When a sport demands precision, the difference between one squad and the next is sometimes barely noticeable.
No. 14 UCLA men’s golf teed off the 2026-27 season with an eighth place finish in a 12-team competition at the Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Washington from Saturday to Sunday. The Bruins shot a 33-over 897 in a closely contested tournament – the fifth- through eighth-place finishers were all separated by just two strokes.
The result marks the squad’s lowest-placing season opener in four years, and coach Armen Kirakossian said he was aware of the challenges posed by the course as his group headed to the Pacific Northwest.
“Golf’s a tough game, especially on a course like that,” Kirakossian said. “Would have liked to have a little bit better of a finish in the tournament, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
The Sahalee Country Club is notorious for its fairways constrained between towering firs and cedars, meaning that a shot missing the fairway by even just a few yards can send the ball buried into thick rough or behind the massive trees.
But one Bruin is no stranger to the course.
Senior Alex Papayoanou finished tied for 11th at Sahalee last season, and he led the blue and gold in Saturday’s opening two rounds this time around.
Papayoanou shot 1-over 73 in the first round on Saturday and even par in the second, tallying a total two-round score of 1-over 143 that was good for a seventh-place tie.
“I drove the ball really well, and I managed the course well,” Papayoanou said. “It was good to have some prior knowledge on the course. I didn’t hit it completely my best, but I managed the course well, and I was able to get it around to shoot some pretty good scores.”
Through the Bruins’ first two rounds, the team shot 22-over 598 and sat in seventh place across the board. Sophomore Richmond transfer Lucas Rizo-Patron shot 9-over 153 in his Bruin debut while competing as an individual Saturday. Meanwhile, fellow sophomore Tyler Loree finished the first day of action 5-over 149, tallying round scores of 73 and 76, respectively.
Loree and Papayoanou are two of four Bruin returners from last season’s nine-man squad. Joining them for another season with the Westwood group are sophomore Josh Kim and junior Baylor Larrabee.
Larrabee, a PING All-West Region selection last season, recorded a 71.0 scoring average over 40 rounds in his sophomore campaign. Named to the All-Big Ten First Team, the Ferndale, Washington, local tallied 19 total rounds under par and 14 rounds under 70.
He finished 9-over 81 in the final round of the tournament Sunday, tallying an overall score of 17-over 233 over all three rounds. Kim added an overall tally of 11-over 227 through the event.
“Baylor is taking on a little bit of that leadership role,” said Kirakossian. “But we have a cool team culture because each guy has their own area on the team. I feel like it’s a big team effort across the board. Whether it’s the new guys, the guys that have been here for a few years, or the coaches, everyone brings a unique angle and voice.”
The Bruins welcomed two freshman California locals this offseason in Matthew Hull from Newport Beach and Baron Nguyen from Corona.
Hull shot an even par of 72 in Sunday’s final round, finishing the first tournament of his collegiate career tied for 20th place while shooting 8-over 224. While the course proved difficult for the Bruin squad, promising newcomers could help the team replicate the success it enjoyed at the end of last season.
Papayoanou paced the squad as the team’s best individual competitor through the weekend, though, finishing tied for 11th and shooting 5-over 221 across all three rounds.
Oklahoma State ultimately took first in the tournament, shooting 4-under 860 and taking a commanding 28-stroke lead over runner-up Florida, which shot 24-over 888.
Duke placed fifth with a +31 mark and the Bruins’ eighth-place finish came at +33, reflecting just how tight the weekend’s competition was. Regardless of the final placement though, the retooled squad is beginning to find its identity as the young season progresses.
“We have a really great team culture that comes from last year,” Papayoanou said. “We’re having the new guys join in on team activities outside of golf, and then compete as much as we can when we do play golf – whether it’s practice or qualifying. Those guys know what we did last year, and they’re very motivated to get in the lineup and try to repeat what we did.”
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