LA QUINTA, Calif. (February 17, 2026) – The University of North Alabama men's golf team surged up the leaderboard seven slots on day two of The Prestige tournament on Tuesday in La Quinta, Calif.
Each day is limited to 18 holes of play. After day two, the Lions finished tied for sixth with No. 45 Northwestern. North Alabama held an eight-over team score before the start of day two and ended with a one-under round — only one of four teams to accomplish the feat today.
UNA holds a six-stroke advantage over No. 48 San Diego, the next-closest competitor. Currently, they lead five top-50 ranked teams in No. 25 Wake Forest, No. 34 Clemson, No. 44 Little Rock, No. 46 Colorado and San Diego. Aside from being tied with Northwestern, they are two strokes off No. 47 Kansas who sits in fifth.
North Alabama did not have a 'miracle moment' per se, but instead played the steady consistent golf that they are use to. Every Lion moved up at least 14 spots on the leaderboard, while senior Sebastian Bengtsson saw the highest rise of 37 spots to a tie for 19th.
The Lions finished in eighth for par-4s (+15) and a tie for fourth in par-5s (-6). As the team typically does, birdies have come in bunches as they sit in a tie for fifth in that statistic with 30, just nine away from Texas Tech. The team has limited their double-bogeys, finishing as the third-best team with only six.
Junior Andrew Ferworn continues to lead the Lions after day two with a one-under round that saw four birdies find the bottom of the cup. The Houston, Texas native finished tied for eighth and is only two strokes back from a share of second place. Only 11 of the 120 players in the field have shot under-par during the first two rounds.
On the second day of the tournament, North Alabama enjoyed an early rise as the first Lion tee'd off at 9:40 this morning. After round two, Stanford rose three spots to take the lead from Oregon State — which had the afternoon tee time with an eight-over second day.
The afternoon tee times have seen an abundance of weather-related issues, as even the top teams have struggled during those time slots.
The Lions finished their round in a tie for 12th with No. 45 Northwestern before the mid-afternoon hour struck but awaited results from the afternoon tee times. Slowly, the surge came to life.
As No. 28 Stanford took the lead from the Beavers, No. 15 Texas Tech raced up the board 10 spots to take second place with a nine-under afternoon — the best round of any team today.
Oregon State slipped to third and concludes the three teams that currently shoot under-par for the tournament.
Oregon sticks close to their state rival just two strokes away. No. 47 Kansas lifted two spots to fifth while No. 45 Northwestern and North Alabama tie for sixth. No. 48 San Diego sticks in eighth but Washington State tied them after jumping 10 spots with their even day — the biggest mover outside of Texas Tech.
UNCW fell seven spots with a 15-over second day for 10th. No. 25 Wake Forest and Princeton had a 15-over first round before an even second round to lock in at 11th together.
Teams such as Gonzaga, Iowa State, No. 44 Little Rock, Kansas State, Lipscomb, UC Davis, No. 34 Clemson and SMU all dropped a minimum of two spots after the second 18.
After Ferworn, Bengtsson finished with a one-under day with three birdies and a 34 score on the front nine.
True freshman Jedd Brady tied right alongside the Swedish native as he finished even but both tied for 19th; this finalize three Lions in the top-20 for the tournament. Brady had six birdies for the day, the most of any Lion throughout the tournament so far.
Arthur Estas followed suit with a one-over day and four birdies while senior Xing Luo put out the same exact play on the scorecard.
Four Lions sit amongst individual statistical leaderboards with Brady in a tie for third on par-3s (-1), Estas is tied for fourth on par-5s (-3), Ferworn is tied for fifth on par-4s (-1) and Bengtsson is tied for eighth in pars (26).
"The guys continued to play well today," said The Schmitz Family Head Men's Golf Coach Austin Phillips. "Other than some early and very late struggles, it was some very good golf today. We put ourselves in the right position before tomorrow and we need to continue just doing our thing. Tomorrow is not going to be easy with the weather, but I know the guys will fight until the end."
North Alabama closes out The Prestige tomorrow beginning at 9:40 a.m. for the final 18 holes. Final day weather expects 15-25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
The Prestige
PGA West - Norman Course
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 28 Stanford 563 -5
2. No. 15 Texas Tech 566 -2
3. Oregon State 567 -1
4. Oregon 569 +1
5. No. 47 Kansas 573 +5
T6. North Alabama 575 +7
T6. No. 45 NWU 575 +7
T8. No. 48 San Diego 581 +13
T8. Washington St. 581 +13
10. UNCW 582 +14
T11. No. 25 Wake F. 583 +15
T11. Princeton 583 +15
13. Gonzaga 585 +17
14. Iowa State 586 +18
15. No. 44 Little Rock 587 +19
16. No. 46 Colorado 590 +22
17. Kansas State 591 +23
18. Lipscomb 598 +30
19. UC Davis 599 +31
20. No. 34 Clemson 602 +34
21. SMU 603 +35
T22. Nevada 611 +43
T22. Yale 611 +43
24. Colorado St. 614 +46
North Alabama Golfers
T8. Andrew Ferworn 141 | -1
T19. Jedd Brady 144 | +2
T19. Sebastian Bengtsson 144 | +2
T41. Arthur Estas 146 | +4
T94. Xing Luo 153 | +11
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
