After a record-setting start to the spring season, No. 4 Texas men’s golf is set to travel to Las Vegas on Sunday for the Southern Highlands Collegiate in one of its toughest tests yet.
The Longhorns enter the tournament after a runner-up finish at the Amer Ari Invitational, in which Texas set two program records, finishing with an 800 total and a 64-under-par mark across 54 holes.
The tournament begins Sunday and runs through Tuesday. Texas will go up against host UNLV, a team that has won the team title seven times in the last 19 years, as well as Auburn, which was ranked No. 2 at the time of last year’s Southern Highlands Collegiate. The Tigers captured last year’s championship, while Texas did not compete in the 2025 tournament.
Played at Southern Highlands Golf Club, the event is widely regarded as one of college golf’s premier regular-season measuring sticks. Quick greens, desert winds and complex pin placements create conditions that closely resemble championship-level courses.
“It’s definitely a measuring stick for my golf game, just because it’s a tougher golf course,” senior Luke Potter said. “The first two (tournaments) were easy and kind of a cakewalk. We played great, and you can’t overlook those events, but when you get to a big-time golf course like Southern Highlands, it really gets me excited for the opportunity to kind of test myself against tour-caliber courses.”
The Longhorns are quite familiar with conditions similar to those in Southern Highlands; it’s something they welcome as postseason play approaches.
“(Southern Highlands) can get really tricky this time of year,” senior Tommy Morrison said. “(It’s) usually pretty firm and windy, which is kind of the conditions that we’ll see here in Austin this time of year. … (I) think the guys look forward to Vegas, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we did something pretty cool.”
The tournament field features several of the nation’s top programs, including No. 1 Virginia, No. 3 Florida and No. 8 Pepperdine.
This continues a demanding stretch of competition for Texas, which previously faced another stacked lineup at the Amer Ari Invitational. The 20-team field featured nine top-25 teams, with four ranked inside the top 10. No. 2 Auburn, led by standout Jackson Koivun, earned the win with a historic 77-under par finish, tying the NCAA record for the lowest score in a tournament by a team.
Still, the Longhorns embrace the challenge, believing stronger competition only accelerates development.
“One of the biggest, quickest ways you can get better is if you play with somebody on a regular basis that’s better than you,” senior Christiaan Maas said. “We tend to play against amazing fields, but the golf courses we play on are also unbelievable, and the best golfers tend to rise to the top.”
The Southern Highlands Collegiate should serve as a benchmark for Texas as the Longhorns begin turning their focus towards championship season and their ultimate goal of La Costa.