Last year, an ace capped off a seventh-place finish. This year, the Cavaliers recorded no aces, but they dominated in all other aspects, with players setting new course lows and No. 1 Virginia posting its lowest team score to finish the Puerto Rico Classic in first.
Starting Feb. 9, the Virginia men's golf team traveled to Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, to compete at the 72-par Grand Reserve Golf Club. Here, the Cavaliers faced off against former national champion Oklahoma State and LSU, along with 13 other teams. But even against powerhouse programs like Oklahoma State — the team that bested Virginia in the national championship last season — the Cavaliers delivered a statement of dominance.
Virginia went with the same five-player lineup throughout the tournament, with four of those players ranked in the top 50 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings. On the first day, the Cavaliers came out firing, proving they deserve that No. 1 spot by breaking their 18-hole scoring record of 267 with a 266. Leading this record-breaking score were graduate student Paul Chang and senior Bryan Lee. Their 6-under 66 was the lowest score of the 2025-2026 season and the lowest since senior Ben James' 67 in the ACC Championship.
James, along with junior Josh Duangmanee and freshman Michael Lee, followed closely behind with scores of 67. James posted no bogeys throughout the day and would post only one more bogey in the three-day tournament. Lee’s stellar five-under was remarkable for a freshman — his third under-par score in four rounds. Sophomore Maxi Puregger trailed behind as he finished the day with a two-under 70.
But even with the incredibly low scores, the Cavaliers were surprisingly not in a comfortable lead — Ohio State trailed by just one stroke and LSU by seven.
On the second day of play, however, that lead would only grow. Four of the five Cavaliers finished in the top 10, though most posted their highest scores of the three-day tournament. The exception was Puregger, whose seven-under 65 marked not only the lowest score of his Cavalier career but also the best round by any golfer on the course that day and a new lowest score for the 2025-2026 season. His record-setting performance vaulted him into a tie for fifth place overall alongside James.
Lee finished tied for second individually after an impressive showing with 13 birdies across 36 holes. Chang and Duangmanee turned in solid rounds of 70 and 69, respectively, moving to eight-under par overall and into a tie for tenth place. Lee, meanwhile, struggled to a one-over 73, falling outside the top 10.
The day's efforts brought Virginia's team total to 275, establishing a commanding 35-under overall score and extending the lead to five strokes over second-place LSU.
But that lead brought no comfort to the Cavaliers, who refused to let up on the final day. They posted a blistering 268, just two strokes off their own team record set on day one. Not to be outdone, Duangmanee joined the record-breaking party with a career-best seven-under 65. James, though overshadowed by his teammates' heroics, delivered a strong six-under 66 to finish tied for second overall, notching his 29th top-10 finish of the season. Lee followed close behind with a solid five-under 67.
When the dust settled, the Cavaliers finished exactly where they started, at No. 1, but now with a commanding 18-stroke lead. It was a stark contrast to last year's showing, where the team's lone highlight was a memorable hole-in-one. This time, Virginia dominated from wire to wire, shattering personal bests and rewriting the record books.
The top-ranked Cavaliers will look to continue their dominance Feb. 21 at the Richard Sykes Invitational in Raleigh, N.C.
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