Hawai‘i’s Anson Cabello, a former HSGA Player of the Year from Maui, is pictured on Tuesday with UH men’s golf coach Scott Simpson. (Credit: Kā‘anapali Golf Courses)
The golf record books were actively rewritten on Tuesday.
Georgia true freshman JD Culbreth’s stellar 10-under performance in the second round of the Kāʻanapali Classic by OUTRIGGER tied the Royal Kāʻanapali course record of 61 that has stood since 1991, originally set by Jim Colbert during the opening round of the Senior PGA Tour’s First Development Kā‘anapali Classic, and later tied by fellow player Jay Siegel in 1998.
Culbreth’s 61 also broke the Georgia men’s golf program record for best round at 10-under.
In just his second month of wearing a Georgia uniform, Culbreth’s second round featured 11 birdies and one bogey, including a birdie on his final hole to tie the course record. Culbreth’s record-tying performance catapulted him up 47 spots to solo fourth place.
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Not to be overshadowed, individual leader Ryder Cowan of Oklahoma and Kristof Panke (T19) of Wyoming finished with 9-under scores of 62.
Cowan, a junior and All-American honoree who finished T22 at the 2025 NCAA Championship, shattered his former 18-hole low score both yesterday (64) and today. His stellar putting on Kā‘anapali’s fast greens largely contributed to his success. Cowan’s best collegiate finish to date was second place earlier this year at the Maridoe Intercollegiate.
Furthermore, Florida Gulf Coast’s Nolan Harper (T7) is now tied for the Eagles’ all-time best single round of 63. Nolan and teammate Brett Moore (T5) share the program’s single round best score.
“With almost no trade winds, these incredibly talented college players capitalized on advantageous scoring conditions to create a historic day,” said Karl Reul, PGA general manager, Kā‘anapali Golf Courses. “We can’t wait to see what else they have in store tomorrow.”
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First round leader Jase Summy of Oklahoma is now tied for second place with TCU’s Sam Udovich. They sit three shots back of Cowan at 13-under.
Maui native Anson Cabello led host Hawaiʻi with consecutive 67s. He is tied for 12th place. Cabello was the 2024 Hawai‘i State Golf Association (HSGA) Player of the Year.
Hawai‘i’s Anson Cabello chips from the greenside rough on hole 6. (Credit: Kā‘anapali Golf Courses)
In the team competition, Oklahoma’s 26-under 258 shattered their program record for lowest round versus par. Amazingly, the Sooners did not count a team score higher than 67. Oklahoma (-47) eyes their sixth Kā‘anapali Classic by OUTRIGGER team title heading into the final round.
TCU had three players finish in the top 12: Udovich (2), Beauchamp (3) and Toby Wilt (12). The Horned Frogs remains in second place.
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Culbreth’s 61 elevated both himself into serious contention for the individual title and gave Georgia a huge boost in the team standings. The Bulldogs are now in third place.
Florida Gulf Coast (fourth place), Colorado (fifth place), San Jose State (sixth place) and North Florida (seven place) remain in contention.
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Wyoming had the largest one-day jump up the leaderboard from 17th to 10th place, led by Panke’s 9-under par performance.
Keiki participate in a Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors junior golf clinic following Tuesday’s round. (Credit: Kā‘anapali Golf Courses)
Following Tuesday’s round, the Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors hosted a clinic for the Maui Junior Golf Association and Lahaina Junior Golf Association students. Local children were given special one-on-one access to learn about college recruiting, receive swing lessons and more.
The final round commenced Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. HST. Attendance is free for walking
fans.
All team and individual scores can be found here: SCOREBOARD
