Canyons Three-Peat at 3C2A Men's Golf Championships; Nilson Earns Top Honors

La Quinta, Calif. - The par-4 18^th hole at SilverRock Resort might be renamed "Cougarville" following Monday's dramatic comeback win for the three-time defending state champion College of the Canyons Cougars, who overcame an 11-shot deficit down the stretch to win the 2026 3C2A Men's Golf State Championship on Monday.

Canyons finished the 36-hole championship with a two-day team score of 294-287-581, just three shots ahead of College of the Desert (288-296-584) and nine shots clear of third-place Reedley (299-291-590).

Staring at an 11-shot deficit courtesy of the Roadrunners, with just six holes left to play, the Cougars upped the ante on host COD and shot a combined 7-UNDER-par down that final six-hole stretch on Monday, including an incredible 4-under-par on the 18^th hole alone.

"It's funny … I always talk to my guys about the last six holes," COC head coach Gary Peterson said in stunned disbelief immediately following today's round. "I often don't think they believe me, but I think from now on, they're going to remember the importance of the last six holes. It was pretty amazing. I kept looking at the scores … ok, it's (the deficit is) 8 … then 6 … and then we had an eagle and it quickly went to 2. It was extremely exciting. I was already visualizing second place … I mean, who wouldn't?

"That's what makes this event great. Golf is an individual sport, but this is a team. And, they wouldn't have won this without being a team."

It WAS a complete team effort in this victory for the Cougars, who captured their 13^th state crown in team school history. Even on the treacherous 14^th hole – a hole that saw two COC players shoot double-bogey 7s on this challenging par-5, their two Cougar teammates earned birdies to minimize the damage.

Individual state champion, Anthony Nilson, matched his opening-round 69 with another 69 for a 6-under-par total of 138. Included in the highlights were four birdies over the final five holes, including a clutch birdie on 18 to help seal the deal.

"Honestly, I thought we were out of it, and I wasn't really thinking about the score," Nilson said. "I was just focused on playing well and finishing strong and when I finished 18, I then realized we were super-close. I think keeping my head in a good place really helped me out a lot, for sure.

"You can never count us out of it. These aren't conditions we usually play in … it's REALLY hot out here … but we kept our head down and pushed through.

The COC rally was jump-started by Arnaud Bouhanicche, who finished his round with a birdie on 17 before holing out an eagle on 18 to finish with the low-round of the entire championship, a 5-under-par, 67, bettering his opening round score (80) by 13 strokes.

Jack Franklin finished his round with a birdie on the final hole and carded a 1-over, 73 for the day, while Ed Beehag steadied himself from a rough start and played the final eight holes even par on his way to a 6-over, 78 to complete the team scoring for the Cougars. Just behind COC's scoring foursome were teammates Jacque Struyf (80) and Kai Wallen (81).

For the Roadrunners, their bid for their first men's golf state title since 2012 came up just a bit short, but not without several outstanding performances. First and foremost, COD's Sinjin Armstrong shot back-to-back 70s for a two-day score of 140 (-4) for the state individual runner-up. Teammate Braxton McDonald also earned all-state honors by finishing fifth overall at +1, bettering his opening-round 73, with an even-par 72 on Day 2.

Reedley's Julian Rombouts (69-73-142), Victor Valley's Brady McColm (70-74-144) and COC's Bouhanicche (80-67-147) finished in the top 6 and earned All-State honors.

Victor Valley finished fourth overall with a team score of 605, followed by Sierra (607), Ventura (612), Napa (618), Orange Coast (621) and San Joaquin Delta (622).

3C2A Men's Golf Championships Team Results

3C2A Men's Golf Championships Individual Results

Courtesy of Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA