University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Big Ten Championships
Men’s Golf Prepares for Big Ten Championships
April 28, 2026 | Men's Golf
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's golf team returns to action at the Big Ten Championships this weekend, from Friday, May 1, through Sunday, May 3, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore.
The Bruins, currently ranked No. 33 in the weekly rankings from Scoreboard (available here), will be looking to defend their conference title from last season. One year ago, UCLA finished in first place at the Big Ten Championships in Baltimore. A senior for the Bruins last season, Omar Morales finished atop the individual leaderboard to capture his third career medal.
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club will be serving as the host of this year's Big Ten Championships. Admission and parking for fans is complimentary, with all 18 Big Ten programs teeing off on Friday, May 1. This will mark the first year in which Pumpkin Ridge has served as host of the Big Ten Championships. For the second consecutive year, live coverage of the final round will air on Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten has three teams currently ranked among the top 40 in the weekly Scoreboard rankings, with Illinois checking in at No. 12, USC at No. 26, and UCLA at No. 33.
This will mark the seventh of seven spring golf tournaments for UCLA, prior to the NCAA Regional round in May. Most recently, the Bruins recorded a fifth-place finish out of nine teams at The Thunderbird Collegiate at Papago Golf Club in Phoenix. As a team, the Bruins shot 10-under 842 at the par 71 course. Sophomore Baylor Larrabee tied for ninth place on the individual leaderboard, carding 5-under 208 across three rounds (two rounds on April 10 and the final round on April 11).
"We're really excited for the Big Ten Championship, because postseason golf is just the best," UCLA head coach Armen Kirakossian said. "This is what we work for all season, and this is what we look ahead to. There are a lot of cool things for us that converge at the same time this weekend. First, we're going to go to defend our title from last year's Big Ten Championship, our first one ever at the Baltimore Country Club. We're heading up to Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, where I grew up, and it is a golf course that I've played many times. It's cool to be back in my home state of Oregon. Our team has been building some momentum and confidence in our last few tournaments, so I am excited to be able to get back out and compete."
"The weather is looking good, and that's something that people will bring up when you go up to Portland – what the weather is going to be like," Kirakossian continued. "The forecast is looking good, but I do expect us to get some rain, at some point. You should be prepared for that when you're going to the Northwest. And then each of our guys, as an individual, still has a lot to prove during their season. We have seen some of our guys pick up some momentum and find their groove a little bit. So we are excited to see what they can do. We're excited for this opportunity for our guys to get back out there to compete. This should be a lot of fun. We really want to enjoy ourselves and understand that this is a privilege to be able to play in postseason golf and a privilege to play in the Big Ten Championship. That's how we are looking at this, and we are looking forward to it. We want to be the most prepared that we can to take on the challenges of Pumpkin Ridge."
Last Season at the Big Ten Championships
UCLA secured its first conference title since 2006, while Omar Morales became the first Bruin to medal at the conference tournament since Daniel Im at the 2006 Pac-10 Championship. The Bruins finished the three-day tournament at 2-over 842, just one stroke ahead of second-place Illinois (3-over 843). Sunday's course presented consistent winds at 12-18 miles per hour, gusting to as high as 35 miles per hour.
Morales shot even par (70) in the third and final round, sinking a putt on the 18th hole to hold at par before awaiting the results of Oregon's Greyson Leach. Morales finished the tournament at 7-under 203, while Leach carded 4-under 206. Leach needed to birdie the final three holes to have any chance of tying Morales for the top spot (Leach had a bogey on the 17th hole).
Notes on Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
Pumpkin Ridge was established in 1992 and received the unprecedented honor of being named the host site for the United States Golf Association's (USGA) 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship. In the course's inaugural year, Golf Digest named Ghost Creek the "Best New Public Course in the U.S." and Witch Holly as the second-best "New Private Course in the U.S." Four years later, in 1996, Tiger Woods brought notoriety to Witch Hollow when he won his unprecedented third-consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship. In 2000, Pumpkin Ridge made history again by hosting the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, marking the first time in 22 years that these two events had been held simultaneously at the same location. Numerous other prestigious amateur and professional events have been held on the two courses since then, including the 2003 U.S. Women's Open Championship, the 2006 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, and the LPGA's 2009, 2010 and 2011 Safeway Classic. The venue has also hosted the 2022 LIV Tour.
UCLA's Lineup: Baylor Larrabee, Josh Kim, Tyler Loree, Kyle An, Alex Papayoanou
UCLA's Alternate (Sub): Matthew Yamin
The Field: Teams listed in alphabetical order – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin
Par and Yardage: The Big Ten Championships will take place at Witch Hollow, which is a par 70 challenge that plays 7,018 yards at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon.
Tournament Schedule: Tee times will begin each day at approximately 9:30 a.m. (PT) on holes No. 1 and No. 10. The final tee time each morning will be at approximately 11:50 a.m. (PT). The Big Ten Championships will consist of 54 holes of stroke play, with 18 holes contested on each day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
Live Scoring: Fans can follow along with live scoring at Scoreboard.
Weather Forecast: Highs in the low 70s with partly cloudy skies on Friday and Saturday, highs expected in the low-to-mid 80s on Sunday (sunny).
UCLA's 2025-26 Roster
| Name | Year | Height | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle An | Sr. | 5-9 | Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| Luciano Conlan | Jr. | 6-0 | Kaneohe, Hawai'i |
| Trevor Garus | So. | 6-0 | Boise, Idaho |
| Josh Kim | Fr. | 5-11 | Danville, Calif. |
| Logan Kim | So. | 6-1 | Glendale, Calif. |
| Baylor Larrabee | So. | 6-5 | Ferndale, Wash. |
| Tyler Loree | Fr. | 6-0 | Kula, Hawaii |
| Alex Papayoanou | Jr. | 5-10 | The Woodlands, Texas |
| Matthew Yamin | Sr. | 5-11 | New York, N.Y. |
Players Mentioned
