In his third trip to U.S. Amateur, CU’s Brandon Knight breaks through to advance to match play
By Gary Baines
For the fourth time in the last five years, a University of Colorado golfer has advanced to match play at the U.S. Amateur.
After Justin Biwer went to the round of 16 in 2022, and his teammate Dylan McDermott to the round of 64 in both 2023 and ’24, CU senior Brandon Knight of Pleasanton, Calif., made the grade on Tuesday at the world’s top amateur championship.
The 21-year-old, competing in his third U.S. Amateur (he missed out on match play in 2023 and ’24), finished 33rd out of 312 competitors on Tuesday in the stroke-play portion of the championship. He shot a 1-under 69 at Merion Golf Club and then a 2-over 72 at nearby Philadelphia Country Club.
Over the 36 holes of stroke play, Knight carded four birdies and five bogeys. CU associate head coach Derek Tolan, a two-time winner of the Colorado Open, is caddying for Knight in Pennsylvania.Knight and the other 63 match-play qualifiers will play their first-round matches at Merion on Wednesday.
Knight qualified for the 2026 U.S. Amateur by sharing medalist honors with a 9-under 63 in Pleasanton, Calif., on July 13. As a junior at CU last season, he posted three top-5 college finishes, including a runner-up in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
Results for all the players with strong Colorado ties at the U.S. Amateur in Pennsylvania:
Advances to Match Play
33. CU golfer Brandon Knight 69-72--141
Failed to Advance to Match Play
71, Former Coloradan Parker Edens 74-69—143
160. CU golfer Tyler Long, Evergreen 74-73--147
197. Collin Engelhardt, Castle Rock 73-76--149
259. Former CSU golfer Bryce Hanstad 81-72–153
294. Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Lukas Taggart 78-80–158
For all the results from the U.S. Amateur, CLICK HERE.
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