University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Texas
Men's Golf Defeats Texas, Will Face Arizona in Semifinals
June 02, 2026 | Men's Golf
CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 7-seed UCLA men's golf team rallied back to defeat No. 2-seed Texas, 3-2, in a match play quarterfinal contest on Tuesday morning at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
Junior Alex Papayoanou and senior Kyle An overcame deficits midway during their respective matches, securing the final two points to help UCLA to its first-ever victory in the NCAA postseason match-play format (this format was incorporated in 2009). Previously, the Bruins had lost quarterfinal match-play contests in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Sophomore Baylor Larrabee won his match against Texas' Christiaan Maas (1UP).
In a critical moment late in the morning, Papayoanou eagled a putt on his 20th hole (second playoff hole) to win his match against Texas' Daniel Bennett. Papayoanou had battled back, having trailed Bennett by three holes in the opening nine. The two competitors faced off on two additional holes, after having been even through 18 holes.
An entered his final hole (hole No. 9) with a one-stroke lead. He maintained that cushion on the final hole to cement the victory for the Bruins.
UCLA had entered Tuesday's match-play quarterfinal having played two match play contests earlier in the season – one win over USC (Jan. 19), and one loss to Arizona (Jan. 20) at the Copper Cup in Orange County. The Bruins will have another opportunity to defeat Arizona on Tuesday afternoon (match time is scheduled for 1:25 p.m., PT).
Tuesday's Quarterfinal – Match Results
(Texas) Tommy Morrison def. (UCLA) Josh Kim, 3&2
(UCLA) Alex Papayoanou def. (Texas) Daniel Bennett, 1UP (played two playoff holes)
(Texas) Luke Potter def. (UCLA) Tyler Loree, 4&3
(UCLA) Baylor Larrabee def. (Texas) Christiaan Maas, 1UP
(UCLA) Kyle An def. (Texas) Matt Comegys, 1UP
Advancing to Tuesday's Match Play: The Bruins advanced into match play on Monday evening as one of the top eight teams, out of 15 programs. UCLA found itself in a four-way tie for seventh place after the final round of stroke play (alongside North Carolina, Stanford and Tennessee). The Bruins and Stanford emerged from the four-team tiebreak. UCLA secured the No. 7 seed, drawing No. 2-seed Texas in Tuesday's morning quarterfinal contest. The NCAA Championships field began with 30 teams on Friday, with three rounds of stroke play from Friday through Sunday. After three rounds, the top 15 teams advanced into one final round of stroke play (on Monday).
UCLA's Baylor Larrabee: Bruins' sophomore Baylor Larrabee concluded stroke play on Monday evening as one of the top individual seven golfers (9-under 279, tied for sixth place on the individual leaderboard). Larrabee shot par (72) on Monday, having registered round scores of 5-under 67 on Friday, par 72 on Saturday and 4-under 68 on Sunday. Larrabee became the second UCLA golfer in as many seasons to finish stroke play among the top 10 individuals (last season, Pablo Ereño finished in sixth place, at 5-under 283).
Tuesday Afternoon's Semifinals: No. 7-seed UCLA will take on No. 2-seed Arizona in one of two semifinal matchups on Tuesday at approximately 1:25 p.m. (PT). The other semifinal matchup features No. 1-seed Auburn and No. 5-seed Oklahoma State. The two advancing teams will face each other, head-to-head, on Wednesday afternoon in the national championship match in Carlsbad.
