K-State Completes First Day of Big 12 Match Play
Oct 12, 2026 | Men's Golf
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Kansas State men's golf team recorded a tie against Colorado in the morning, and the Wildcats are currently tied with Texas Tech as darkness suspended the first day of the Big 12 Match Play on Monday held at the par-72, 7,018-yard The Country Club.
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K-State went 2-2-1 against the Buffaloes in the morning with victories by sophomore Ville Virkkala and junior Fionn Dobbin. The Wildcats are currently leading two matches against the Red Raiders and are tied in another one with three or fewer holes remaining. The second round of the event will conclude on Tuesday morning prior to the day's scheduled matches.
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The Wildcats began the day by receiving a dominant 4&3 victory by Virkkala over Colorado's Parker Paxton. After tying the first two holes, Virkkala, a native of Espoo, Finland, won the third hole and never looked back, getting up to a four-hole advantage through 12 before tying the final three holes for the victory.
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Dobbin defeated Colorado's Tyler Long, 2&1. Long was up by one through 13 holes, but Dobbin birdied three of the next four to swing a potential loss into a win.
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Sophomore Octavio Laurent won the 18th hole of his match against Colorado's Ty Holbrook to escape with a tie. Laurent was down by three holes through 11, but he battled back with wins in three of the next four. With the match tied and three holes remaining, Holbrook birdied to go up by one, but Laurent recorded a match-tying par on the final hole.
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Colorado's two 1 Up victories came from Aher Whitaker – who defeated sophomore Oliver Toyer thanks to equaling Toyer's eagle on the par-5 12th hole – and Brandon Knight – who topped junior Erik Sabelström Holmberg with an eagle on the final hole of the match.
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Sabelström Holmberg has been able to make a quick turnaround as he leads his match against Texas Tech's Simon Hovdal by two with two holes to play. The Stockholm, Sweden, product jumped ahead quickly, going up by two after the fourth hole of the match. Hovdal got to within one on the 15th hole, but Sabelström Holmberg won the 16th hole before darkness suspended the match.
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Virkkala leads Texas Tech's Ben Gregg by one with one hole remaining. Virkkala was up by as many as three through seven holes as he is looking to hold on for his second win in as many rounds.
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Dobbin is tied with the Red Raiders' Alvaro Pastor following a bogey on the 16th hole, which was the final hole before play was suspended. Laurent is down by one to Texas Tech's Tim Wiedemeyer with two holes remaining, while Toyer suffered a 5&4 loss to Adam Bresnu.
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K-State and Texas Tech will conclude round two of Big 12 Match Play on Tuesday morning, while the Wildcats will face Houston in round three to finish out pool play before cross-divisional play begins in the afternoon. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD Powered by Clippd.
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K-State went 2-2-1 against the Buffaloes in the morning with victories by sophomore Ville Virkkala and junior Fionn Dobbin. The Wildcats are currently leading two matches against the Red Raiders and are tied in another one with three or fewer holes remaining. The second round of the event will conclude on Tuesday morning prior to the day's scheduled matches.
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The Wildcats began the day by receiving a dominant 4&3 victory by Virkkala over Colorado's Parker Paxton. After tying the first two holes, Virkkala, a native of Espoo, Finland, won the third hole and never looked back, getting up to a four-hole advantage through 12 before tying the final three holes for the victory.
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Dobbin defeated Colorado's Tyler Long, 2&1. Long was up by one through 13 holes, but Dobbin birdied three of the next four to swing a potential loss into a win.
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Sophomore Octavio Laurent won the 18th hole of his match against Colorado's Ty Holbrook to escape with a tie. Laurent was down by three holes through 11, but he battled back with wins in three of the next four. With the match tied and three holes remaining, Holbrook birdied to go up by one, but Laurent recorded a match-tying par on the final hole.
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Colorado's two 1 Up victories came from Aher Whitaker – who defeated sophomore Oliver Toyer thanks to equaling Toyer's eagle on the par-5 12th hole – and Brandon Knight – who topped junior Erik Sabelström Holmberg with an eagle on the final hole of the match.
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Sabelström Holmberg has been able to make a quick turnaround as he leads his match against Texas Tech's Simon Hovdal by two with two holes to play. The Stockholm, Sweden, product jumped ahead quickly, going up by two after the fourth hole of the match. Hovdal got to within one on the 15th hole, but Sabelström Holmberg won the 16th hole before darkness suspended the match.
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Virkkala leads Texas Tech's Ben Gregg by one with one hole remaining. Virkkala was up by as many as three through seven holes as he is looking to hold on for his second win in as many rounds.
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Dobbin is tied with the Red Raiders' Alvaro Pastor following a bogey on the 16th hole, which was the final hole before play was suspended. Laurent is down by one to Texas Tech's Tim Wiedemeyer with two holes remaining, while Toyer suffered a 5&4 loss to Adam Bresnu.
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K-State and Texas Tech will conclude round two of Big 12 Match Play on Tuesday morning, while the Wildcats will face Houston in round three to finish out pool play before cross-divisional play begins in the afternoon. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD Powered by Clippd.
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– k-statesports.com –
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Men's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Men's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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