The third and final round is scheduled for Wednesday; Colorado will be paired with Sacramento State and host Wyoming and will tee off on holes 1 through 3 in a 9:45 a.m. MST shotgun start. Knight and Holbrook are paired together in the 1A foursome, with Paxton and Swanson in the 1B grouping. Rivera will tee off on No. 2 with Knowlton and other singles from Sacramento State and Cal Baptist.
NOTES: Tuesday's weather mirrored Monday's, the high temperature reaching 82 degrees during play, under mostly sunny skies and winds that seldom topped five miles per hour; forecast is for much of the same for the final round, though it is expected approach 90 degrees … A former Buffalo who annually has dropped by The Classic Club to visit with the team and take in a round is nearby resident, All-American footballer ('69) Bobby Anderson … The average score for all 247 rounds was 73.54 (there was one disqualification Tuesday) … There are 43 players under par – same as after one round – with four in at even (down from 15) … The eight-toughest holes Monday, in order, were Nos. 11, 10, 7, 16, 3, 6, 5 and 8: CU's four scorers played those at 3-under, whereas Sac State's played at 5-over, helping to create the separation between the two … The five Buff designated scorers have played the par-4s at 14-under (best in the field; the only team with a subpar count, as Sac State is next best at 1-over); CU has also played the par-5's at 14-under (also tied for the best with Wyoming; Drake is next at minus-13) and the par-3's even (tied for seventh; Maryland leads at 5-under) … Colorado now has 51 birdies (remained with the most; Maryland held second with 41), along with 107 pars (14th; Cal Baptist has the most, 125). It's 11 bogeys are the second-fewest; Sac State has 20) and is the only team with one score worse than bogey (Cal Baptist has two) … The Buffs love the second round in this event: in 2017 event, they recorded their best-ever single round score, a 22-under par 266 enroute to finishing second (the low 18 hole score in the nation that season) … CU's record for stroke count in relation to par was set in the Simpson last September (823, 41-under), with its low gross score in any tournament 815 (37-under), also last fall in the Hawai'i Ka'anapali Classic by Outrigger … With the women's golf team winning the Causeway Invitational by four strokes in Sacramento, and the skiers claiming the Utah Invitational in convincing fashion, both on Tuesday, the men's golfers will go for the program hat trick for the week Wednesday if they hold the lead and win here.
(*—playing as an individual)
Colorado Drive (non-profit advancing golf through scholarship and NIL opportunities): Give to Colorado Drive here
PALM DESERT, Calif. – The University of Colorado men's golf team executed one of its best single rounds in its long history here Tuesday and extended its lead to 15 strokes through two rounds of Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate.
The No. 46 Buffaloes led Sacramento State by three heading into the round and turned in a 17-under par 271 team score, to end 36-holes with a 29-under 547 team score; the Hornets could not keep up, though still held second with a 562 score. Host Wyoming in in third (563), with Cal Baptist (565) and Maryland (566) rounding out the top five. Eight teams remained under par with two others even heading into Wednesday's final round.
Tuesday's round made it into the CU record book on several fronts. It was the 13th time in program history that four designated scorers recorded scores in the 60's, and the 35th time all five scored rounds of par or better. The 17-under 271 team score tied the third best effort on a par-72 course, with 17-under tying the fourth-best in relation to par on any configuration. The 36-hole total of 547 was the fifth-best in program history, but the 29-under par is a school-best for two rounds, eclipsing 28-under set last fall in CU's Mark Simpson Invitational. And with no eagles to help inflate the stroke count on the positive side, the 27 birdies set a school mark for the most in a single round, topping the 26 CU had here in the second round in 2017 and in the third round of the 2022 Ka'anapali College Collegiate.
The Buffs pulled away from the field early, scoring eight birdies on their first four holes (with no bogeys), and led by double figures the remainder of the round. At one point, CU was 31-under par late but closed with four bogeys combined on Nos. 16 and 17 before scoring two birdies on No. 18. As a result, there are four Buffaloes in the top seven and all five designated scorers in the top 18 on The Classic Club's 7,305-yard, par-72 course layout.
First-year graduate transfer Jackson Rivera is starting to return to the form he showed early in his career at the University of Southern California before injuries hampered his final two seasons there. In recording his second bogey-free round as a Buff, he carded a 5-under 67 for a 36-hole total of 8-under 136 (his CU best), he moved from a tie for seventh into sole possession of the lead. He had five birdies in all with 13 pars (and now has 10 birdies and 24 pars with two bogeys through two rounds), running his streak to 23 straight holes of par or better, his second-longest run as a Buff. He made the turn at 3-under and added back-to-back birdies on the back nine on Nos. 13 and 14. He's played the par-4's the best in the 124-man field at 5-under, is tied for 10th in birdies and has the third-fewest bogeys overall.
Juniors Ty Holbrook and Brandon Knight were tied for 14th after one round, and remain tied through 36 holes, jumping up 11 spots into a tie for third with identical 6-under, 70-68—138 scorecards; both in fact opened and closed their rounds with birdies. Holbrook had a team-high seven birdies with eight pars and three bogeys en route to his 68, while Knight had six birdies and 10 pars with two bogeys for his.
Holbrook is tied for first in the field with 13 birdies, as his 6-under efforts on the par-5s. He has continued his impressive mastery of the par-5 holes this season, as now on 71 such holes dating back to last September, he has two eagles, 41 birdies, 24 pars and four bogeys, which is 41-under par; he birdied three of the four on Tuesday. He's also playing the par-4's at 1-under and the par-3's at 1-over. He was cruising along, firing a 5-under 31 on the front nine and was 6-under through 14, but then had the misfortune of scoring three straight bogeys on Nos. 15 through 17. He did rebound to finish his day with a birdie No. 18,
Knight's 10 birdies are tied for fifth, and his 3-under par efforts on the par-4's are tied for third in the field. He was 1-under through 11 and then birdied three of his next four holes to get deeper into the red for the round, and the closed with a bogey on No. 17 but also rallied with a birdie to close his round like Holbrook. His four bogeys are tied for the 16th-fewest after two rounds.
Sophomore Parker Paxton, one of four players tied for the lead after the first round, carded an even-par 72 for a 5-under 139 total, thus remains in the hunt, three behind Rivera. While not as hot as he was on Monday when he led the field with seven birdies, he was consistent with two birdies and 14 pars opposite two bogeys in the second round; he thus has nine, 23 and four of each, respectively. He's played the par-4's at 2-under, seventh-best in the field, and matched Knight's four bogeys to tie for the 16th-fewest.
Senior Hunter Swanson is tied for 18th after fashioning a 4-under 68 that has him in at 3-under 141. He was 1-under through 10, but birdied four of this next six holes to get to 5-under at one point until No. 17 got the better of him as it did Holbrook and Knight, also making bogey. He tied for the team-high with seven birdies with eight pars and three bogeys, and played the par-4's at 4-under, the best by a Buff over the two days; he's 3-under those like Knight and has thus also played them the third-best in the field. One of his birdies came on the 443-yard, par-4 3rd hole, one of only eight scored on it by the entire field on Tuesday.
Three Buffaloes are competing here as individuals, as all eight players on the '25-26 roster are participating.
Freshman Tyler Long is tied for 48th after a 3-under 74 in the second round has him in at 1-over 145. He had five birdies and seven pars, opposite five bogeys and CU's only double in 144 holes of play Tuesday; he has eight birdies and 20 pars overall through 36 holes and is playing the par-5 holes the best at 4-under.
Freshman Casey Kosney is tied for 60th after a second straight 1-over 73, thus has a 2-over 146 total. He was steady for the most part in round two, with three birdies and 11 pars and four bogeys. He bounced back-and-forth most of the round hanging around 1-over, with all his overage due to playing the par-4's at 4-over; he's 1-under on the tough par-3's and par-5's overall.
Sophomore Michael Fang is tied for 65th after he carded a 2-over 74, which has him at 3-over 147 overall. He tied for the team-high in pars Tuesday with 14, along with one birdie and three bogeys. He's been consistent, playing the par-5's even, the par-3's at 1-over and the par-4's at plus -2, with his 25 total pars tied for 17th in the field.
"Overall good day by the team," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Really nice rounds from Jackson, Ty, Hunter and Brandon. The rest of the guys hung in there and fought hard. We did a nice job of staying patient and in the present all day. It will take more focus on that for Wednesday's final round. The goal doesn't change tomorrow – have a good plan, be patient, compete and be confident and decisive. The format is such here where two teammates play together in the foursomes, and they do a good job of giving each other energy and feeding off each other.
"We also want to congratulate the women's team on their win today," he added. "We were tracking their scores all day and theu did a great job of hanging on for the victory."
Rivera leads Wyoming's Brody Knowlton by one stroke, with his fellow Buffs to off the pace, with 24 players within five strokes of the top spot.
The third and final round is scheduled for Wednesday; Colorado will be paired with Sacramento State and host Wyoming and will tee off on holes 1 through 3 in a 9:45 a.m. MST shotgun start. Knight and Holbrook are paired together in the 1A foursome, with Paxton and Swanson in the 1B grouping. Rivera will tee off on No. 2 with Knowlton and other singles from Sacramento State and Cal Baptist.
NOTES: Tuesday's weather mirrored Monday's, the high temperature reaching 82 degrees during play, under mostly sunny skies and winds that seldom topped five miles per hour; forecast is for much of the same for the final round, though it is expected approach 90 degrees … A former Buffalo who annually has dropped by The Classic Club to visit with the team and take in a round is nearby resident, All-American footballer ('69) Bobby Anderson … The average score for all 247 rounds was 73.54 (there was one disqualification Tuesday) … There are 43 players under par – same as after one round – with four in at even (down from 15) … The eight-toughest holes Monday, in order, were Nos. 11, 10, 7, 16, 3, 6, 5 and 8: CU's four scorers played those at 3-under, whereas Sac State's played at 5-over, helping to create the separation between the two … The five Buff designated scorers have played the par-4s at 14-under (best in the field; the only team with a subpar count, as Sac State is next best at 1-over); CU has also played the par-5's at 14-under (also tied for the best with Wyoming; Drake is next at minus-13) and the par-3's even (tied for seventh; Maryland leads at 5-under) … Colorado now has 51 birdies (remained with the most; Maryland held second with 41), along with 107 pars (14th; Cal Baptist has the most, 125). It's 11 bogeys are the second-fewest; Sac State has 20) and is the only team with one score worse than bogey (Cal Baptist has two) … The Buffs love the second round in this event: in 2017 event, they recorded their best-ever single round score, a 22-under par 266 enroute to finishing second (the low 18 hole score in the nation that season) … CU's record for stroke count in relation to par was set in the Simpson last September (823, 41-under), with its low gross score in any tournament 815 (37-under), also last fall in the Hawai'i Ka'anapali Classic by Outrigger … With the women's golf team winning the Causeway Invitational by four strokes in Sacramento, and the skiers claiming the Utah Invitational in convincing fashion, both on Tuesday, the men's golfers will go for the program hat trick for the week Wednesday if they hold the lead and win here.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| 1. | Jackson Rivera | 69-67—136 |
| T3. | Brandon Knight | 70-68—138 |
| T3. | Ty Holbrook | 70-68—138 |
| T7. | Parker Paxton | 67-72—139 |
| T18. | Hunter Swanson | 73-68—141 |
| T48. | *Tyler Long | 71-74--145 |
| T60. | *Casey Kosney | 73-73—146 |
| T65. | *Michael Fang | 73-74—147 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Jackson Rivera, Colorado | 69-66—135 |
| 2. | Brody Knowlton, Wyoming | 67-70—137 |
| T3. | Brandon Knight, Colorado | 70-68—138 |
| T3. | Ty Holbrook, Colorado | 70-68--138 |
| T3. | Brody Leid, Wyoming | 72-66—138 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | COLORADO | 276-271—547 |
| 2. | Sacramento State | 279-283—562 |
| 3. | Wyoming | 281-282—563 |
| 4. | California Baptist | 286-279—565 |
| 5. | Maryland | 280-286—566 |
| 6. | Oral Roberts | 283-284—567 |
| 7. | Utah Tech | 287-283—570 |
| 8. | Nebraska-Omaha | 285-287—572 |
| T9. | East Texas A&M | 286-290—576 |
| T9. | Drake | 285-291—576 |
| T11. | Seattle | 286-292—578 |
| 111. | Cal Poly | 287-291—578 |
| 13. | UC Santa Barbara | 291-288—579 |
| T14. | UC Irvine | 289-294—583 |
| T14. | Hawai'i | 295-288—583 |
| 16. | Eastern Washington | 294-292—586 |
| T17. | Southern Utah | 300-289—589 |
| T17. | CSU Fullerton | 299-290—589 |
| 19. | CSU Northridge | 290-302—592 |
| 20. | UC Riverside | 295-303—598 |
| 21. | Valparaiso | 294-309—603 |
| 22. | Northern Iowa | 306-300—606 |
| 23. | College of the Desert | 306-309—615 |
Players Mentioned
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