Pauma Valley Invitational
March 16-18, 2026 | ALL DAY
Pauma Valley Country Club | Pauma Valley, Calif.
GAME NOTES   |  LIVE STATS  
2025-26 STATS |  LAST YEAR'S STATS
 

SMU men's golf returns to the Pauma Valley Invitational in Pauma Valley, California. The tournament runs Monday March 16 through Wednesday March 18 at the Pauma Valley Country Club.

THE FIELD: The field includes 17 teams, 9 of which are ranked in the top 20. The field features Colorado State, ETSU, Florida, Georgia Tech, Illinois, LMU, LSU, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Princeton, San Diego, San Diego State, SMU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Toledo and Virginia.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs finished in a tie for third at the Desimone Invitational. Freshman Ben Steinmann took home the individual trophy as he tied for first place. Steinmann became the second Mustang to win this year after Will Sides' repeat victory at the Stephens Cup.
 
PAUMA VALLEY HISTORY
Zachary Kingsland finished in 27^th at last year's Pauma Valley Invite. He shot rounds of 72, 74 and 68. The Mustangs finished in 13^th. The year before, the team finished in eighth led by Kingsland and Will Sides who tied for 22^nd.

LINEUP
Will Sides
Zachary Kingsland
Christian Clark
Ben Steinmann
Gabe Post


SIDES
Will Sides recorded a victory in the Jones Cup to complete his winter action. He adds the title to victories at the Stephens Cup in 2024 and 2025. He leads the team with a 70.70 scoring average.

PGA TOUR UNIVERSITY
Two Mustangs are ranked in the top 27 of the PGA Tour University rankings. Will Sides sits at No. 14 in the rankings up from No. 15 where he started the season. Zachary Kingsland is ranked No. 26. SMU, Ole Miss, Virginia, Arizona, Georgia Tech and Texas are the only programs with multiple top 30 players. This is the second year in a row that a Mustang has been ranked in the PGA Tour University with Enrique Dimayuga earning the honor last season.
 

SIDES, KINGSLAND & HUMPHRIES CAREER SCORING
Sides and Kingsland rank in the top five at SMU for career scoring. Will Sides (71.45) ranks fourth and Zachary Kingsland (71.73) ranks fifth. J. Holland Humphries ranks in eighth with a 72.52 mark.
 
Individual Career Scoring average (Since 1993-94)
1.             Noah Goodwin, 2017-2022                    71.04
2.             Bryson Dechambeau, 2013-16              71.15
3.             Mac Meissner, 2017-21                          71.41
4.             Will Sides, 2022-                                   71.45
5.             Zachary Kingsland, 2022-                    71.73
6              Nathan Petronzio, 2021-23                    72.08
7.             Kelly Kraft, 2008-11                                72.34
8.             J. Holland Humphries, 2022-               72.52
9.             Will Dodson, 2003-06                             72.75
10.           Colt Knost, 2004-07                                72.80
  
WILL SIDES WINS THE STEPHEN CUP
In the fall, Will Sides repeated as Stephens Cup champion, the first Mustang since at least 1980 to repeat as a tournament champion in back-to-back seasons. He shot rounds of 68, 66 and 69, all below the par 70 of the course. It was the Mustangs fourth individual title dating back to last season. As a team, the Mustangs finished in sixth.

LAST SEASON
In 2024-25, the Mustang won two tournament titles and captured three individual titles. At the hometown Trinity Forest Invitational, Zachary Kingsland won the title. Will Sides followed that up at the Stephens Cup, taking home top honors. In the Spring, Kingsland won another title at the Hal Williams leading the Mustangs to team victory. The team went back-to-back with a title at the Vaqueros Intercollegiate. SMU advanced to the match play portion of the tournament at its very first ACC Championship. The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Auburn Regional.


SUMMER 2025
-Will Sides and Zachary Kingsland both earned bids to the 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship. Sides made the match play round of 64 at the tournament. Four Mustangs have won US Amateur titles in the last 30 years.
-Will Sides posted top 10 finishes at both The Western Amateur Championship and the North & South Amateur. He finished in ninth at both of the prestigious tournaments. He placed in 12^th at the Southern Amateur Championship.
-Kingsland's best finish of the summer came with a 19^th place showing at the Northeast Amateur.
-Areen Aggarwal posted a 46^th place showing at the North & South Amateur over the summer.
-Christian Clark posted a third-place finish at the WLGC 4^th of July Tournament and an 18^th place finish at the Texas Amateur.