Hillcrest Golf Club Head Golf Professional Brett Wolf said he didn’t know a lot of the names in the professional field entering the 2026 Navajo Trail Open, but there were two familiar names at the top of the leaderboard after Round 1.
Three-time Navajo Trail Open Wil Collins and former Piedra Vista High School star River Smalley are tied for first at 3-under par after 18 holes of golf on Friday. Golfers were treated to a beautiful and warm day for the first round. There was light wind at times, but golfers have a fantastic day to challenge themselves on the speedy Hillcrest greens and incredibly maintained course.
Collins, who most recently won the tournament in 2023 and 2024, lives in Albuquerque. He played on the PGA Tour in 2009 and is a golf instructor and works in the mortgage business. He finished the opening round with four birdies, 13 pars and a bogey.
“You always have to be grateful out here for a round under par,” Collins said. “On this course, there are a lot of holes where you feel like you got away with robbery and some hole where you think, ‘How did I not make birdie?’ It’s in phenomenal shape and as is the case every year, if you’re in position, you can some birdies … it was a good start.”
Collins got off to a strong start, birding the second and third holes, with his birdie on Hole 3 coming via chip-in. He capped an impressive front nine by hitting a 20-foot uphill putt on the tricky par 3 ninth for birdie. Collins was happy with how he putted to save a few pars on the front.
To start the back, Collins three putted for par on the par 5 10th. He wasn’t satisfied with a par on the short par 4 11th. He did birdie the par 3 12th over the water, but hit a poor shot on the par 3 15th and made bogey. Collins had about a 6-footer for birdie on 18, but he couldn’t convert.
Collins’ main goal going into Round 2 is to get his mindset right as he hasn’t competed in eight months, and now he’s chasing the $10,000 first-place prize.
Tied at the top is Smalley, the Farmington native and former New Mexico State golfer. He also finished with four birdies, 13 pars and a bogey. Smalley got off to a slower start than Collins, with his first birdie coming on Hole 9. He birdied Hole 10, Hole 12 and Hole 15 before a bogey on the par 5 Hole 17.
Behind the two leaders is a three-way tie for third at 2-under par with Tyler Diehl, Brad Marek and Connor Jones.
Diehl started with a bogey on Hole 1 before birdies on two and four before bogeys on seven and nine. He finished strongly with birdies on 10, 16 and 18. Marek also started out with a bogey on Hole 1, before birding 11, 12, 16 and 17 and bogeying 14.
Jones, a Denver native, is competing in his first Navajo Trail Open. The former Colorado State University golfer is now playing golf for a living and heard about the tournament from his former Colorado State teammate and recent Fort Lewis College graduate Jordan Jennings, who caddied for Jones in Round 1.
It was a fast start with birdies on two, five and eight before a bogey on nine for Jones. He played the second nine even after a birdie on 11 and a bogey on 14.
“I played good on the front nine,” Jones said. “I made a bogey on nine, kind of got slowed down around the turn and I just kind of squirrely on the back … I made a good put on the last hole for par, which is nice.”
Jones enjoyed the course after playing it for the first time in the pro-am on Thursday, citing the quick and slippery greens and some tricky spots. He’s excited to try and chase down Collins, whom he’s played with before.
Just outside the top five were two locals, Farmington’s Tony Mike Jr. and Cortez’s Micah Rudosky, tied for sixth at 1-under par. Rudosky started the day with a bogey on Hole 1, but bounced back with birdies on 10 and 11. He bogeyed 12 before birding 17.
Mike, who plays golf full-time along with helping coach the Farmington High School girls team, bogeyed the par 3 fifth before birding the sixth. He birdied 10 and 11 before bogeying 16.
“I feel good about it,” Mike said. “I hit a lot of great shots out there. The putter got a little cold for a little bit, but that’s golf. The course is a fun challenge and what makes the course challenging are the greens, making putts.”
Mike was very happy with how he hit the ball off the tee today. He put himself in the fairway and gave himself a lot of wedges in there. On Hole 11, he drove the ball on to the green to about 12 feet, but missed the eagle putt.
There were some gusts and swirling winds to deal with, according to Mike, but he’s looking forward to finding his rhythm in Round 2.
“The staff is great,” Mike said. “Michael (McCloskey) and Brett (Wolf), host a great venue and golf course itself. It’s always in great condition. Durango, you can’t ask for better weather in summer time. It’s just an overall fun event. I really enjoy this tournament. It’s the one I’m looking forward to out of the year.”
In the amateur standings, Charles Dawkins, Javan Real and Eben Harrell are tied for the best round at 2-over par. Fort Lewis College’s Traejan Andrews leads the amateur gross standings with an adjusted score of even par.
Round 2 tee times will start at 7:15 a.m. on Saturday. For tee times and live scoring, click here.