Avi Iyer wins 2026 Collegiate Showcase
Nearly two months after rain washed out The Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase at The Riviera Country Club, 19 collegiate golfers got a second chance at redemption on Thursday, April 2nd, at Bluejack National outside Houston, Texas. When the day was over, San Jose State senior Avinash (Avi) Iyer had claimed the title and an exemption into the 2026 Corales Puntacana Championship.
For the senior from San Ramon, CA, the victory in the Collegiate Showcase came thanks in part to a nearly perfect round of golf. Iyer opened his round with a birdie and an eagle in his first five holes. A bogey on the sixth hole was the only blemish on his scorecard for the day. A 32 on the front nine set up a back nine where Iyer shut the door on the competition.
Another birdie on the par-5 13th hole got Iyer to five under par on the day. After an 80-minute weather delay, Iyer closed out his round with birdies on the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes to seal the win with an eight under par 64 for the day.
The win marked the second Collegiate Showcase victory for a player from San Jose State University, as Iyer joins Sean Yu (2020). San Jose State joins Wake Forest University (Will Zalatoris in 2015 and Michael Brennan in 2022) as the only schools to have two different players win the showcase. Past winners also include world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (Texas) and 2026 Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine).
Iyer will now tee it up at the Corales Puntacana Championship, scheduled for July 16–19 in the Dominican Republic, in what will be the first PGA TOUR start of his career. The 2026 edition marks the 12th annual Collegiate Showcase and the first time the exemption has been awarded into the Corales Puntacana field.
| Position | Player | University | Score |
| 1 | Avinash Iyer | San Jose State University | -8 (64) |
| T2 | JP Odland | Santa Clara University | -5 (67) |
| T2 | Finn Koelle | University of Washington | -5 (67) |
| T4 | Gavin Tiernan | East Tennessee State University | -3 (69) |
| T4 | Ivan Barahona | San Jose State University | -3 (69) |
| T4 | Grady Millar | University of Washington | -3 (69) |
| T4 | Brody Leid | University of Wyoming | -3 (69) |
| 8 | Manuel Barbachano | George Washington University | -2 (70) |
| T9 | Jaden Dumdumaya | University of Southern California | -1 (71) |
| T9 | Carter Loflin | University of Georgia | -1 (71) |
| T9 | Jacob Goode | University of Washington | -1 (71) |
| 12 | Kristof Panke | University of Wyoming | E (72) |
| T13 | Davis Johnson | University of Utah | +1 (72) |
| T13 | Jack Murphy | University of Washington | +1 (72) |
| T15 | Alejandro Formosa | Columbia University | +2 (73) |
| T15 | Ben Jordan | Wofford College | +2 (73) |
| 17 | Yannick Malik | East Tennessee State University | +7 (79) |
| DNF | Reese Knox | Boise State University | DNF |
| DNF | Chase Gorder | Boise State University | DNF |