A year after sharing the title at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at the prestigious Colonial Country Club, the Cavaliers struggled to find their footing in the 54-hole tournament behind their new young talent. Virginia finished 14th out of 16 historically accomplished programs, tying with Stanford at a 43-over 883.
Virginia arrived at Colonial coming off plenty of momentum from 2025’s challenge, as former Cavalier Ben James shared medalist honors at the tournament just a year ago. First-year Mingbo Jiang came out of the gate in the first 18 holes Monday with the lowest performance by a Virginia player this fall with a two-under 68. Jiang was tied for sixth place overall as an individual after the first round. As a team, the Cavaliers were five over-par in the opening 18, finishing in ninth place.
Play did not stop there, though, as teams played 36 of the tournament’s 54 holes Monday. In the second round, the Cavaliers dropped four positions in the standings to 13th place, carding a 17-over-par overall. First-year Jager Pain and fourth-year Josh Duangmanee were each tied for 44th place as individuals after day one, scoring five-over par through two rounds of play. The rest of Virginia’s lineup struggled in the second round, as Pain and Duangmanee were the only Cavaliers to card under a 75.
Tuesday did not prove any easier for Virginia, as the Cavaliers once again dropped a place on the leaderboard and posted their highest round of the invitational at 21-over-par. Duangmanee continued to showcase his consistency, producing his second 73 of the tournament to finish eight-over par and tie for 38th as an individual.
Pain finished three shots behind Duangmanee, carding a six-over on the day and tying for 53rd overall. Second-year Michael Lee finished 13-over-par after three rounds, tying for 64th. Jiang struggled after firing an opening round 68 on Monday, tallying two-straight 79s to finish the tournament with a 16-over-par and 72nd overall. To round out the Cavaliers’ lineup, second-year Alex Wells finished in 75th place as an individual, posting an 18-over par.
Colonial, which hosts the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour every year, made the week difficult for everyone. No teams finished under par — or in the final round of play Tuesday. Only seven of the 80 players in the tournament finished under par as individuals. Senior Adam Bresnu of Texas Tech took home medalist honors at the invitational, finishing three rounds of play with an impressive seven-under-par. The score is especially impressive given the course hosts professionals on the Tour every spring.
Alabama won the field with an even-par finish, bolstered by the team’s opening round six-under-par performance Monday. Auburn fell behind the Tide by five strokes, carding a five-over par overall to earn second place in the tournament.
As for the Cavaliers’ disappointing 14th-place tie with Stanford, this is a new look group for Virginia, and there is still considerable golf to be played. Virginia shared the title last fall behind experienced veterans and individual medalist honors, and now, the Cavaliers’ younger lineup is learning what it takes to compete at the collegiate level. As back-to-back ACC Champions, the program’s standards have not changed. However, it is weeks like this one, playing against top-ranked opponents on a demanding course, where young teams can leave with plenty to build on.
With the fall season still underway, the Cavaliers will take their young talent to the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Georgia Tech, in Alpharetta, Ga., on Oct. 16-18.
Sofie Keppler is a senior writer on the sports desk. She is a second-year Commerce student. Originally from Evansville, Ind., Sofie enjoys covering women’s basketball, soccer and golf.
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