Seven shots separated San Diego State from the lead when Saturday began. By the finish, the Aztecs were six clear of the field. A 16-under-par 272 in the final round carried SDSU to the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate team title, while freshman Brayden Forte shared the individual crown after two playoff holes could not separate him from New Mexico's Johnnie Clark.
The Aztecs completed three rounds at 31-under 833 on the par-72, 7,555-yard UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque. Host New Mexico took second at 25 under. No. 23 Brigham Young followed at 21 under, UNLV at 20 under and Santa Clara at 18 under. SDSU's closing 272 was six shots better than New Mexico's last round and 17 better than Santa Clara's.
Forte built his 13-under 203 with rounds of 66, 67 and 70. Clark matched the total and both birdied the first two playoff holes. Travel constraints ended the extra session there, leaving co-medalists rather than a conventional winner. The draw did not dilute the freshman's start: he has now won consecutive events after taking the Vuori Invitational by two shots Sept. 15.
Two victories already tie Forte for third on SDSU's recorded list for wins in one season. J.J. Spaun won three events in 2011-12 and Puwit Anupansuebsai won three in 2020-21. Forte has reached two before the fall schedule is finished, though matching a historical season requires maintaining form across a longer spring slate.
Harry Takis supplied the hardest closing charge. The junior shot 66, moving seven places into a tie for fourth at 10 under. His round included an eagle at the 606-yard ninth, five birdies and one bogey. Takis finished three shots behind the co-medalists and gave SDSU a second score in the top four when the team needed to erase its overnight deficit.
The support extended through the lineup. Lequan Wang shot 69 and tied for 17th at 4 under, despite a double bogey at No. 12. Miles Kuhl's 70 left him tied for 29th at 1 under. Beau Sahr rebounded with a 67, including an eagle on the first, to tie for 35th at even par. In college team scoring, those lower-card rounds keep one player's mistake from defining the day.
This was SDSU's fourth Tucker title, joining wins in 2010, 2016 and 2022, and its first team victory since the 2025 Mountain West Championship. The event included 15 teams and 88 individual players, so both winning margins came from full competitive fields. The margin came from accumulation: a leader who held his place, a second top-five finisher and three usable closing scores. No late comeback hole had to carry the entire six-shot advantage.
The fall closes with a clean result and a long pause. SDSU's next listed event is the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 25 and 26 in Westlake Village. The title will travel into that break; the 272 is the more useful standard. It showed how quickly a seven-shot deficit disappears when all five places in the lineup produce red numbers on the same card.