ALBUQUERQUE - Santa Clara men's golf had an outstanding start to the final day of action at the 2026 William H. Tucker Invitational. The Broncos closed out the final five holes of the second round, which was suspended on Friday due to inclement weather, with authority to finish the round 11-under 277 and took a four-stroke lead over the field into the final round. Junior
Emil Nielsen was sensational in that second round, carding 8-under 64 to take a three-stroke lead of his own in the individual standings with a 36-hole total of 14-under par.
Unfortunately for both Nielsen and the Broncos, the final round did not go as planned. Nielsen opened the round with a double-bogey and triple-bogey on two of his first three holes, and despite battling back for the remainder of the day, he was unable to regain the lead, finishing two-strokes behind co-medalists Brayden Forte (San Diego State) and Johnnie Clark (New Mexico) at 11-under 205 for a third-place finish. It is the third top-five finish for the junior in as many outings to open the season.
Santa Clara also took a step back as a team, finishing the round 1-over par while San Diego State, New Mexico, BYU and UNLV took advantage to move ahead. The Broncos finished in fifth at 18-under 846 while the Aztecs took home the team title at 31-under after closing with a 16-under in the final round.
ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:
- Nielsen's third-place finish is his third inside the top five to open the season. He entered the season with just one such finish in his career.
- Nielsen was spectacular in the second round tallying 10 birdies, including five consecutive on Nos. 18-4 to close it out. The 8-under tally is tied for his lowest 18 hole score to par of his career.
- Senior J.P. Odland also came away with a big finish, tying for eighth at 7-under 209 after closing with a 73 and 71 over the final two rounds. It is his second-straight finish inside the top 10 and the 13th such performance of his prolific career.
- Freshman Ryan Xie also had a big day with a 3-under 69 in the second round followed by a 1-under 71 to finish 4-under 212 and tied for 17th. It is his second top-15 outing in three events as a collegiate athlete.
- Matt Robles bounced back from an opening round 77 with rounds of 71 and 72 to finish 4-over 220 and tied for 59th.
SANTA CLARA INDIVIDUALS:
| Place |
Player |
Score (To Par) |
| 3. |
Nielsen |
66-64-75--205 (-11) |
| T8. |
Odland |
65-73-71--209 (-7) |
| T17. |
Xie |
72-69-71--212 (-4) |
| T59. |
Robles |
77-71-72--220 (+4) |
| 81. |
Margolis |
79-73-76--228 (+12) |
FINAL STANDINGS:
| Place |
Team |
Score (To Par) |
| 1. |
San Diego State |
277-284-272--833 (-31) |
| 2. |
New Mexico |
275-286-278--839 (-25) |
| 3. |
BYU |
278-286-279--843 (-21) |
| 4. |
UNLV |
292-283-269--844 (-20) |
| 5. |
Santa Clara |
280-277-289--846 (-18) |
| 6. |
Arkansas State |
287-284-276--847 (-17) |
| 7. |
Colorado |
285-281-285--851 (-13) |
| 8. |
GCU |
292-277-284--853 (-11) |
| 9. |
Arizona |
286-287-284--857 (-7) |
| 10. |
New Mexico State |
292-288-279--859 (-5) |
| 11. |
UC Santa Barbara |
288-286-288--862 (-2) |
| 12. |
UTEP |
282-289-292--863 (-1) |
| 13. |
Long Beach State |
278-299-295--872 (+8) |
| 14. |
Missouri |
286-298-289--873 (+9) |
| 15. |
SMU |
286-299-297--882 (+18) |
UP NEXT:
The Broncos will have a couple of weeks off before closing out the fall season with back-to-back events in Monterey, Calif. beginning Oct. 19-21 at the Saint Mary's Invitational.
