Colorado University Athletics
Super sophomores Dylan McDermott and Justin Biwer lead CU into the Pac-12 Championship.
Golfers Ready For Pac-12 Championships
April 27, 2023 | Men's Golf
Play Begins Friday in Palo Alto on Stanford campus.
PALO ALTO, Calif. — The 63nd Annual Pac-12 Conference men's golf championships, the 11th version with 12 schools, begins here Friday, with the Colorado Buffaloes looking to end a run of three straight second division finishes.
One of the youngest CU teams to ever compete in a conference championship, as the Buffaloes' six players here are comprised of one senior, four sophomores and a true freshman, yet the head coach Roy Edwards is confident the Buffs are ready to perform their best in the spring season.
"We're actually a lot more experienced team than it shows on paper," Edwards said. "Though just two have played in the Pac-12 championship before, almost all have experience on the Stanford course. Tucker has played in an ACC championship and an NCAA regional, Jack Holland and Jack Hughes have been through the fire and have been a key part of our competitions all year, so it won't be something new for them. And Hunter has as well, you're not really a freshman any more with 10 tournaments under your belt. So I do like the make-up of this team and they're excited to do well."
Edwards and assistant coach Derek Tolan are going with the six players who participated in all five spring competitions: sophomores Dylan McDermott (70.17 stroke average), Justin Biwer (70.93) and Tucker Clark (72.23), freshman Hunter Swanson (72.87), senior Jack Hughes (74.00) and sophomore Jack Holland (73.30).
CU's top two players the last two seasons are California natives and have done well in their home state in six tournaments over the last two seasons, Biwer owning a 71.17 stroke average and McDermott at 72.05. McDermott finished fourth in Stanford's The Goodwin last month (205, -5) held at Harding Park in San Francisco.
"Dylan and Justin are two very special players," Edwards said. "They will go down by the end of their careers as two of the best in CU history. A sophomore slump for either never entered my mind. I fully expected them to take it up a level, and both have done that."
Swanson is one of 19 freshmen competing here this weekend; slotted in team's No. 4 position, only five freshmen in the league are positioned higher in their team spots, with just one in the top spot (Utah's Brian Robinson, though he is down the line in stroke average among the frosh at 75.00). Swanson is ninth among league frosh in stroke norm. Seven teams have two frosh competing, the other five just one (CU, Oregon, Stanford, USC and Washington).
"Hunter's been great, he's played in all but one tournament as a scorer and as an individual in CSU's meet," Edwards said. "He's very steady. I'm waiting for him – and so is he – to have that breakout tournament, he's a terrific young player who's starting to really emerge."
It's the time in a conference championship that none of the top three players are an upperclassman, and the fifth time without one a senior.
"Overall, I've been pretty pleased with the year," Edwards said. "We've had a lot of good finishes in tournaments and individually some strong moments. Dylan has led the way, Justin has been really good; Tucker's come right in as a transfer and has played really well. Hunter has had a really nice freshman year and the 'Jacks' have had some good moments as well.
"We're excited to get to Stanford because this team can be really competitive this week and we expect to be. Everyone on our roster is capable of some really low numbers, and I feel like we're in a great spot to do that at Stanford."
The Pac-12 has long instituted a 6-for 5 scoring format for its title meet, obviously a reward for those schools with greater depth and a challenge for those without it. It's almost always the only time any of the schools see such a format annually. But Edwards has always prepared his team for such a setup.
"It's a little unique, but we spend all year playing guys as individuals, so everybody one through six in the lineup has had a lot of tournament experience," Edwards noted. "Everyone's played in the (designated scorer) lineup and if not as individuals. It's important for us to have built that depth through the year and I feel good with where we are at with it. So, we're definitely ready for the 6-for-5 format."
The teams will begin play Friday with 36 holes, followed by 18 each on Saturday and Sunday at Stanford Golf Club, located on the Cardinal campus that was designed nearly 100 years ago. It will play to a 6,727-yard, par-70 blueprint for the tournament (the course has five par-3s, three par-5s with 10 par-4s).
"It's a great college, on-campus golf course," Edwards said. "It has some great history in the game. You play well, you'll score well. If not, you won't. You have to control your ball, as the course will test your patience. They always do an amazing of hosting tournaments there, so we're all looking forward to the challenge the course presents.
"The Pac-12, the SEC and the Big 12 are all sort of in a big competition as to which is the best golf conference. I believe that the Pac-12 has the most depth, as every team is extremely competitive. If you win the Pac-12 Championship, you will be in the mix for the national championship."
Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
NOTES: Hughes will graduate on May 11, with a degree in Business (Real Estate and Marketing sequences) ... Colorado is currently ranked No. 57 by GolfStat and No. 71 by Golfweek; the Buffs high water mark has been No. 36 last September (GolfStat) ... Colorado is 7-8 versus Pac-12 schools this year, but holds the edge in rounds by 23-18-4; the Buffs have seen nine of the 11 Pac-12 opponents, lining up against all but the Arizona schools to date in 2022-23 ... CU is 119-50-4 against Division I competition (7-8 versus the Pac-12; 1-8 versus the current top 25, 15-30-2 vs. the current top 50 and 36-41-2 against the current top 100); the first criteria for selection into the NCAA Regionals owning a winning record against Division I opponents ... Washington is the defending champion ... Eight different schools having won the title over the last 18 events; Oregon State, Washington State and the two 2012 newcomers, CU and Utah, are the only ones without a Pac-12 crown ... Opening pairings are by a random draw (sans the defending champ, which opens in the first groups on No. 1); Colorado is paired with Arizona and Oregon and will tee off on No. 10 from 7:30-8:25 p.m. MDT (Round 1) and from 2:00-2:55 p.m. (Round 2) ... The Pac-12 Network is covering the event and will broadcast highlights after competition all three days, with a review at 8 p.m. MDT on May 1 ... The NCAA Championship selections will be announced live on the Golf Channel on Wednesday, May 3 beginning at 11:00 a.m. MDT (also streamed live on its website) ... Arizona State will host the 2024 Pac-12 Championship at Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree (north of Scottsdale) next April (dates TBA).
One of the youngest CU teams to ever compete in a conference championship, as the Buffaloes' six players here are comprised of one senior, four sophomores and a true freshman, yet the head coach Roy Edwards is confident the Buffs are ready to perform their best in the spring season.
"We're actually a lot more experienced team than it shows on paper," Edwards said. "Though just two have played in the Pac-12 championship before, almost all have experience on the Stanford course. Tucker has played in an ACC championship and an NCAA regional, Jack Holland and Jack Hughes have been through the fire and have been a key part of our competitions all year, so it won't be something new for them. And Hunter has as well, you're not really a freshman any more with 10 tournaments under your belt. So I do like the make-up of this team and they're excited to do well."
Edwards and assistant coach Derek Tolan are going with the six players who participated in all five spring competitions: sophomores Dylan McDermott (70.17 stroke average), Justin Biwer (70.93) and Tucker Clark (72.23), freshman Hunter Swanson (72.87), senior Jack Hughes (74.00) and sophomore Jack Holland (73.30).
CU's top two players the last two seasons are California natives and have done well in their home state in six tournaments over the last two seasons, Biwer owning a 71.17 stroke average and McDermott at 72.05. McDermott finished fourth in Stanford's The Goodwin last month (205, -5) held at Harding Park in San Francisco.
"Dylan and Justin are two very special players," Edwards said. "They will go down by the end of their careers as two of the best in CU history. A sophomore slump for either never entered my mind. I fully expected them to take it up a level, and both have done that."
Swanson is one of 19 freshmen competing here this weekend; slotted in team's No. 4 position, only five freshmen in the league are positioned higher in their team spots, with just one in the top spot (Utah's Brian Robinson, though he is down the line in stroke average among the frosh at 75.00). Swanson is ninth among league frosh in stroke norm. Seven teams have two frosh competing, the other five just one (CU, Oregon, Stanford, USC and Washington).
"Hunter's been great, he's played in all but one tournament as a scorer and as an individual in CSU's meet," Edwards said. "He's very steady. I'm waiting for him – and so is he – to have that breakout tournament, he's a terrific young player who's starting to really emerge."
It's the time in a conference championship that none of the top three players are an upperclassman, and the fifth time without one a senior.
"Overall, I've been pretty pleased with the year," Edwards said. "We've had a lot of good finishes in tournaments and individually some strong moments. Dylan has led the way, Justin has been really good; Tucker's come right in as a transfer and has played really well. Hunter has had a really nice freshman year and the 'Jacks' have had some good moments as well.
"We're excited to get to Stanford because this team can be really competitive this week and we expect to be. Everyone on our roster is capable of some really low numbers, and I feel like we're in a great spot to do that at Stanford."
The Pac-12 has long instituted a 6-for 5 scoring format for its title meet, obviously a reward for those schools with greater depth and a challenge for those without it. It's almost always the only time any of the schools see such a format annually. But Edwards has always prepared his team for such a setup.
"It's a little unique, but we spend all year playing guys as individuals, so everybody one through six in the lineup has had a lot of tournament experience," Edwards noted. "Everyone's played in the (designated scorer) lineup and if not as individuals. It's important for us to have built that depth through the year and I feel good with where we are at with it. So, we're definitely ready for the 6-for-5 format."
The teams will begin play Friday with 36 holes, followed by 18 each on Saturday and Sunday at Stanford Golf Club, located on the Cardinal campus that was designed nearly 100 years ago. It will play to a 6,727-yard, par-70 blueprint for the tournament (the course has five par-3s, three par-5s with 10 par-4s).
"It's a great college, on-campus golf course," Edwards said. "It has some great history in the game. You play well, you'll score well. If not, you won't. You have to control your ball, as the course will test your patience. They always do an amazing of hosting tournaments there, so we're all looking forward to the challenge the course presents.
"The Pac-12, the SEC and the Big 12 are all sort of in a big competition as to which is the best golf conference. I believe that the Pac-12 has the most depth, as every team is extremely competitive. If you win the Pac-12 Championship, you will be in the mix for the national championship."
Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
NOTES: Hughes will graduate on May 11, with a degree in Business (Real Estate and Marketing sequences) ... Colorado is currently ranked No. 57 by GolfStat and No. 71 by Golfweek; the Buffs high water mark has been No. 36 last September (GolfStat) ... Colorado is 7-8 versus Pac-12 schools this year, but holds the edge in rounds by 23-18-4; the Buffs have seen nine of the 11 Pac-12 opponents, lining up against all but the Arizona schools to date in 2022-23 ... CU is 119-50-4 against Division I competition (7-8 versus the Pac-12; 1-8 versus the current top 25, 15-30-2 vs. the current top 50 and 36-41-2 against the current top 100); the first criteria for selection into the NCAA Regionals owning a winning record against Division I opponents ... Washington is the defending champion ... Eight different schools having won the title over the last 18 events; Oregon State, Washington State and the two 2012 newcomers, CU and Utah, are the only ones without a Pac-12 crown ... Opening pairings are by a random draw (sans the defending champ, which opens in the first groups on No. 1); Colorado is paired with Arizona and Oregon and will tee off on No. 10 from 7:30-8:25 p.m. MDT (Round 1) and from 2:00-2:55 p.m. (Round 2) ... The Pac-12 Network is covering the event and will broadcast highlights after competition all three days, with a review at 8 p.m. MDT on May 1 ... The NCAA Championship selections will be announced live on the Golf Channel on Wednesday, May 3 beginning at 11:00 a.m. MDT (also streamed live on its website) ... Arizona State will host the 2024 Pac-12 Championship at Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree (north of Scottsdale) next April (dates TBA).
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