Home UVA Golf: Second-ranked ‘Hoos win 2026 Lewis Chitengwa Memorial
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UVA Golf: Second-ranked ‘Hoos win 2026 Lewis Chitengwa Memorial

Chris Graham
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Photo: © Kevin Carden/stock.adobe.com

#2 Virginia won the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial for the first time since 2022, and Paul Chang shared medalist honors with SMU’s William Sides.

The Cavaliers ran away with the team title after shooting 17-under, 267 on the final day at Birdwood Golf Course.

The UVA team was 13 strokes ahead of second place and two-time defending LCM tournament champion Florida State.

The team win was Virginia’s fifth of the season.

The individual title went down to the 54th hole of the final pairing. Sides sunk a 12-foot birdie putt on 17 to move into a tie with Chang a 17-under.

On the par-four 18th, Chang hit the green in two shots and two-putted for par. Sides’ approach shot fell short of the green, and he converted the up and down with a successful five-foot par putt to share the medalist honors.

Playing in his final home event of his Virginia career, Chang shot a final-round 65 to match his career-low established last week in the second round of his win at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Fla.

Chang and Sides established a 54-hole LCM tournament record with a 16-under 197 that eclipsed Florida State golfer Luke Clanton’s winning score of 198 two years ago.





Senior Ben James was tied for fourth in his final collegiate competition at Birdwood. He posted a final-round 69 (-2).

James has finished in the Top 5 of all eight tournaments he’s competed in this season.

The finish today adds to James’ program record with his 33rd Top 10 finish of his career.

Bryan Lee surged up the leaderboard on Tuesday thanks to his second consecutive 66. His third round started with a 3-under 32 on the front nine and he added three more birdies on the back against only one bogey.

Lee was 8-under for the tournament and finished in a tie for sixth place. With his 18th career top 10 finish, he passed the tournament’s namesake, Lewis Chitengwa (1995-98), for seventh place on UVA’s all-time list.

Michael Lee also made a charge on the final day, elevating 23 spots with a 4-under 67. He moved into a tie for 25th place thanks to a final round that included six birdies.

UVA’s top individual was Maxi Puregger, who tied for 18th and shot an even-par 71 in the third round.

Leaderboard

PL. TEAM RD 1 RD 2 RD 3 TOTAL TO PAR
1. Virginia 277 269 267 813 -39
2. Florida State 268 284 274 826 -26
3. SMU 279 271 279 829 -23
4. Tennessee 272 280 280 832 -20
5. Charlotte 279 285 271 835 -17
6. NC State 272 289 275 836 -16
7. Maryland 284 277 288 849 -3
8. Liberty 282 292 276 850 -2
9. Texas State 279 293 288 860 +8
10. Virginia Tech 288 291 289 868 +16
11 Loyola Maryland 288 298 288 874 +22
12. Toledo 291 293 292 876 +24

Virginia

PL. PLAYER RD 1 RD 2 RD 3 TOTAL TO PAR
T1. Paul Chang 66 66 65 197 -16
T4. Ben James 68 65 69 202 -11
T6. Bryan Lee 73 66 66 205 -8
T18. Maxi Puregger (IND) 67 72 71 210 -3
T25. Michael Lee 72 73 67 212 -1
T33. Josh Duangmanee 71 72 71 214 +1
T40. Alex Wells (IND) 73 71 72 216 +3
72. Sam O’Hara (IND) 84 80 81 245 +32

 






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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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