Team Colorado’s Brayden Forte becomes 2nd Coloradan in the last decade to claim individual title at boys Junior America’s Cup; Cayden Besler of Peyton rallies in final round to claim AJGA victory in Montrose
By Gary Baines
Brayden Forte of Aurora is wrapping up his junior golf career in high style.
Forte, fresh off becoming the first Coloradan since Wyndham Clark in 2009 to advance to the round of 16 at the U.S. Junior Amateur, claimed the individual title out of a 72-player field at the boys Junior America’s Cup on Thursday in Carlsbad, Calif. That’s just 30 miles from where Forte will go to college at San Diego State University starting this fall.
Forte is wrapping up his second straight year as a member of Team Colorado, the junior elite squad that’s part of the USGA’s National Development Program.
Meanwhile, another Coloradan, Cayden Besler of Peyton, likewise scored a big victory on Thursday, rallying to win the AJGA Junior Open at The Bridges, presented by the city of Montrose. Besler was five out of the lead going into the final round, but shot a 7-under-par 64 to overtake fellow Coloradan Gavin Amella of Castle Rock.
Here’s how things played out at the two events on Thursday:
— Brayden Forte Prevails at Boys Junior America’s Cup: Forte — the 2026 CGA Four-Ball champion with his Junior America’s Cup (and San Diego State) teammate Miles Kuhl of Boulder — became the second Coloradan in the last decade to earn the individual title at the boys JAC, joining Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins (2018). That was the same year that the team representing Colorado and the CGA earned the boys JAC team title for the first time.
A year after placing fifth individually in the boys JAC, Forte stepped on the gas and didn’t let up this week. The 18-year-old posted rounds of 66-68-68 for a 14-under-par total and a five-stroke victory. Forte took a two-shot lead into the final day and quickly expanded the margin with a seven-birdie, three-bogey final round.
For the week, the Cherokee Trail High School grad carded 18 birdies and four bogeys.
Even though Forte prevailed individually by five, that didn’t match last year’s victory margin of nine by Landon Ashcraft of Arizona.
Colorado, which has competed in the boys JAC since 1975, finished fifth in the team competition at 5 under par — a year after placing third. Arizona landed the team title at 19 under on Thursday. The boys Junior America’s Cup now features 18 teams from the western U.S., Canada and Mexico.
This year’s team representing Colorado and the CGA also included Ash Edwards and Miles Kuhl of Boulder, and Nicholas Brooks of Parker. Forte, Edwards and Kuhl were also on the Colorado boys JAC team last year.
5. (Out of 18 teams) Colorado 220-208-215–643
1. Brayden Forte, Aurora 66-68-68–202
33. Ash Edwards, Boulder 77-71-74–222
38. Miles Kuhl, Boulder 81-69-73—223
52. Nicholas Brooks, Parker 77-76-74—227
For all the results from the boys Junior America’s Cup, CLICK HERE.
Cayden Besler finished at 18 under par at The Bridges. (Photo: @AJGAGolf on X)
— Peyton’s Cayden Besler Mounts Comeback for Title in Montrose: Besler, who finished fifth individually in the 4A state high school tournament last fall as a freshman at Falcon, came up big at The Bridges this week.
Besler led the 51-player boys field after round 1, when he shot 63, then came from five behind on Thursday to earn the championship. He made eight birdies and one bogey en route to a final-round 64 and won by one over 2026 CGA State Junior champion Amella, who will play his college golf at the University of Colorado beginning in the fall.
Amella led by five after 36 holes as he shot 64-62, but he couldn’t keep up his red-hot pace on Thursday as he posted a 70. Amella and Besler were tied overall through 13 holes of the final round, but Besler moved ahead by two when Amella carded a double bogey on the par-3 14th hole. Both players birdied the 15th and 16th holes, then Amella birdied 17 to pull within one. But Besler and Amella matched pars on the par-4 18th to give Besler the one-stroke victory.
Over the three rounds, Besler made one eagle, 19 birdies and three bogeys for an 18-under-par total.
This marks the seventh time in the last eight AJGA events held in Colorado that a player from the Centennial State claimed the boys title.
In the girls tournament in Montrose, Addison Dorsey of Colorado Springs (72-69-72) was the top Colorado finisher, tying for fifth place, nine strokes behind champion Ruihan Kendria Wang of Bellevue, Wash., who checked in at 9 under par for 54 holes.
For all the scores from the AJGA event in Montrose, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS.
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