Quick Learner

Team Colorado’s Brayden Forte continues his red-hot streak by capturing individual title in just his second college tournament; CU men fall 1 stroke shy of team victory in the same event

By Gary Baines 

Perhaps no one let Brayden Forte know that NCAA Division I golf is supposed to be difficult.

The Aurora resident doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo because, in just his second college tournament, Forte claimed the individual title, beating 74 fellow competitors at the Vuori Invitational in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

A member of Team Colorado — an elite junior squad that’s part of the USGA’s National Development Program — Forte just began his freshman year at San Diego State. And the adjustment seems to have been seamless — at least from a golf perspective.

Forte posted scores of 70-68-70 for a 5-under-par total at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, good for a two-stroke win over Kihei Akina of BYU. Over the three rounds, Forte carded 13 birdies and eight bogeys.

It’s been quite a last couple of months for Forte, a graduate of Cherokee Trail High School. In July he became the first Coloradan since Wyndham Clark in 2009 to advance to the round of 16 at the U.S. Junior Amateur . Later that same month, he won the individual title at the boys Junior America’s Cup. Then in early August he finished second at the CGA Amateur. He also received a Future Famer Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame late last month.

Brayden Forte has been a stellar performer in tournaments over the last two months. (file photo)

For those wondering, Forte finished 58th individually in his college debut at the Sahalee Players Championship, which ended in Sammamish, Wash., on Sunday, the day before the Vuori started in Southern California.

Colorado produced the individual champion at the Vuori Invite, and very nearly the team winner too. The University of Colorado made a charge at the team title, but came up one stroke shy of champion Arkansas. The Razorbacks finished at even-par for 54 holes, while CU was 1 over.

The Buffs put two players in the top 10, with Tyler Long of Evergreen and Parker Paxton of Riverton, Wyo., tying for fifth place at even par. It’s a career-best college showing for Long, a sophomore who was part of the inaugural Team Colorado.

For all the scores from the Vuori Invitational, CLICK HERE.

Also on Tuesday, the CU women’s team likewise finished second in its season opener. The Buff women ended up at 6 over par at the Leadership and Golf Invitational at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., where Eastern Michigan won by seven. CU senior Maya McVey (71-69-70) was second individually, a stroke behind individual champ Savannah de Bock of Eastern Michigan.

For all the scores from Chambers Bay, 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