“Besides a few high numbers on a couple holes, the guys played incredibly well today,” director of golf Todd Miller. “The course is always tougher in the afternoons with more wind and firm greens.”

Kihei Akina (69-70-139) found himself tied for ninth, the same position as yesterday, after a 2-under-par Saturday to push him to 5-under par for the championship. Akina flashed brilliance with a hole out on hole 13, a par four, for an eagle in addition to three birdies and 11 pars.

“Kihei is doing a great job at managing the expectations and stepping up every time the team needs him,” Miller said. “It’s a big ask for a freshman to lead the team on a national championship course with all the pressure, but he’s handling it beautifully.”

Top-ranked Auburn (282-272-556) had a tournament best 16-under-par round two to put them ahead of the field at 20-under par. No. 3 Texas (287-277-564) and No. 11 Vanderbilt (287-277-564) share the second spot at 12-under par. No. 5 Oklahoma State (295-274-569) and UCLA (280-289-569) ended the day tied for fourth at 7-under par.

Simon Kwon (72-78-150) and Tyson Shelley (79-71-150) finished the day tied for 109th at 6-over par. Shelley helped himself out with three birdies and 13 pars on his scorecard.

“After a couple tough rounds, Tyson Shelley came up big for us today,” Miller said.

Peter Kim’s (78-73-151) 1-over-par round brought him to a tie for 116th. Parker Bunn (77-76-153) ended Saturday with a share of 136th at 9-over par.

“Peter’s three birdies to close out his round at least gives us a shot of making the first cut,” Miller said.

If the Cougars’ third round, played on Thursday, is enough to push them inside the top-15, they will advance to the fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday. The first tee time on Sunday will be at 7:30 a.m. MDT. Follow live scoring on Scoreboard, with live coverage of the round beginning on the Golf Channel at 1:30 p.m. MDT.

Akina named All-American

Freshman golfer Kihei Akina was named to the 2026 PING All-Region West Team, presented annually by the Golf Coaches Association of America committee, on Saturday.

Across 80 schools in six different regions, there were 151 players that earned all-region honors.

Akina started in all 13 events for the Cougars this season. While achieving a program record 68.95 scoring average, the freshman earned two individual titles at the R.E. Lamkin and Bridgestone Collegiate Invitationals. In addition, Akina also notched two runner-up finishes at The Goodwin and the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship.

His 2025-26 campaign has given the All-Big 12 first team member the Haskins Award finalist honors and a spot on the Arnold Palmer Cup Team USA roster.

Other Cougars that were selected for an all-region team include Peter Kim, Cole Ponich, Zac Jones, Carson Lundell, Peter Kuest, Rhett Rasmussen, Patrick Fishburn, Joe Parkinson and Zac Blair.