Carson Lundell reached the 18th tee of the Colorado Open with a one-shot lead, $50,000 at stake and a par 5 offering him exactly the kind of temptation that ruins a good Sunday.
He did not bite.
The former BYU golfer used a 4-iron from the tee, then laid up again instead of trying to carry more than 250 yards over marsh to the green. A wedge to roughly 10 feet and two putts later, Lundell had his first Inspirato Colorado Open title. He finished at 20-under 264, one shot ahead of A.J. Ott, after rounds of 64, 68, 66 and 66 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver.
That is the news. The useful BYU angle is how he got there. Lundell had finished sixth twice and third once in three previous starts at this event. On his fourth try, the breakthrough came because he trusted four days of good golf enough to make the boring decision when the expensive decision was sitting right in front of him.
The final hole was the whole lesson
Colorado AvidGolfer’s on-site account gives the clearest picture of No. 18. Tournament officials moved the tee about 50 yards forward for the final round, leaving the roughly 600-yard hole reachable in two. The aggressive line also brought a narrow driver landing area and a long carry over wetland into play.
Lundell chose position twice. The first 4-iron avoided the pinch point off the tee. After several minutes considering a hybrid for his second shot, he switched to an iron and played toward the open fairway. He still made par, which was enough to win.
This was not a player limping home after building a giant cushion. Lundell and Zander Winston were tied through much of the front nine. Winston’s double bogey at No. 12 gave Lundell daylight, and Lundell made his final birdie at No. 14. He then saved par with a 10-foot putt at No. 15 and protected the lead over the last three holes.
Ott made the pressure real. He shot 63 and finished at 19 under. Lundell could not afford a loose closing hole, much less a ball in the marsh.
Fans tend to remember the brave shot because it makes the better clip. Coaches also remember the player who knows when a tournament does not require one. Lundell’s finish was competitive restraint, not fear. He picked the route that made Ott catch him with a birdie instead of giving the field a chance through one bad swing.
Four rounds without a hiding place
BYU’s official recap supplies the full scorecard shape. Lundell opened with a 7-under 64, eagling No. 9 and making seven birdies against one bogey. A closing double bogey limited him to 68 in the second round, but he answered with consecutive 66s after the cut.
| Round | Score | Tournament total | Useful detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 64 | 7 under | Eagle at No. 9; seven birdies |
| Second | 68 | 10 under | Five birdies, one eagle, late double bogey |
| Third | 66 | 15 under | Five birdies, no bogeys |
| Final | 66 | 20 under | Six birdies, one bogey; protected the lead |
The third round deserves more attention than it will get. A bogey-free 66 put Lundell in position to manage Sunday instead of chase it. Then the final 66 proved he did not confuse management with passivity. He made four birdies on the front nine and two more after the turn before shutting the door.
His 264 was also his best four-round professional total, according to BYU, beating the 267 he posted at this event in 2025. That progression matters more than pretending one victory settles his professional future. It shows a player returning to the same course, carrying three near misses with him and getting three shots better than his previous personal low.
This adds another line to BYU golf’s summer file
Lundell was not the only former Cougar in the field. BYU reported Keanu Akina tied for 14th at 13 under with rounds of 71, 64, 65 and 71. Zac Jones tied for 22nd at 11 under after rounds of 68, 70, 66 and 69.
Those results make the weekend a little more relevant to current BYU fans. One former Cougar won, and two more finished comfortably under par across four rounds. That is an alumni result, not a current college-team event, so it should not be used to forecast the next Big 12 lineup. It does say something about the standard players from this program are carrying into serious summer and professional fields.
The current room has been building its own July file. David Liechty and Jackson Mauss reached the Utah State Amateur quarterfinals. Tyson Shelley and incoming freshman Drake Harvey qualified for the U.S. Amateur, with Kihei Akina already exempt and Peter Kim and Mauss landing alternate spots.
Lundell’s win belongs beside those results, with one important distinction. The current players are supplying development clues. Lundell supplied a finished result against a professional field and collected the winner’s check.
For a sport that rarely gets the oxygen of football camp, this is becoming a remarkably useful month.
What BYU golfers can take from it
Nobody on the current men’s golf roster needs to copy Lundell’s exact club choices. Different players, courses and wind produce different answers. The transferable part is the process.
He absorbed a double bogey at the end of Friday, then played the next 36 holes in 10 under. He entered Sunday with prior top-six finishes in this tournament without treating them as a reason to force the ending. On the last hole, he considered the aggressive shot, changed clubs and chose the part of the golf course that made par easiest.
That is a clean development sequence: recover, contend, decide.
It is also why the win is worth more than a quick alumni note. The BYU men’s golf hub can tell fans who is on the roster and where the team plays. Lundell’s Sunday gives the room a usable example of how a player closes when the leaderboard, the money and three years of unfinished business all arrive at the same tee box.
The loud play was available. The right play won the tournament.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics: Lundell wins 2026 Colorado Open
- Colorado AvidGolfer, Jim Bebbington: Fourth time is a charm: Lundell wins Inspirato Colorado Open
- BYU Sport Nuts: men’s golf roster, schedule and results
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