Buffs men’s golf compete at Big 12 match play in Utah
The Colorado Buffaloes men’s golf team traveled to Salt Lake City last weekend for the Big 12 Match Play Championships. Taking place over three days with five events, the tournament is one of the biggest and most unique competitions for the Buffs each year. The Buffs tied the Kansas State Wildcats and lost to the Houston Cougars on Monday, fell short to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday and lost to the Utah Utes on Wednesday.
Match play consists of individual head-to-head matches between each team’s group of golfers, with a point being awarded for their team after winning an individual match. A tie over a full round results in half a point for each team. Matchups are held in a shotgun start and are decided based on a seeding system going into the tournament.
The event took place at Salt Lake Country Club, one of the premier golf clubs in the western United States. The par-72 course plays at 7,209 yards, with roughly 4,600 to 4,800 feet in elevation change throughout the 18 holes.
Colorado was represented by seniors Brandon Knight and Ty Holbrook, juniors Parker Paxton and Asher Whitaker, sophomore Tyler Long and freshman Colt Farrow. Heading into the tournament, Knight and Paxton were the only two with match play experience in their collegiate careers.
The morning match on Monday against Kansas State resulted in a tie with each team recording 2.5 points. Knight won his matchup in a thrilling finish, holing out for eagle on the 18th hole after being tied with the Wildcats’ Erik Holmberg through 17 holes. He finished that round with an excellent bogey-free 66 (-6). Whitaker won his match in a back-and-forth fight against Kansas State's Oliver Toyer, pulling ahead on the par-3 11th hole. Holbrook halved Octavio Laurent in another very close matchup, going 3-up at one point in the round but settling for a tie after Holbrook bogeyed the final hole.
In the afternoon match versus Houston, the Buffs were trailing 3-2 when play was suspended due to rain. The Cougars had already secured wins in three of their five matchups and were awarded the win with three holes remaining. Holbrook led over Houston’s Grant Doggett through 16 holes after a very strong start on the front nine, then the two were halted by the horn with two holes remaining. Paxton was substituted for Farrow in the second round, who was 1-up on Houston’s Chi Chun after a birdie on 12 with one hole remaining.
Tuesday’s rounds were also affected by the heavy rain, as Colorado took on Texas Tech in the morning and had their afternoon match postponed. The Red Raiders defeated the Buffs 3-2, but Farrow had an impressive win in his matchup against Texas Tech’s Ben Gregg, the world No. 85-ranked amateur. The freshman didn’t trail at any point during the round, taking several leads and entering the last hole all tied up. Farrow made par on the 437-yard, par-4 6th, while Gregg bogeyed. Whitaker also won his match against the Red Raiders’ Simon Hovdal, carding five birdies and taking a comfortable lead to earn his point for the Buffs.
The final matchup of the tournament for the Buffaloes came on Wednesday against Utah, where the Utes defeated them by a score of 4-1. Whitaker won Colorado’s sole point of the day, defeating Utah’s Will Pizza. He took the lead midway through the back nine and secured the win with three pars to end the round. Knight also put up a respectable performance against world No. 39-ranked amateur Gabriel Palacios. Despite falling by two strokes, Knight made six birdies–the most on the day for the team.
With the tournament being shortened by one round due to weather, Oklahoma State and Arizona State were both declared co-champions.
The Buffs will wrap up their fall 2026 season in Hawaii at the Kaanapali Classic starting on Oct. 26.
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