University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Big Ten Championships
Men's Golf Captures Big Ten Title for Second-Straight Season
May 01, 2026 | Men's Golf
NORTH PLAINS, Ore. – The UCLA men's golf team won the team title at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday for the second-consecutive season, and freshman Josh Kim secured his first collegiate medal at the event.
Kim, a freshman from Danville, Calif., birdied the 16th and 17th holes on Sunday and finished the round at 1-under 69 to win the individual title by four strokes. Kim shot 8-under 202 at the Big Ten Championships.
The Bruins won the tournament by four strokes, carding 2-over 282 on Sunday. UCLA shot 1-over 281 in the opening round and 11-under 269 on Saturday. The Bruins finished the weekend with a team score of 8-under 832, four strokes ahead of second-place Illinois (4-under 836). Illinois closed the gap on UCLA in the final four holes, but birdies from UCLA's Josh Kim and Baylor Larrabee within the final three holes allowed the Bruins to clinch the win.
Kim became UCLA's second golfer in as many seasons to medal at the Big Ten Championships. Last season, then-senior Omar Morales finished first on the individual leaderboard to help UCLA secure the 2025 league title.
In addition to Kim's superlative tournament finish, sophomore Baylor Larrabee and freshman Tyler Loree each shot 2-under 208 across all three days. Larrabee finished at even par (70) on Sunday, while Loree carded 1-over 71. Both Larrabee and Loree tied for seventh place on the individual leaderboard.
"It was so awesome for us to be able to go back and defend our title and do it in my home area, of Portland, Oregon, and to have my family up there," Bruins' head coach Armen Kirakossian said. "The whole experience was really cool. For us to get the individual win, again, just so awesome. That's two years in a row we've gotten the individual win, as well. I am so proud of how our guys fought today. It was a tough day. Illinois came out firing, just hitting great shots. They made big putts. They had a ton of fans out there cheering loudly, cheering hard. It was a slow round of golf, too, so it felt like we were out there for an eternity. Our guys continued to hang tough.
"We did not get off to a great start, but we continued to persevere and battle," Kirakossian continued. "We had some huge ups and downs at the end, but we came out on top. I couldn't be happier. We have had a few close calls this season where we haven't closed it out, but today we did it. We had a big moment there in the Big Ten Championship, when we really needed it, so it's just an awesome win for our team."
Junior Alex Papayoanou shot 2-over 72 on Sunday and finished the tournament with a score of 4-over 214 (T-23).
Senior Kyle An recorded birdies on five of the final nine holes on Sunday, closing the three-day tournament at 7-over 217.
UCLA's victory marked the Bruins' first time repeating as the conference champions since winning the Pac-10 Conference in back-to-back seasons in 1982 and 1983. In addition, this marked the first time in which UCLA had individual conference medalists in consecutive years since 1982 and 1983 – Corey Pavin in 1982, and Steve Pate in 1983.
Following first-place UCLA and second-place Illinois in the final team standings on Sunday evening were (3) Washington, (4) Rutgers, (5) USC, (T-6) Purdue, (T-6) Penn State and (8) Nebraska, among the top eight programs.
Kirakossian, in his fourth season as UCLA's head coach, has now led the Bruins to two conference championships – both in the Big Ten (2025, 2026).
The Bruins have locked up the Big Ten's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field. Six NCAA regional sites will include a total of 81 teams. The regional field will be revealed in a selection show on Wednesday, May 6, at 11 a.m. (PT) on the Golf Channel. Teams are split into six different regionals, with regional play opening on Monday, May 18.
Prior to UCLA winning the championship in 2025 – and Morales being the individual champion that spring – the Bruins had not won their conference title since 2006 (as members of the Pac-10 Conference). Morales, in 2025, became UCLA's first Bruin to medal at the conference tournament since Daniel Im at the 2006 Pac-10 Championship.
Kim, in 2026, and Morales, in 2025, have now earned individual medals in back-to-back seasons for UCLA.
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— UCLA Men's Golf (@uclamensgolf) May 4, 2026
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2026 Big Ten All-Championships Team (alphabetical)
Jack Buchanan, USC
Jaden Dumdumaya, USC
Max Herendeen, Illinois
Josh Kim, UCLA
Finn Koelle, Washington
Ryan Voois, Illinois
2026 Les Bolstad Award Winner
Jaden Dumdumaya, USC
UCLA's Day Two Recap
Saturday, May 2
UCLA moved into first place after the second round of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, carding 11-under 269 in the second round.
The Bruins (-10, 550) pushed out in front of second place Washington by 11 strokes. Washington will enter Sunday's final round 1-over 561. Through Saturday's second round, Illinois (+5, 565) was in third place, while USC, Purdue and Nebraska (+10, 570) were tied for fourth place.
After shooting 1-over 281 on Friday in the opening round, the Bruins registered the best round score of any team in this season's tournament on Saturday (11-under 269).
Bruins' freshman Josh Kim continued his strong play, closing the evening in first place on the individual leaderboard. Kim shot 3-under 67 on Friday and improved upon that score, carding 4-under 66 in the second round on Saturday. He enters Sunday's final round with a two-stroke lead over USC's Jaden Dumdumaya (5-under 135).
Through the opening two rounds, UCLA had three players among the top six golfers on the individual leaderboard. In addition to Kim, the Bruins had Tyler Loree in a tie for third place (3-under 137) and Baylor Larrabee in a tie for fifth place (2-under 138).
Kim registered seven birdies and three bogeys, while Loree totaled six birdies and two bogeys. Loree had consecutive birdies on holes 10, 11 and 12.
Junior Alex Papayoanou finished the second round at 2-under 68, totaling a two-day score of 2-over 142 (T-19). Senior Kyle An shot even par (70) on Saturday, recording a two-day score of 4-over 144 (T-35).
The top nine teams, in order, through the second round included (1) UCLA, (2) Washington, (3) Illinois, (T-4) USC, (T-4) Purdue, (T-4) Nebraska, (7) Michigan, (8) Rutgers and (9) Minnesota.
Sunday's third and final round will include three hours of live coverage at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, televised by the Big Ten Network. Coverage will begin on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (PT), anchored by Rick Pizzo and Eric Ciotti in the Big Ten Network's studios, along with Emma Carpenter on the course.
UCLA's Day One Recap
Friday, May 1
UCLA finished the opening round of the three-day Big Ten Championships in a tie with Washington for second place, carding 1-over 281, just two strokes behind first-place Illinois.
The Bruins, along with Washington, had built a three-stroke lead over fourth-place Nebraska (4-over 284). Illinois closed the opening round with the team lead (1-under 279).
The Big Ten Championships will continue from Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon with the second round on Saturday and the third round on Sunday. UCLA won the Big Ten Championships in its first year as a Big Ten member last May and is looking to repeat as the conference champion.
Freshman Josh Kim, from Danville, Calif., was tied for first place on the individual leaderboard after Friday's first round. Kim shot 3-under 67 through 18 holes, tied with Northwestern's Jeremy Chen and Illinois' Freddie Turnel. Two golfers were tied for fourth place at 2-under 68. Bruins' sophomore Baylor Larrabee closed the opening round in a tie for sixth place, having carded 1-under 69.
Kim finished the day with no bogeys, having totaled three birdies – on holes 3, 13 and 18.
Larrabee totaled three birdies and two bogeys. He was one of five golfers in the first round to finish at 1-under 69.
Bruins' freshman Tyler Loree shot 1-over 71, tied for 16th place on Friday. Senior Kyle An and junior Alex Papayoanou each finished at 4-over 74 (T-57th).
The top nine teams on Friday, in order, included (1) Illinois, (T-2) UCLA, (T-2) Washington, (4) Nebraska, (T-5) Minnesota, (T-5) Northwestern, (7) Rutgers, (8) Michigan and (9) Oregon.
Players Mentioned
