Colorado golf ties for third at Palouse Collegiate behind Paxton, Swanson

Colorado Buffaloes men's golf is looking to bounce back after an unfortunate end to its 2025 spring season. (Photo via CUBuffs.com)

Colorado Buffaloes men’s golf came out swinging this week. The Buffs finished 28-under par to open their season, tying for third place in the Palouse Collegiate hosted by Washington State. The Buffaloes, ranked No. 26 in Golfweek’s preseason poll, posted three straight subpar rounds. The 824 total was the fourth-lowest overall gross score in program history.

Wazzu captured the team title at 45-under aggregate (807), holding off a late round surge from Santa Clara (813). Colorado and Pacific tied for third, 11 shots behind the Bucking Horse (824), while Boise State rounded out the top five in Pullman. 

Senior Hunter Swanson and sophomore Parker Paxton paced CU with matching 10-under 203s, tying for fifth on the individual leaderboard. Swanson, who placed fourth at the same event last year, shot 68-66-69, with 27 birdies across the three rounds. Paxton, meanwhile, closed with a career-low 65 that included an impressive eagle and seven birdies.

Junior Brandon Knight tied for 21st at 208 (69-70-69), while Ty Holbrook tied for 34th at 212 (74-67-71). USC transfer Jackson Rivera hit adversity early in his Buff debut. The graduate student rebounded from an opening-round 80 to finish tied for 61st at 219. Freshman Tyler Long, competing despite a back injury, tied for 42nd at 214 after closing with a 70.

“We learned a lot about the team this week,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “Hunter and Parker had really nice outings, and Tyler was resilient considering he was fighting a bad back. Jackson had a nice comeback after some first-round struggles, and both Brandon and Ty had some really good moments as well.”

Colorado returns to action on Sept. 19-20 at the William M. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CU hopes this fall circuit will once again power a successful championship campaign in the spring.