Career Highlights
• Academic All-Big Ten Team (Spring 2025, Spring 2026)
2025-26
Papayoanou recorded a 72.9 scoring average over 34 rounds and nine starts as a junior … played in 11 tournaments … was honored for the second consecutive season as an Academic All-Big Ten selection (Spring 2026) … had one top-10 finish, three top-20 finishes, six rounds under par and four rounds under 70 … shot a season-best 67 in the second round of three, at The Goodwin (March 27) … finished in a tie for 19th place at The Goodwin, carding 2-under 208 (68-67-73) … finished in a tie for seventh place at The Prestige Individual, shooting 6-over 222 across the three-day tournament (76-74-72) … shot 4-over 214 at the Big Ten Championships in Oregon (May 2026), posting rounds scores of 74-68-72 … shot 3-over 291 in four days of stroke play at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, Calif. (69-72-74-76) … went 3-2-1 in match-play competition … had one win and one tie in match play at The Copper Cup, defeating Arizona’s Tianyi Xiong (2UP) … had two wins in match play on the same day at the NCAA Championships, securing a quarterfinal win against Texas’ Daniel Bennett (1UP) and a semifinal victory against Arizona’s William Wistrand (2&1) to lead the Bruins into the NCAA finals versus Auburn … 23/28 counting rounds during his junior season at UCLA.
2025-26 low round score: 67, second round at The Goodwin (March 27)
2025-26 low 54-hole tournament score: 208, at The Goodwin (March 26-28)
2025-26 best finish: t-7th, at The Prestige Individual (Feb. 16-18)
2024-25
Papayoanou recorded a 72.0 scoring average through two fall tournaments (totaled six rounds) as a sophomore … was honored an Academic All-Big Ten Team selection (Spring 2025), along with five teammates …had two rounds under par and one round in the 60s … shot a season-best 69 in the third round of The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate … finished 2-over 218 (74-75-69) at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Calif., helping the Bruins secure their first team title of the season … also shot 3-over 216 (72-70-74) at The Tindall in Sammamish, Wash. … 2/3 counting rounds during his sophomore season at UCLA.
2024-25 low round score: 69, round three at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate (Oct. 29)
2024-25 low 54-hole tournament score: 216, at The Tindall (Sept. 23-24)
2024-25 best finish: t-24th, at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate (Oct. 28-29)
2023-24
Papayoanou recorded a 74.0 scoring average over 25 rounds and eight starts in his freshman campaign … seven of those starts came in the Spring 2024 season … was in the starting lineup for six of his eight tournaments … his best finish was a t-32nd spot in his first collegiate tournament at the Husky Invitational where he shot +1, 217 (75-71-71) … recorded five rounds under par and two rounds in the 60s … shot a season-low 18-hole score of 69 on two occasions … tied for 53rd at the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 29-31 with a score of +8, 221 (72-75-74) … his lone under-par tournament finish was at the Amer Ari Invitational on Feb. 8-10 where he fired a -4, 212 (72-69-70) … tied for 51st at the Pauma Valley Invitational on March 18-19 where he shot +6, 219 (75-71-73) … placed 66th at the Pac-12 Championships with a score of +30, 314 … went 1-2-0 in match play competition with a 4&3 victory over USC’s Rocky Chapman at The Copper Cup … 12/19 counting rounds.
2023-24 low round score: 69 (twice), last in round three at the Thunderbird Collegiate (April 13)
2023-24 low 54-hole tournament score: 212 (72-69-70) at the Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 8-10)
2023-24 best finish: T-32nd, at the Husky Invitational (Sept. 18-19)
The Woodlands High School/Amateur Golf
Papayoanou competed on the varsity golf team all four years at The Woodlands High School under coach Eric Noski … won 10 Texas District 13-6A tournaments … won the 2023 Texas Boys Golf District 13-6A individual and team championships … named 2023 Texas Boys Golf District 13-6A Player of the Year … became the youngest golfer ever to win the Greater Houston City Amateur Championship where he was the only competitor out of 143 to shoot under 70 in all four rounds (68-67-63-64), winning by nine strokes … won the Insperity Invitational/Patrick Reed AJGA Junior Championship in June 2021, leading the field of 43 by four strokes with scores of 72-69-71 … qualified for and played in the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur thanks to a 68 shot at Magnolia Creek Golf Club in League City, Texas … won his first AJGA title at The Bluffs in Louisiana in Sept. 2020 with 10 total birdies across his two rounds (-3, 69-70) … earned 2021 Rolex Junior Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Personal
Alex Papayoanou was born in The Woodlands, Texas … last name is pronounced paw-puh-YAH-no … parents are Paul and Claudia Papayoanou … father, Paul, previously attended UCLA … athletic inspirations are LeBron James and Tiger Woods … political science major.
Alex Papayoanou's Career Statistics
• Academic All-Big Ten Team (Spring 2025, Spring 2026)
2025-26
Papayoanou recorded a 72.9 scoring average over 34 rounds and nine starts as a junior … played in 11 tournaments … was honored for the second consecutive season as an Academic All-Big Ten selection (Spring 2026) … had one top-10 finish, three top-20 finishes, six rounds under par and four rounds under 70 … shot a season-best 67 in the second round of three, at The Goodwin (March 27) … finished in a tie for 19th place at The Goodwin, carding 2-under 208 (68-67-73) … finished in a tie for seventh place at The Prestige Individual, shooting 6-over 222 across the three-day tournament (76-74-72) … shot 4-over 214 at the Big Ten Championships in Oregon (May 2026), posting rounds scores of 74-68-72 … shot 3-over 291 in four days of stroke play at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, Calif. (69-72-74-76) … went 3-2-1 in match-play competition … had one win and one tie in match play at The Copper Cup, defeating Arizona’s Tianyi Xiong (2UP) … had two wins in match play on the same day at the NCAA Championships, securing a quarterfinal win against Texas’ Daniel Bennett (1UP) and a semifinal victory against Arizona’s William Wistrand (2&1) to lead the Bruins into the NCAA finals versus Auburn … 23/28 counting rounds during his junior season at UCLA.
2025-26 low round score: 67, second round at The Goodwin (March 27)
2025-26 low 54-hole tournament score: 208, at The Goodwin (March 26-28)
2025-26 best finish: t-7th, at The Prestige Individual (Feb. 16-18)
2024-25
Papayoanou recorded a 72.0 scoring average through two fall tournaments (totaled six rounds) as a sophomore … was honored an Academic All-Big Ten Team selection (Spring 2025), along with five teammates …had two rounds under par and one round in the 60s … shot a season-best 69 in the third round of The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate … finished 2-over 218 (74-75-69) at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, Calif., helping the Bruins secure their first team title of the season … also shot 3-over 216 (72-70-74) at The Tindall in Sammamish, Wash. … 2/3 counting rounds during his sophomore season at UCLA.
2024-25 low round score: 69, round three at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate (Oct. 29)
2024-25 low 54-hole tournament score: 216, at The Tindall (Sept. 23-24)
2024-25 best finish: t-24th, at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate (Oct. 28-29)
2023-24
Papayoanou recorded a 74.0 scoring average over 25 rounds and eight starts in his freshman campaign … seven of those starts came in the Spring 2024 season … was in the starting lineup for six of his eight tournaments … his best finish was a t-32nd spot in his first collegiate tournament at the Husky Invitational where he shot +1, 217 (75-71-71) … recorded five rounds under par and two rounds in the 60s … shot a season-low 18-hole score of 69 on two occasions … tied for 53rd at the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 29-31 with a score of +8, 221 (72-75-74) … his lone under-par tournament finish was at the Amer Ari Invitational on Feb. 8-10 where he fired a -4, 212 (72-69-70) … tied for 51st at the Pauma Valley Invitational on March 18-19 where he shot +6, 219 (75-71-73) … placed 66th at the Pac-12 Championships with a score of +30, 314 … went 1-2-0 in match play competition with a 4&3 victory over USC’s Rocky Chapman at The Copper Cup … 12/19 counting rounds.
2023-24 low round score: 69 (twice), last in round three at the Thunderbird Collegiate (April 13)
2023-24 low 54-hole tournament score: 212 (72-69-70) at the Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 8-10)
2023-24 best finish: T-32nd, at the Husky Invitational (Sept. 18-19)
The Woodlands High School/Amateur Golf
Papayoanou competed on the varsity golf team all four years at The Woodlands High School under coach Eric Noski … won 10 Texas District 13-6A tournaments … won the 2023 Texas Boys Golf District 13-6A individual and team championships … named 2023 Texas Boys Golf District 13-6A Player of the Year … became the youngest golfer ever to win the Greater Houston City Amateur Championship where he was the only competitor out of 143 to shoot under 70 in all four rounds (68-67-63-64), winning by nine strokes … won the Insperity Invitational/Patrick Reed AJGA Junior Championship in June 2021, leading the field of 43 by four strokes with scores of 72-69-71 … qualified for and played in the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur thanks to a 68 shot at Magnolia Creek Golf Club in League City, Texas … won his first AJGA title at The Bluffs in Louisiana in Sept. 2020 with 10 total birdies across his two rounds (-3, 69-70) … earned 2021 Rolex Junior Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Personal
Alex Papayoanou was born in The Woodlands, Texas … last name is pronounced paw-puh-YAH-no … parents are Paul and Claudia Papayoanou … father, Paul, previously attended UCLA … athletic inspirations are LeBron James and Tiger Woods … political science major.
Alex Papayoanou's Career Statistics
| Season | Starts | Rounds | Strokes | Scoring Average | Low Score | Wins | Under Par | Under 70 | Top 10 | Top 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 8 | 25 | 1849 | 73.96 | 69 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | 2 | 6 | 432 | 72.00 | 69 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | 9 | 34 | 2479 | 72.91 | 67 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Career | 19 | 65 | 4760 | 73.23 | 67 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 3 |