Sunday, September 13
MacTier, Ontario, Canada
Abilene Christian
vs
Canadian Collegiate Invitational
Wildcats Go International to Open Season at Canadian Collegiate Invitational
9/12/2026 1:36:00 PM | Men's Golf
MACTIER, Ont., Canada — Abilene Christian men's golf kicks off its debut season under head coach Chance Cain North of the border at the Canadian Collegiate Invitational from Sunday to Tuesday. The Wildcats tee off at Öviinbyrd Golf Club with a retooled roster featuring five newcomers, including four transfers.
ACU will travel with a lineup of Maximilian Björnström, Jack Hollingsed, Rex Hargrove, Luis Buech and Kade McDonough. Four members of the crew are newcomers to Abilene, while Hollingsed, a junior, is one of two returners for the Wildcats alongside senior Preston DeFriend.
ACU joins a 13-team field featuring five power conference opponents in co-host Penn State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Notre Dame and Rutgers. Co-host Kent State, Cal Poly, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Santa Clara, UNC Wilmington and Canadian institution British Columbia Okanagan round out the competition.
The individual champion of the Canadian Collegiate Invitational will receive an exemption into the 2027 RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ont. from June 7-13, 2027. The top five individual finishers at the 7,118-yard Öviinbyrd Golf Club will gain an exemption into the 2027 Canadian Men's Amateur Championship, presented by BDO.
The Wildcats embark on their first season in the United Athletic Conference a year after registering eight top-five performances, including in their final six tournaments. ACU placed third at the conference championship with a team title at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational.
Cain heads to the Big Country following four seasons at Tarleton State from 2022-26. He guided the Texans through a revival of the program following a near-30-year hiatus as it transitioned to the NCAA Division I level. That revival culminated with a Western Athletic Conference championship and WAC Coach of the Year honors in 2026. Tarleton State logged a program-best five top-five performances as Cain mentored the 2026 WAC Player and Freshman of the Year, Alvaro Pastor.
Björnström was a leader for Tarleton State as a freshman last season, appearing in each of the Texans' 13 tournaments. The Swede collected a pair of top-10 placements and drew ninth at the WAC Championship. Björnström totaled four top-20 finishes and slotted below par on three occasions.
Hollingsed returns for his third season with the Wildcats after posting three top-15 showings last year, each within the final four tournaments of the season. He placed seventh at the All-American Individual before tying for fourth at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational. Hollingsed rounded out the year in a draw for 11th at the WAC Championship.
Hargrove, a redshirt junior, heads to the Big Country following three seasons at Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference. The Houston product was a Second Team Rolex Junior All-American coming out of Cypress Creek High School after leading the Cougars to state finals appearances in 2021 and 2022. As a senior, Hargrove delivered a top-15 performance at the state championship in Texas' highest classification.
Buech received All-WAC Second Team honors with Tarleton State last season behind three top-10 performances. The Berlin, Germany product earned a pair of weekly/monthly awards from the conference as Tarleton's State top golfer in six events. Buech, a junior, closed under par in four tournaments. He tied for third at the Florida Atlantic Invitational and drew for fourth at the Border Olympics.
McDonough completed two years at Utah, carding a pair of top-10 placements at individual events this past season for the Utes. The Missoula, Mont. product filled his trophy case at the prep level and won the MSGA's Match Play Championship in May. It's McDonough's third MSGA Match Play Championship title in the past four years. The redshirt sophomore also took home the Schwartz Cup three times in four years as the low junior at the MSGA Men's State Amateur.
DeFriend and freshman Cooper Watson round out the Wildcats' 2026-27 roster. DeFriend is ACU's lone senior and has four career top-20 placements to his name, including a tie for 12th at last season's Golden Nugget Invitational.
Watson, hailing from Lawton, Okla., is coming off a strong summer and fall in 2025 that featured a third-place effort at the AJGA Junior Open at The Bridges before competing in the 113th Oklahoma State Amateur. He tied for fourth at the OJGT Oak Tree Junior Classic and registered a 9-under 207 to place fourth at the 43rd OGA Stroke Play Championship.
ACU will travel with a lineup of Maximilian Björnström, Jack Hollingsed, Rex Hargrove, Luis Buech and Kade McDonough. Four members of the crew are newcomers to Abilene, while Hollingsed, a junior, is one of two returners for the Wildcats alongside senior Preston DeFriend.
ACU joins a 13-team field featuring five power conference opponents in co-host Penn State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Notre Dame and Rutgers. Co-host Kent State, Cal Poly, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, Santa Clara, UNC Wilmington and Canadian institution British Columbia Okanagan round out the competition.
The individual champion of the Canadian Collegiate Invitational will receive an exemption into the 2027 RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ont. from June 7-13, 2027. The top five individual finishers at the 7,118-yard Öviinbyrd Golf Club will gain an exemption into the 2027 Canadian Men's Amateur Championship, presented by BDO.
The Wildcats embark on their first season in the United Athletic Conference a year after registering eight top-five performances, including in their final six tournaments. ACU placed third at the conference championship with a team title at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational.
Cain heads to the Big Country following four seasons at Tarleton State from 2022-26. He guided the Texans through a revival of the program following a near-30-year hiatus as it transitioned to the NCAA Division I level. That revival culminated with a Western Athletic Conference championship and WAC Coach of the Year honors in 2026. Tarleton State logged a program-best five top-five performances as Cain mentored the 2026 WAC Player and Freshman of the Year, Alvaro Pastor.
Björnström was a leader for Tarleton State as a freshman last season, appearing in each of the Texans' 13 tournaments. The Swede collected a pair of top-10 placements and drew ninth at the WAC Championship. Björnström totaled four top-20 finishes and slotted below par on three occasions.
Hollingsed returns for his third season with the Wildcats after posting three top-15 showings last year, each within the final four tournaments of the season. He placed seventh at the All-American Individual before tying for fourth at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational. Hollingsed rounded out the year in a draw for 11th at the WAC Championship.
Hargrove, a redshirt junior, heads to the Big Country following three seasons at Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference. The Houston product was a Second Team Rolex Junior All-American coming out of Cypress Creek High School after leading the Cougars to state finals appearances in 2021 and 2022. As a senior, Hargrove delivered a top-15 performance at the state championship in Texas' highest classification.
Buech received All-WAC Second Team honors with Tarleton State last season behind three top-10 performances. The Berlin, Germany product earned a pair of weekly/monthly awards from the conference as Tarleton's State top golfer in six events. Buech, a junior, closed under par in four tournaments. He tied for third at the Florida Atlantic Invitational and drew for fourth at the Border Olympics.
McDonough completed two years at Utah, carding a pair of top-10 placements at individual events this past season for the Utes. The Missoula, Mont. product filled his trophy case at the prep level and won the MSGA's Match Play Championship in May. It's McDonough's third MSGA Match Play Championship title in the past four years. The redshirt sophomore also took home the Schwartz Cup three times in four years as the low junior at the MSGA Men's State Amateur.
DeFriend and freshman Cooper Watson round out the Wildcats' 2026-27 roster. DeFriend is ACU's lone senior and has four career top-20 placements to his name, including a tie for 12th at last season's Golden Nugget Invitational.
Watson, hailing from Lawton, Okla., is coming off a strong summer and fall in 2025 that featured a third-place effort at the AJGA Junior Open at The Bridges before competing in the 113th Oklahoma State Amateur. He tied for fourth at the OJGT Oak Tree Junior Classic and registered a 9-under 207 to place fourth at the 43rd OGA Stroke Play Championship.
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