Colorado University Athletics
Thursday, October 26
Maui, Hawaii
All Day
Colorado
vs
First Round
The Ka'anapali Golf Club at sunrise.
Golfers Open In A Tie For 15th In Maui
October 26, 2023 | Men's Golf
Swanson Leads Way With a 2-under 69
LAHAINA, Maui — The University of Colorado men's golf team opened here Thursday in a tie for 15th place after the first round of the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic, the Buffaloes' final tournament of the fall season.
Liberty, with four players in the top 13, turned in a sizzling 22-under par team score of 262 to grab the first round lead. No. 32 Georgia is second, four back with an 18-under 266 total, while San Jose State hold third with a 15-under 269 score. No. 17 East Tennessee State and No. 19 Oklahoma, the defending tournament champion, are tied for fourth with 12-under 272 scores.
The Buffaloes, as has been the case much of the fall, got off to a slow start, at one point in last place (20th) and at 6-over par. But six birdies and no bogeys by the four scorers on Nos. 6 and 7 in a three-hole span brought things back to 1-over par for a short time before ending the day with a 4-over 288.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson led the CU attack Wednesday with a 2-under 69, which has him tied for 27th. He tied for the team-high with five birdies to go with 10 pars and three of bogeys, along with playing the par-3 holes even on the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali Course at Ka'anapali Golf Club. The 69 was his second-best first round score in five tournaments this fall, and he played the par-4 holes at 1-under, the best by a Buffalo.
Junior Dylan McDermott turned in a 1-under 70, his low score for an opening round this fall, and is tied for 42nd. He had a team-high five birdies with nine pars and four bogeys, and stood at 2-over with four holes left. He went on to birdie three of his final four holes (Nos. 9, 10 and 11) to get into red numbers for the day. He birdied all three par-5s, which has him tied for playing them the best in the 120-man field, and his birdie on 454-yard, par-4 10th was just one of eight on the hole in the first round.
Junior Justin Biwer had some bad luck late, as he is tied for 91st with a 3-over 74. He opened with a double bogey and worked his way back to even with four holes to play. After two pars, he made just the second triple bogey of his career that vaulted him back to the unhappy side of par. He had three birdies and a team-high 12 pars and a bogey otherwise.
Junior Jack Holland and freshman Brandon Knight are tied for 98th after opening here with 4-over 75s, arriving there in different manners. Holland had four birdies and seven pars with six bogeys and a double, while Knight had two birdies and 11 pars, with four bogeys and a double. Knight did close strong, playing his last six at 1-under (one bird, five pars).
"It was definitely a disappointing day – we made too many mistakes," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "I've got to do a better job helping these guys out. We have played some really good rounds here in the last couple of years and two of those again would help us a bunch to have a good finish."
North Florida's Robbie Higgins is the individual leader after carding an 8-under 63, as he had eight birdies for his round. That's good for a one-shot lead over Georgia's Connor Creasy and Liberty's Brett Reid; Reid is the only player who recorded more birdies – nine – than Higgins on Thursday.
The second round is set for another shotgun at 12:20 p.m. MDT Friday, with Colorado to be paired with Wyoming, Gonzaga and CU-Northridge and will start off the 10th tee. The third and final round is scheduled Wednesday.
NOTES: This is the third time the Buffaloes are playing in this event, previously finishing second in 2021 (with a 32-under par score of 820) and tying for fourth last year (22-under 830) … In the first four fall tournaments, CU has shot a lower score in the second round than it posted in the first … Biwer's triple bogey on the 454-yard, par-4 10th hole was just his second of his college career (out of 1,566 holes, his only two holes worse than a double, and he has just 27 of those) … The average score for all 120 rounds on Thursday was 71.23; 55 players recorded subpar scores with another 11 matching par in the first round … The Buffs tied for 10th in birdies (19; Liberty leads with 30), and is tied for 16th in pars (49; Sacramento State topped all with 62) … Colorado is playing the par-5s the ninth-best (6-under) and the par-4s tied for the 13th-best (7-over) but is struggling on the par-3s (7-over, 19th) … With the fall season ending Wednesday, the Buffaloes will take exactly three months off from competition, resuming play in the Southwestern Intercollegiate in Westlake Village, Calif., on January 28.
Liberty, with four players in the top 13, turned in a sizzling 22-under par team score of 262 to grab the first round lead. No. 32 Georgia is second, four back with an 18-under 266 total, while San Jose State hold third with a 15-under 269 score. No. 17 East Tennessee State and No. 19 Oklahoma, the defending tournament champion, are tied for fourth with 12-under 272 scores.
The Buffaloes, as has been the case much of the fall, got off to a slow start, at one point in last place (20th) and at 6-over par. But six birdies and no bogeys by the four scorers on Nos. 6 and 7 in a three-hole span brought things back to 1-over par for a short time before ending the day with a 4-over 288.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson led the CU attack Wednesday with a 2-under 69, which has him tied for 27th. He tied for the team-high with five birdies to go with 10 pars and three of bogeys, along with playing the par-3 holes even on the 6,700-yard, par-71 Royal Ka'anapali Course at Ka'anapali Golf Club. The 69 was his second-best first round score in five tournaments this fall, and he played the par-4 holes at 1-under, the best by a Buffalo.
Junior Dylan McDermott turned in a 1-under 70, his low score for an opening round this fall, and is tied for 42nd. He had a team-high five birdies with nine pars and four bogeys, and stood at 2-over with four holes left. He went on to birdie three of his final four holes (Nos. 9, 10 and 11) to get into red numbers for the day. He birdied all three par-5s, which has him tied for playing them the best in the 120-man field, and his birdie on 454-yard, par-4 10th was just one of eight on the hole in the first round.
Junior Justin Biwer had some bad luck late, as he is tied for 91st with a 3-over 74. He opened with a double bogey and worked his way back to even with four holes to play. After two pars, he made just the second triple bogey of his career that vaulted him back to the unhappy side of par. He had three birdies and a team-high 12 pars and a bogey otherwise.
Junior Jack Holland and freshman Brandon Knight are tied for 98th after opening here with 4-over 75s, arriving there in different manners. Holland had four birdies and seven pars with six bogeys and a double, while Knight had two birdies and 11 pars, with four bogeys and a double. Knight did close strong, playing his last six at 1-under (one bird, five pars).
"It was definitely a disappointing day – we made too many mistakes," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "I've got to do a better job helping these guys out. We have played some really good rounds here in the last couple of years and two of those again would help us a bunch to have a good finish."
North Florida's Robbie Higgins is the individual leader after carding an 8-under 63, as he had eight birdies for his round. That's good for a one-shot lead over Georgia's Connor Creasy and Liberty's Brett Reid; Reid is the only player who recorded more birdies – nine – than Higgins on Thursday.
The second round is set for another shotgun at 12:20 p.m. MDT Friday, with Colorado to be paired with Wyoming, Gonzaga and CU-Northridge and will start off the 10th tee. The third and final round is scheduled Wednesday.
NOTES: This is the third time the Buffaloes are playing in this event, previously finishing second in 2021 (with a 32-under par score of 820) and tying for fourth last year (22-under 830) … In the first four fall tournaments, CU has shot a lower score in the second round than it posted in the first … Biwer's triple bogey on the 454-yard, par-4 10th hole was just his second of his college career (out of 1,566 holes, his only two holes worse than a double, and he has just 27 of those) … The average score for all 120 rounds on Thursday was 71.23; 55 players recorded subpar scores with another 11 matching par in the first round … The Buffs tied for 10th in birdies (19; Liberty leads with 30), and is tied for 16th in pars (49; Sacramento State topped all with 62) … Colorado is playing the par-5s the ninth-best (6-under) and the par-4s tied for the 13th-best (7-over) but is struggling on the par-3s (7-over, 19th) … With the fall season ending Wednesday, the Buffaloes will take exactly three months off from competition, resuming play in the Southwestern Intercollegiate in Westlake Village, Calif., on January 28.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | |||
| T27. | Hunter Swanson | 37-32—69 | |
| T42. | Dylan McDermott | 37-33—70 | |
| T91. | Justin Biwer | 35-39—74 | |
| T98. | Jack Holland | 38-37—75 | |
| T98. | Brandon Knight | 39-36—75 | |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Robbie Higgins, North Florida | 33-30—63 |
| T2. | Connor Creasy, Georgia | 33-31—64 |
| T2. | Brett Reid, Liberty | 33-31—64 |
| T2. | Ivan Barahona, San Jose State | 34-30—64 |
| T5. | Will King, Kansas | 33-32—65 |
| T5. | Josh Ryan, Liberty | 33-32—65 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Liberty | 262 |
| 2. | Georgia | 266 |
| 3. | San Jose State | 269 |
| T4. | East Tennessee State | 272 |
| T4. | Oklahoma | 272 |
| 6. | Hawai'i | 273 |
| T7. | North Florida | 276 |
| T7. | Sacramento State | 276 |
| 9. | Boise State | 277 |
| T10. | Connecticut | 280 |
| T10. | Louisiana | 280 |
| T10. | Kansas | 280 |
| 13. | Wyoming | 284 |
| 14. | Gonzaga | 285 |
| T15. | COLORADO | 288 |
| T15. | CSU-Northridge | 288 |
| T15. | Denver | 288 |
| T15. | Clemson | 288 |
| 19. | Mount St. Mary's | 290 |
| 20. | Air Force | 291 |
Players Mentioned
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