Defending national NCAA DII champion Colorado Christian University men fall just short of another title, this time in DI tourney, as CCU’s win streak ends at 6; CCU’s Xavier Bighaus claims individual title, while CU’s Brandon Knight takes second
By Gary Baines – 2/26/2025
If there remained any question, the Colorado Christian University men’s golf team can more than hold its own with the big boys too.
CCU has certainly proven its ability to perform at the highest level in NCAA Division II, having won the national team title at that level last season, becoming the first Colorado-based program — regardless of gender or classification — to claim a national team championship in college golf. But this week, the Cougars more than showed themselves formidable at the NCAA Division I level.
Competing against a field in which all 14 of the other teams in the tournament came from NCAA Division I, CCU led until the middle of the back nine of the final round before finishing second out of 15 schools Wednesday at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif.
The runner-up showing snapped a six-tournament team win streak for CCU, which hadn’t finished anything but first since May 11 of last year. The Cougars, competing in their spring-season opener, had won all five of their tournaments in the 2024-25 season prior to Wednesday.
North Carolina-Charlotte, ranked No. 36 in NCAA Division I, overtook Colorado Christian down the stretch and won by four strokes over CCU, 31 under par to 27 under.
But Colorado Christian didn’t leave without any championship hardware as Xavier Bighaus, a senior from Melissa, Texas, claimed his second individual title of the college season. Bighaus went 65-70-69 for a 12-under-par total and a one-shot victory. He made two eagles, 12 birdies and four bogeys over 54 holes.
The University of Colorado didn’t send a full team to the tournament, but sophomore Brandon Knight rallied to claim second place individually (68-70-67). It was his college career-best showing.
Colorado Christian’s Sungyeop Cho, twice an individual winner this season, tied for third place at 10 under par (68-66-72).
For all the scores from the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, CLICK HERE.
Elsewhere this week, five players representing Colorado-based Division I schools, plus one Colorado resident, posted top-10 individual finishes in separate tournaments.
— The University of Colorado women placed three individuals in the top 10 individually and finished third in the 12-team Causeway Invitational on Tuesday in Sacramento. The Buffs ended up 17 strokes behind champion Oregon State. Former CGA Women’s Player of the Year Morgan Miller tied for fourth individually while CU teammates Sydney Givens and Carolyn Fuller shared ninth place. Miller (73-71-70) ended up 14 strokes back of winner Kyra Ly of Oregon State. Also notching a top-10 showing was Loveland resident and two-time 5A girls state high school champion Katelyn Lehigh of Fresno State, who placed sixth. SCORES
— Freshman Samantha Colombine of Northern Colorado tied for fourth place Wednesday in the GCU Women’s Invitational in Phoenix. Rounds of 71-72-72 gave the resident of Mexico a 1-under-par total, leaving her five back of winner Lauren Greeny of Montana State. As a team, UNC placed eighth out of 13 schools. SCORES
— Kara Kaneshiro of the Colorado State tied for sixth on Monday at the Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. The junior went 69-67-72 for an 8-under-par total, which left her nine strokes back of winner Lauren Clark of Kansas, who won her second consecutive tournament. It was the third top-10 showing of the season for Kaneshiro. CSU placed eighth as a team in the 14-school field. Kansas, led by former DU head coach Lindsay Kuhle, claimed the team title by nine in winning the Westbrook for the second straight year. It was KU’s fifth team victory under Kuhle. SCORES
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com