Inside the Numbers: The Cabo Collegiate
The par-three eleventh at Twin Dolphin
Evan Schiller Photography
The Cabo Collegiate at Twin Dolphin Golf Club produced a tight finish. Oklahoma State closed at 22-under to win by a single stroke over Arkansas after three rounds in Cabo San Lucas.
The course asked a lot of the players. Elevation changes, desert arroyos, coastal wind and large undulating greens meant every part of the game was tested. Players who kept the ball in play and managed distance control well tended to move up the leaderboard as the week progressed.
Looking through the numbers afterward, a few patterns stand out.
The Real Separator: Par 4 Scoring
Par 4 performance quietly shaped the tournament. Teams that kept these holes under control stayed near the top of the leaderboard, while others slowly leaked shots.
PAR 4 PERFORMANCE
Arkansas - 3.93 avg (-12)
Oklahoma State - 3.96 avg (-6)
Ole Miss - 4.00 avg (E)
Tennessee - 4.03 avg (+5)
Loyola Maryland - 4.37 avg (+61)
The spread between the best and lowest performing teams on par 4s reached 73 strokes across the week, the largest gap in any scoring category.
Success required controlled tee shots to avoid desert hazards followed by precise approaches into large greens where distance control was difficult.
Par 3s: Where Momentum Shifted
Twin Dolphin’s downhill par 3s created constant club-selection challenges. With elevation changes approaching 80 yards, players often faced difficult adjustments for both wind and trajectory.
PAR 3 PERFORMANCE
Oklahoma State - 3.02 avg (+1)
Arizona - 3.10 avg (+6)
Tennessee - 3.15 avg (+9)
Arkansas - 3.25 avg (+15)
Vanderbilt - 3.32 avg (+19)
Only one team finished close to level par on the par 3s. The 18-stroke gap between top-performing teams and the rest of the field showed how quickly these short holes could disrupt momentum.
Where Teams Picked Up Shots
The par 5s offered the best scoring opportunities.
Most teams averaged under par on these holes, particularly those with players capable of reaching in two or setting up short wedge approaches.
PAR 5 PERFORMANCE
Arkansas - 4.64 avg (-16)
Georgia Tech - 4.64 avg (-16)
Rice - 4.73 avg (-12)
Ole Miss - 4.73 avg (-12)
Oklahoma State - 4.84 avg (-7)
Thirteen of the fifteen teams averaged under par on par 5s, confirming their importance as scoring holes. For teams near the top of the leaderboard, these holes were where birdies appeared most frequently.
The Number That Mattered Most
One number tracks closely with how teams finished. Double bogeys.
DOUBLE BOGEYS (TEAM TOTAL)
Arkansas - 5
Oklahoma State - 6
Stanford - 6
Rice - 7
Loyola Maryland - 20
On a desert course with penalty areas and awkward recovery lies, avoiding big numbers became critical. Teams that kept mistakes under control stayed near the top of the leaderboard.
Player Patterns Inside the Data
Among the sixteen players tracked in the dataset, the strongest performances shared a similar statistical profile.
TOP PERFORMANCE AMONG TRACKED PLAYERS
Scoring average: 68.33 to 70.00
Strokes gained total: +1.38 to +3.64
Birdies: roughly 4 to 5 per round
Double bogeys: 0.00 to 0.33 per round
The top performers combined strong tee to green play with disciplined course management. As a group they gained more than eight strokes off the tee and over seven strokes on approach shots while keeping more than 95 percent of drives in play. Greens in regulation ranged between roughly 77 and 85 percent with very few hard misses.
Where the gap appeared most clearly was on the greens. Lower performers in the tracked group lost an average of more than two strokes putting and often recorded multiple three putts per round, which quickly erased otherwise solid ball striking.
What the Week Showed
Twin Dolphin rewarded players who stayed patient and kept the ball in play.
Good positioning off the tee made approach shots simpler. Solid distance control reduced the pressure on the short game. Avoiding big numbers kept momentum moving forward. Over three rounds, those small decisions added up.