Buffs finish 7th in New Mexico at William H. Tucker Invitational
The Colorado Buffaloes men’s golf team finished 7th in a 15-team field at the 71st annual William H. Tucker Invitational on Saturday. This solid showing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, closed out the team’s tough stretch of three tournaments in the past 12 days.
The University of New Mexico Lobos hosted the tournament on their Championship South Course, a lengthy 7,552-yard, par-72 course designed by renowned golf architect Red Lawrence. The course is one of the biggest tests Colorado faces each year, as the program has won only one title at the Tucker Invitational since its founding in 1955.
The Buffs came into the tournament with momentum from their win at the Gene Miranda Invitational earlier that week, but got off to a rocky start due to heavy rain and a lengthy weather delay that ultimately resulted in the suspension of play midway through the second round on Friday. Going into the halt of play, Colorado sat in fourth place at 11-under par. The black and gold eventually wrapped up the second round with a total score of 281–their best of the three rounds–followed by a 285 on Saturday. The San Diego State Aztecs went into the final day with the lead and pulled away even further to take home first place, finishing with a score of 31-under par (833).
Senior Brandon Knight stepped up and paced Colorado all week, ultimately ending the tournament tied for 15th with a score of 211 (-5). Knight went 68-70-73 over his three rounds, leading the team and the entire field with 41 pars. He also holed nine birdies over the weekend. This marked the 16th time he has finished a tournament under par in his Colorado career, the most of anyone currently on the team.
Junior Parker Paxton continued his strong start to the season, coming in tied for 20th. This marked his third consecutive and ninth top-20 finish of his career. Paxton’s best moment of the tournament came on the par-5 1st hole, where he recorded an eagle to open up his first round.
Senior Ty Holbrook and sophomore Tyler Long both tied for 29th place at 215 (-1). Holbrook rallied through a difficult first round on Friday before the rain stoppage. He turned in two solid scores to close out his tournament (70-71), including a streak of four birdies in a row to finish out the third round. Long also struggled during the first round on Friday, but surged back into contention with two good scores of 69 in his next two rounds to make it into the top-30.
Junior Asher Whitaker placed 72nd at 7-over par, carding seven birdies throughout the week. Sophomore Casey Kosney competed as an individual and finished tied for 84th, with a score of 230 (+16).
New Mexico’s Johnnie Clark and San Diego State’s Brayden Forte shared individual medalist honors after a playoff, both finishing at 13-under par (203).
The Buffaloes don’t get much time to regroup, as they’ll be returning home to host the 16th annual Mark-Simpson-Colorado invitational at Boulder Country Club, while also hosting the Les Fowler Individual at Bear Creek Golf Club in Denver. Both events will take place over Sept. 28-30.
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