The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Jackson T. Stephens Cup
No. 12 Men’s Golf preview: Jackson T. Stephens Cup
09.13.2026 | Men's Golf
The Longhorns compete at PGA Frisco on Monday through Wednesday.
When: Monday, Sept. 14 – Wednesday, Sept. 16
Format: 36 holes of stroke play on Monday. 18 holes of stroke play on Tuesday. Match play on Wednesday.
Where: PGA Frisco Fields Ranch East (Frisco, Texas)
Television: Monday (Golf Channel, 4-7 p.m. CT), Tuesday (Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. CT), Wednesday (Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. CT)
Live Scoring (Stroke Play): https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/245257/scoring/team
Live Scoring (Match Play): https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/245258/scoring/round
Tournament Notes
100 Years of Texas Men's Golf: The 2026-27 season marks the 100th year in program history for Texas Men's Golf. UT has claimed four NCAA team titles in program history (1971, 1972, 2012 and 2022), while four Texas players have earned a total of six NCAA medalist honors, including Justin Leonard (1994), Ben Crenshaw (1971, 1972 - shared with Tom Kite and 1973), Tom Kite (1972 – shared with Ben Crenshaw) and Ed White (1935). The Longhorns have made 75 all-time NCAA Championship appearances.
About the Tournament: The Jackson T. Stephens Cup is an annual collegiate golf tournament held in memory of the late Augusta National Chairman, Jackson T. Stephens. The event features some of the top NCAA Division I men's and women's teams alongside leading individual players from U.S. military service academies and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The tourney format includes 54 holes of stroke play which determines the team standings and sets the pairings for the final day of 18-hole match play based on those stroke-play results. The event also recognizes the individual 54-hole stroke-play winners upon the completion of that portion of the tournament.
The Tourney Field: The six-team men's field at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup includes: Houston, Rice, SMU, TEXAS, Texas A&M and Utah.
Texas in the Polls: The Longhorns are No. 12 in the preseason Golf Channel rankings, No. 15 in the preseason Bushnell/Golfweek DI Coaches poll and No. 24 in the preseason Golfweek rankings.
Preseason Individual Honors: A pair of Longhorns were selected to Golf Channel's preseason All-America teams, including Daniel Bennett (first team) and Matt Comegys (third team). Bennett was also named a preseason second-team All-American by Golfweek and was one of 25 players named to the preseason watch list for the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel.
Comegys earns spot in initial PGA TOUR University Class of 2027 Ranking: Fifth-year Matt Comegys is tabbed No. 20 in the season's first PGA TOUR University Ranking for the Class of 2027 (Sept. 9). Introduced in 2020, PGA TOUR University identifies the best players in collegiate golf and provides membership opportunities on PGA TOUR-affiliated tours. In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking, PGA TOUR U ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. The ranking period for the Class of 2027 began in Week 23 of 2025 and concludes on May 31, 2027, following the final round of stroke play at the 2027 NCAA Championship. The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking next June will earn PGA TOUR membership. Players ranked No. 2-10 will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2027, and players ranked No. 11-25 will earn exempt membership for PGA TOUR Americas in 2027.
Horns Tie for Second at Season-Opening Folds of Honor Collegiate: Texas tied for second place at the Folds of Honor Collegiate (Sept. 7-9) at American Dunes Golf Club (Grand Haven, Mich.). The Longhorns posted a three-round score of 13-under 839 (285-272-282) to share runner-up honors with Notre Dame (280-277-282). Georgia Tech claimed the team title at 18-under 834 (272-284-278). Daniel Bennett earned his fifth career runner-up finish with a 54-hole total of 9-under 204 (70-66-68), just two strokes behind individual medalist Max Emberson of Georgia Tech at 11-under 202 (63-72-67).
2025-26 Season in REVIEW: The Longhorns claimed FOUR team titles and 11 top-three finishes in its 14 stroke-play events last year. Texas completed the 2025-26 season with a run to the Match Play quarterfinals at the 2026 NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa (Carlsbad, Calif.). The Longhorns shared the crown at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational (Sept. 29-30), claimed the championship at the Arizona N.I.T. (Jan. 26-27), won the title at The Ford Collegiate (April 13-14) and earned the championship at the NCAA Bryan Regional (May 18-19). UT also recorded runner-up efforts at the Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 6-7), The Williams Cup (Oct. 19-21) and the Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 5-7).
Longest Active NCAA Championship Streak: UT's streak of 19 consecutive NCAA Championship appearances is the longest current streak in NCAA Division I men's golf. Here's a look at the longest active NCAA Championship appearances entering the 2026-27 season.
|
Number of Consecutive NCAA Championship Appearances |
School |
|
19 |
TEXAS |
|
15 |
Oklahoma |
|
12 |
Vanderbilt |
|
6 |
Florida |
|
6 |
Florida State |
Advancing to Match Play: Not only has Texas been a mainstay in advancing to the NCAA Championship, it also has consistently produced strong results while at the national championship. In the last 14 opportunities dating back to the 2012 NCAA Championships, UT has advanced to the Match Play quarterfinals stage (final eight teams) a total of NINE times. Texas is the ONLY school to advance to Match Play at least nine times in the last 14 opportunities (2020 tourney was canceled due to COVID-19).
|
NCAA Match Play Appearances in Last 14 Championships (2012-26) |
School |
|
9 (2012-13-15-16-18-19-22-25-26) |
TEXAS |
|
8 (2013-14-15-16-17-21-23-24) |
Illinois |
|
8 (2014-17-18-19-21-22-25-26) |
Oklahoma State |
|
8 (2015-16-17-19-21-22-24-26) |
Vanderbilt |
|
7 (2016-17-18-19-21-22-25) |
Oklahoma |
The Fields Factor: Now in his 30th season as head coach at Texas, John Fields has guided the Longhorns to 25 NCAA Championship appearances in his 29 opportunities (no NCAA tourney in 2020 due to COVID-19). Under Fields' leadership, UT has posted 12 top-five and 18 top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championship, including NCAA team titles in 2012 and 2022 and runner-up showings in 2016 and 2019. Prior to his time at Texas, Fields led the University of New Mexico to nine NCAA Championship appearances in 10 seasons (1988-97). He has earned Golfweek's National Coach of the Year honors three times (2012, 2016 and 2022) and Big 12 Coach of the Year accolades nine times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2022) during his tenure at Texas. Fields was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2024.
Horns and the PGA TOUR: In the 100-year history of the Texas Men's Golf program, the Longhorns have recorded 115 official PGA TOUR victories by 17 different individuals. These include 12 Major championships by six different players (Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Mark Brooks, Justin Leonard, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler).
The Texas Lineup: UT will be represented by the following five players at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup:
- Daniel Bennett (Jr.)
- Matt Comegys (5th)
- Eduardo Derbez Torres (Jr.)
- Brooks Harper (Fr.)
- Adam Villanueva (So.)
Inside the Texas Lineup
Daniel Bennett: No. 15 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking (Sept. 9) … two-time All-American during his first two seasons at Texas … preseason first-team All-America selection by Golf Channel and preseason second-team All-America choice by Golfweek … one of 25 players on the preseason watch list for the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel … earned a runner-up finish in the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate (Sept. 7-9) with a 9-under 204 (70-66-68) … honorable mention All-America choice (GCAA/PING and Golfweek) as a sophomore last year … also was a second-team All-SEC selection and PING All-Central Region Team selection in 2025-26 … played in 12 of UT's 14 events last season and posted a 70.46 stroke average through 37 rounds while recording a pair of runner-up efforts and a total of four top-eight individual finishes … 24 of his 37 rounds last year were par or better, including 15 in the 60s … competed for the winning Team International squad at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup (July 3-5) in Ireland … advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2026 Western Amateur … placed second at the 2025 Williams Cup (Oct. 19-21) with a 6-under 210 (68-71-71) … tied for second at the 2025 Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 6-7) with a 2-under 214 (72-69-73) … tied for seventh at the 2026 Desimone Invitational (March 9-10) with an 8-under 208 (70-69-69) … tied for eighth at the 2026 Arizona N.I.T. (Jan. 26-27) with an 8-under 208 (71-71-66) … tied for 11th at the 2026 NCAA Bryan Regional (May 18-19) with a 7-under 209 (72-66-71) … earned the Arnold Palmer Cup exemption and competed in the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 5-8), a PGA TOUR signature event at Bay Hill (Fla.) ... made the 36-hole cut at the AP Invitational and finished in a tie for 47th with a 5-over 293 (71-71-77-74) … tied for eighth at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships (Oct. 8-11) in Singapore with a four-round score of 7-under 281 (73-69-67-72) … paired with teammate Christiaan Maas to help Team South Africa claim an eight-shot victory over runner-up Australia to mark the first team championship for South Africa in tournament history, as its previous best finish was a silver medal in 1980 …claimed the 2025 Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award by StrackaLine, honoring the National Freshman of the Year … became the fifth Longhorn in program history to win the Mickelson Award, joining Cole Hammer (2019), Scottie Scheffler (2015), Brandon Stone (2013) and David Gossett (1999) … 2025 Division I PING first-team All-America choice … 2025 second-team All-America pick by Golfweek … 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year … 2025 first-team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team selection … named to the 2025 PING All-Central Region team … one of five finalists for the 2025 Gary Player Award for Division I given to the most outstanding collegiate golfer from outside the United States … competed for the winning Team International squad at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup (June 5-7) at Congaree Golf Club (Ridgeland, S.C.) ... advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2025 U.S. Amateur … SEC Men's Freshman of the Week on April 16, 2025 … registered a team-best 70.00 scoring average and boasted a pair of individual runner-up finishes, four top-three showings, five top-10 finishes and placed in the top-16 in eight of his 11 stroke-play events during the 2024-25 season … 24 of his 34 rounds were par or better, including 15 rounds in the 60s … tied for second at the 2025 Valspar Collegiate Invitational (Mar. 24-25) with a 16-under 197 (64-67-66) … posted his collegiate-low 18-hole score of 7-under 64 in the opening round of the 2025 Valspar Collegiate (Mar. 24) … tied for second at the 2025 Southwestern Invitational (Jan. 27-29) with a 4-under 209 (72-70-67) … tied for third at the 2025 Ford Collegiate (April 14-15) with a 3-under 207 (72-68-67) … tied for third at the 2024 Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 1) with a 5-under 205 (65-69-71) in his collegiate debut … tied for ninth at the 2025 Augusta Haskins Award Invitational (April 5-6) with a 4-under 212 (72-68-72) … participated in the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Championship on the DP World Tour (Dec. 12-15) in South Africa … top-ranked junior in South Africa … posted five wins and 26 top-10 finishes during his junior career … won the Boland Amateur stroke play championship in April 2024 with a 54-hole total of 209 (71-69-69) … earned the win at the Nomads Coastal Noom 1 in January 2024 with a three-round score of 206 (73-63-70) … claimed victory at the Northern Amateur Open in South Africa in March 2023 … won the stroke-play portion of the 2023 Nomads South Africa Boys Under-19 Championship by 21 strokes, as he recorded a 72-hole total of 34-under-par 254 (62-61-68-63) … also tallied wins at the Cape Town Junior in October 2022 and the KwaZulu-Natal Open in May 2022.
Matt Comegys: No. 65 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking (Sept. 9) … No. 20 in the initial PGA TOUR University Class of 2027 Ranking (Sept. 9) … preseason third-team All-America choice by Golf Channel … two-time NCAA Division I Cobalt Golf All-American Scholar (2024 and 2026) … got married to Ryan Savage on Dec. 17, 2025 in New Braunfels … tied for 18th at the season-opening Folds of Honor Collegiate (Sept. 7-9) with a 1-under 212 (73-68-71) … 2026 SEC Newcomer of the Year … SEC Co-Golfer of the Week on Sept. 24, 2025 … played in each of UT's 14 events during the 2025-26 season and posted a 71.00 stroke average through 43 rounds while recording a total of two top-three and seven top-20 performances … 29 of his 43 rounds last year were par or better, including 16 in the 60s … registered a career-best tie for second at the 2025 OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational (Sept. 19-21) with a 5-under 205 (69-69-68) … tied for third at the 2026 Ford Collegiate (April 13-14) with an 11-under 199 (64-67-68) … posted a 1-0-1 record in match play at the 2026 SEC Championship (April 25) with a 4&2 win over Ugo Malcor (Mississippi State) in the quarterfinals and a tie against Matthew Kress (Florida) in the semifinals … tied for 14th at the 2026 NCAA Bryan Regional (May 18-19) with a 6-under 210 (72-68-70) … tied for 19th at the 2026 NCAA Championship (May 29-June 1) with a 4-under 284 (74-69-72-69) … spent his previous three years at Texas Tech and earned his undergraduate degree in May 2025 … took a medical redshirt in 2024-25 while recovering from left wrist surgery … in his sophomore year at Texas Tech in 2023-24, he earned PING All-Central Team honors and tied for second on the team in scoring average (71.8) … 2024 Academic All-Big 12 selection … competed in 12 of the team's 13 events as a sophomore and recorded three top-10 finishes and seven top-20 showings … 19 of his 37 rounds were par or better in 2023-24, including nine rounds in the 60s … registered a season-best tie for fourth at the 2024 Amer Ari Intercollegiate with a 17-under 199 (63-68-68) … consensus top-ranked player in the state of Texas in the Class of 2022 and ranked in the top 10 nationally by Junior Golf Scoreboard and GolfWeekly … attended Plano West Senior High School (Plano, Texas) and won the 2022 Class 6A UIL Texas state individual title as a senior … two-time UIL Texas regional champion (2021 and 2022) … qualified for the 2022 U.S. Amateur and advanced to the Round of 16 in match play at the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur … recorded multiple wins on the Legends Junior Golf Tour.
Eduardo Derbez Torres: No. 196 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking (Sept. 9) … played in eight of UT's 14 events as a sophomore during the 2025-26 season and posted a 72.42 stroke average through 24 rounds … nine of his 24 rounds were par or better, including five in the 60s … competing as an individual, he posted a season-best tie for 14th at the 2026 Arizona N.I.T. (Jan. 26-27) with a 6-under 210 (69-72-69) … tied for seventh at the 2026 Latin America Amateur Championship (Jan. 15-18) in Lima, Peru, with an even-par 280 (68-73-66-73) … tied for sixth at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships (Oct. 8-11) in Singapore with an 8-under 280 (69-78-64-69) while competing for his native Mexico … also paced Mexico to a fourth-place team finish, marking its first top-five finish at the event since earning a silver medal in 2012, its only medalist performance in the championship … tied for 24th at the Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 5-7) with a 12-under 204 (68-66-70) … won the LXX Torneo Annual Valle Alto in Mexico in April 2026 with a three-round score of 15-under 201 (73-64-64) … competed in The Amateur, the European Amateur, the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the summer of 2026 … played in one event and registered a 70.33 stroke average over three rounds as a freshman in 2024-25 … tied for 58th at the 2025 Amer Ari Invitational (Feb. 6-8) with a 5-under 211 (70-67-74) … won the Anual Herradura 2025 in Mexico (Aug. 21-22) with a 54-hole total of 212 (72-70-70) … claimed victory in a playoff at the 2025 Etapa Ranking Interno Mayor/WAGR3 event in Mexico (June 29-July 6) with a three-round score of 210 (69-75-66) … posted seven wins and 18 top-10 finishes during his junior career … won the Campeonato Nacional Junior Match Play tournament in Mexico in October 2023 … claimed victory at the IV Copa Norte in Mexico in September 2023 with a 54-hole score of 211 (71-68-72) … also earned the win at the Las Misiones Invitational in Mexico in July 2023 with a three-round total of 211 (72-69-70) … posted the victory at the LXIII Torneo Annual De Golf De Invitacion in Mexico in June 2023 with a 54-hole score of 207 (68-68-71) … won the 2022 Western Junior Amateur Championship and became the first Mexican player to claim the title at the prestigious event … honorable mention AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) Rolex Junior All-American selection in 2022.
Brooks Harper: Will make his collegiate debut at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup … ranked as the No. 8 player in the state of Texas and No. 36 nationally in the Class of 2026 by Junior Golf Scoreboard … claimed individual medalist honors at the 2026 Byron Nelson Junior Championship (June 2-4) with a 54-hole score of 13-under 203 (66-69-68) … paced The Covenant School to the TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) Class 4A boys' state team championship as a senior in 2026 and placed third in the individual standings … tied for ninth at the 2026 Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship (March 6-8) with a 4-over 220 (75-72-73) … fifth at the 2025 Nike Junior Invitational (June 29-July 1) … helped The Covenant School to the TAPPS Class 4A boys' state team title as a junior in 2025 … captured individual titles at the 2024 AJGA Junior at Innisbrook (5-under 211) and the 2023 AJGA Open Junior at The Bridges (6-under 207).
Adam Villanueva: No. 976 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking (Sept. 9) … played in two events as a freshman during the 2025-26 season and posted a 75.83 stroke average through six rounds … tied for 48th at the 2025 Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 6-7) with a 13-over 229 (76-78-75) … tied for 57th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (March 1-3) with a 10-over 226 (75-74-77) … top-ranked player in the state of Texas and ranked No. 5 nationally in the Class of 2025 by Junior Golf Scoreboard … advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur … led Westlake High School to the 2025 Class 6A state championship and placed third individually at the state championship … won the 2025 District 26-6A individual title in his senior season while being named the Boys Golfer of the Year in Central Texas by the Austin American-Statesman … earned 2024 Rolex AJGA honorable mention All-America accolades … claimed a runner-up finish at the 2024 Texas Junior Amateur … won the 2023 Class 6A state individual title while leading Westlake to the team championship in his sophomore season.
