LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men’s golf program will open its fall campaign this weekend, competing just outside Seattle at the Sahalee Players Championship on Saturday, Sept. 12, and Sunday, Sept. 13.
Hosted at Sahalee Country Club (Sammamish, Wash.), the Sahalee Players Championship will also feature Arizona, Arizona State, California, Duke, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego State and host institution Washington.
The Bruins return to action this fall under the direction of fifth-year head coach Armen Kirakossian, who has been honored as the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year the past two seasons. Last spring, UCLA won its second consecutive Big Ten Championship before advancing to match play at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2015. UCLA defeated Texas and Arizona in back-to-back match-play competitions at the NCAA Championships, falling to top-seeded Auburn in the national championship final.
“We’re super excited to get this going again,” Kirakossian said. “Tournament golf is what we love. This is why our guys do this, and these tournaments are really fun. We love having our guys back together, and we’re really excited to go compete. Sahalee is a place that we loved to compete at last season – it’s a good opening tournament for us. We are looking forward to returning to Sahalee and putting ourselves in the best possible spot to win.”
At the start of last season, UCLA finished in third place out of 12 teams at the season-opening Sahalee Players Championship. The Bruins shot 9-over 873 across three rounds, finishing six strokes shy of the team champion Arizona State (+3, 867). Then-senior Kyle An finished as the Bruins’ top individual performer at the event, carding 1-over 217 (T-9th).
More than three months removed from the excitement of the NCAA Championships, hosted in Carlsbad, Calif., and an impressive runner-up national finish, the Bruins are hungry for more success.
“In golf, one of the biggest enemies can be complacency or satisfaction," Kirakossian said. "You are always fighting that, fighting to keep your hunger alive and as prevalent as possible. You want to stay hungry and motivated because in this game, the minute you let your guard down, someone will pass you. As a coach, sure you may have some worry about that, but I can confidently say that throughout this summer and talking to our guys, being around them, that I am not worried about that at all. This is a motivated and hungry group. These guys want more. They want to get back into position and try to give ourselves the best opportunity that we can, come postseason, to make another run at it. So we’re just really excited to get going and we want to keep working hard this season.”
Fans will be able to track the live scoring of this weekend’s tournament at Sahalee by visiting Scoreboard. The two-day tournament includes 12 teams, with eight of those programs currently ranked among the top 25 in the Golfweek preseason men’s golf rankings. The Bruins have been ranked No. 13 by Golfweek. The weekly rankings from Scoreboard powered by Clippd will not resume until mid-October.
RETURNING FOR UCLA
The Bruins have returned four golfers from last season’s team – senior Alex Papayoanou, junior Baylor Larrabee and sophomores Josh Kim and Tyler Loree. All four student-athletes competed in the Bruins’ five-man rotation at the conference championships and NCAA Championship events last spring.
Larrabee and Kim earned PING All-West Region honors, as announced at the conclusion of the season by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), in addition to securing first-team All-Big Ten acclaim. Kim was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, one year after Larrabee had been recognized as the conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2025.
Papayoanou and Loree each had strong finishes to UCLA’s 2026 campaign. Papayoanou won both of his match-play showdowns at the quarterfinal and semifinal events at NCAA Championships in Carlsbad. Loree won his match-play contest in the semifinal round against Arizona, helping UCLA advance to the championship round the following day.
WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
UCLA added one incoming transfer student-athlete and two freshmen to the program in the summer. Lucas Rizo-Patron, a sophomore from Rye, N.Y., has joined the Bruins’ team after a strong freshman campaign at the University of Richmond. Rizo-Patron had a pair of top-10 finishes during his freshman season, including the individual medal at the 2026 Atlantic 10 Championship at Evermore Resort in Orlando, Fla.
Matthew Hull and Baron Nguyen have joined the program after highly-decorated high school golf campaigns. Hull, who attended Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., secured first-team All-Orange County honors from the Orange County Register. He has set course records at two Southern California golf courses, shooting a 60 at The Golf Club at Terra Lago in Indio, Calif., and carding a 59 at the Newport Beach Country Club.
Nguyen graduated from Norco High School in Norco, Calif., helping his team advance to the CIF State regional championships in Chino Hills, Calif. He made three birdies in a four-hole span on the back nine holes and had an eagle on a par-4 to secure a top-five finish. He has been ranked No. 45 in the nation in the AJGA Rolex rankings (as ranked by class).
UCLA’s Lineup: Tyler Loree, Matthew Hull, Alex Papayoanou, Baylor Larrabee, Josh Kim
UCLA’s Individual Competitor: Lucas Rizo-Patron
The Field: listed in alphabetical order – Arizona, Arizona State, California, Duke, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, UCLA and (host) Washington
Par and Yardage: Sahalee Country Club – South/North, hosted by the University of Washington, par 72 and 7,007 yards
Weekend Schedule: Play will begin at 7:00 a.m. (PT) on Saturday, Sept. 12, and at 7:20 a.m. (PT) on Sunday, Sept. 13. Tournament format features 54-hole stroke play, with 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday. There will be split tees both days (Saturday and Sunday).
Live Scoring: Fans can follow along with live scoring at Scoreboard
Weather Forecast: Cloudy with scattered showers on Saturday, temperatures projected in the mid-to-high 60s. Partly sunny forecast on Sunday in Sammamish, Wash.