Friday, April 28
Palo Alto, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
First Two Rounds
Jack Holland lines up a putt in the first round Friday at the Pac-12 Championship.
Photo by: Mike Rasay
Golfers Open In Second At Pac-12 Championship
April 28, 2023 | Men's Golf
Record Round Propels CU; All Six Buffs In Top 28
PALO ALTO, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team enjoyed a record day here Friday and as a result, the Buffaloes find themselves in second place at the midway point of the 63rd annual Pac-12 Championship.
Colorado, ranked No. 57, had six scores in the 60s and four others with even-par 70s en route to a 20-under par team score of 680. The only two scores the Buffs didn't have to count were just a 1-over 71 and a 2-over 72, easily the lowest scores CU had to throw out in the 11 years CU has been in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Buffaloes were tied for fourth after the morning round after recording a 6-under par 344 score on the 6,727-yard, par-70 Stanford Golf Club course track. After a slow start on the back nine that saw CU 4-over par three holes in, the birdies starting to come, 12 on each side. Colorado had just one score worse than bogey out of the 108, topped only by none by Washington and matched by no one else; there were 49 doubles or worse in the opening round. The 6-under round on a par-70 course tied for the fifth-best by a CU team in its history, but would be bumped to sixth just hours later.
The pin placements were changed between rounds, but only the Buffaloes appeared to take the most advantage of them, whether they were easier or tougher; CU turned in a 14-under 336 score for the second round, six strokes better than any of its previous 40 rounds in Pac-12 championship play. It was the best-ever in relation to par on a par-70 course, topping a 10-under in the first round of the 2012 Wyoming Cowboy Classic and was the 10th-best on a course of any configuration.
No. 4 Arizona State emerged as the first day leader with a team score of 24-under 676; the Buffs actually pulled even for a few minutes late in the day with the Sun Devils, who teed off an hour after the Buffs. No. 37 Washington is in third with a 13-under 686 score, followed by No. 22 Oregon (687) and No. 9 and host Stanford (691); the Cardinal had the next best second round total of 341.
"Obviously, a very good day and start to the tournament," head coach Roy Edwards said. "I was really proud of the effort during a very long day. The guys had a great practice round yesterday, and they executed their plan. It's absolutely where we expect to be."
Of course, one day a tournament does not make; the Buffaloes are currently ahead of five teams ranked in the nation's top 50, three of whom are in the top 22. Saturdays in golf tournaments are commonly known as moving days when good players and teams often make their charge and Edwards echoed that thought in his comments.
"Again, it is just the start, which was a great one, and we are looking forward to competing tomorrow," he said. "Some of the nation's best – and deepest – teams are competing here, so we'll need to keep our focus."
All six CU golfers at present are in the top 28 in the standings; next best was No. 18 Arizona who had all six of its players in the top 47.
Sophomore Dylan McDermott continued his season-long hot play with a pair of 66's for an 8-under 132 that has him in third place entering the weekend. He had a team-high 12 birdies with 20 pars against four bogeys, as he closed each round with three birdies on his last five holes (Nos. 5 through 9). McDermott's 36-hole total of 132 is the best-ever by a Buff in a conference championship, as he bested the previous mark of 135 (67-68) by Jeremy Paul in the 2016 Pac-12's.
McDermott played the par-4's the best in the 72-man field at 8-under (three better than anyone else), and tied for second with the 12 birdies.
Sophomore Justin Biwer is tied for 11th after logging a 4-under 70-66—136 scorecard. He had nine birdies and 22 pars against five bogeys to begin here; he had trouble closing both rounds, with four of his bogeys coming on the last three holes (Nos. 7 to 9). He was perfect in the second round with six birdies and 10 pars before the last two holes, but his 66 was still his season-best gross score. He also played the par-4's well, fourth-best at 3-under.
This was just the seventh time in CU golf history that the Buffs had two scores of 66 (or lower) count toward the team score, the first time in a conference meet but the second time on this course. Daniel O'Loughlin and Trevor Olkowski both had 66s in Stanford's "The Goodwin" in 2018.
Freshman Hunter Swanson fashioned a 70-67—137 performance to open his first college championship tourney, tying him for 16th at the halfway mark. The afternoon 67 matched his collegiate best as he recorded six birdies the second time around the course. He had nine birdies and 23 pars with two bogeys and two doubles. One of the double bogeys came on his fourth hole of the day (No. 13), but he rebounded quickly with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16; the other came on No. 18 in round two and he responded by shooting a 31 on the front side. Of the 19 freshmen competing here, his score tied for the third best Friday.
Swanson also matched the low score by a freshman in a conference championship in CU history, as Biwer set the record last year with a third round 67 in Sammamish, Wash. He played the par-3's fourth-best at 2-under Friday.
Sophomore Jack Hughes is tied for 25th after he turned in a 1-under 72-67—139 score; he had nine birdies and 19 pars with eight bogeys on his day. He was 4-over through 11 holes to start the day, closed the morning with two birdies in his final seven and then recorded his best single round of the season with the 3-under 67. It was also his best second round of any tournament this year, as he had been averaging nearly 76 strokes in six previous events.
Sophomore Jack Holland is also tied for 25th after a 1-under 68-71—139 effort; he recorded six birdies and 26 pars opposite three bogeys and a double. He started 2-over after five holes in the morning and then 3-over after four in the afternoon, otherwise was 6-under for his other 27 holes. Slotted in the No. 6 position for the Buffs, his morning 68 was the best by all the team's six seeds here, with his 139 the second-best, one back of Oregon State's sixth-man, Collin Hodginson.
His 26 pars are tied for fourth.
Sophomore Tucker Clark carded a pair of even-par 70s for a 140 total, doing so in identical fashion with four birdies, 10 pars and four bogeys in each round; he's tied for 28th. He had the same score in both rounds on just four holes (Nos. 4, 10, 15 and 18), otherwise different scores on the other 14.
Arizona State's Preston Summerhays and Stanford's Michael Thorbjornsen are tied for the individual lead with 11-under par 129 totals through 36 holes. Twenty-seven players are under par and another six stand even at the halfway mark.
Third round play is set for Saturday; Colorado will be paired with Arizona State and Washington and will begin play off the No. 1 tee at 12:12 p.m. MDT. The fourth and final round is Sunday.
NOTES: After competing much of the spring in cold temperatures with precipitation and windy at times, Friday was a perfect 75 degree day … CU's previous best scores in the Pac-12's came in the 2018 event at Rancho Palos Verdes, a pair of 8-under 347's scored in the third and final rounds … The 10-under in the 2012 Wyoming event was a 270; the best 6-for-5 score were four 8-unders including the two aforementioned Pac-12s … The 66's by McDermott and Biwer tied Matt Call for the second-best gross score in a conference meet; Call had a 4-under 66 in the '99 Big 12 Championship in Hutchinson, Kan.. The only lower score was a 65 in the fourth round of the 2021 Pac-12s by Victor Bjorlow … This marked the eighth time in school history the Buffs had four players score in the 60s in the same round … McDermott's two rounds in the 60s gave him 18 for the season, tying the school mark set by Jeremy Paul in 2015-16; he also has nine straight rounds of par or better after setting the school mark of 13 last fall … McDermott also now has 22 subpar rounds, two shy of the school-best … When Paul set the 36-hole record score of 135, at the time he broke 48-year old record held by Bill Musselman he had set in the '68 Big Eight's … Arizona State's Luke Potter had the low score by a freshman through 36 holes (67-67—134) … The average score for all 144 rounds Friday was 70.56: 70.86 for the morning round and 70.26 for the afternoon 18 … Colorado played the par-3s at 2-over (fourth in the field), the par-4s at 2-under (the best, Oregon was next at 5-over) and the par-5s at 17-under (fifth) … The Buffs led the field in birdies with 53 (Oregon and Washington are next with 49) and were tied for sixth in pars (130; UW leads with 139).
Colorado, ranked No. 57, had six scores in the 60s and four others with even-par 70s en route to a 20-under par team score of 680. The only two scores the Buffs didn't have to count were just a 1-over 71 and a 2-over 72, easily the lowest scores CU had to throw out in the 11 years CU has been in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Buffaloes were tied for fourth after the morning round after recording a 6-under par 344 score on the 6,727-yard, par-70 Stanford Golf Club course track. After a slow start on the back nine that saw CU 4-over par three holes in, the birdies starting to come, 12 on each side. Colorado had just one score worse than bogey out of the 108, topped only by none by Washington and matched by no one else; there were 49 doubles or worse in the opening round. The 6-under round on a par-70 course tied for the fifth-best by a CU team in its history, but would be bumped to sixth just hours later.
The pin placements were changed between rounds, but only the Buffaloes appeared to take the most advantage of them, whether they were easier or tougher; CU turned in a 14-under 336 score for the second round, six strokes better than any of its previous 40 rounds in Pac-12 championship play. It was the best-ever in relation to par on a par-70 course, topping a 10-under in the first round of the 2012 Wyoming Cowboy Classic and was the 10th-best on a course of any configuration.
No. 4 Arizona State emerged as the first day leader with a team score of 24-under 676; the Buffs actually pulled even for a few minutes late in the day with the Sun Devils, who teed off an hour after the Buffs. No. 37 Washington is in third with a 13-under 686 score, followed by No. 22 Oregon (687) and No. 9 and host Stanford (691); the Cardinal had the next best second round total of 341.
"Obviously, a very good day and start to the tournament," head coach Roy Edwards said. "I was really proud of the effort during a very long day. The guys had a great practice round yesterday, and they executed their plan. It's absolutely where we expect to be."
Of course, one day a tournament does not make; the Buffaloes are currently ahead of five teams ranked in the nation's top 50, three of whom are in the top 22. Saturdays in golf tournaments are commonly known as moving days when good players and teams often make their charge and Edwards echoed that thought in his comments.
"Again, it is just the start, which was a great one, and we are looking forward to competing tomorrow," he said. "Some of the nation's best – and deepest – teams are competing here, so we'll need to keep our focus."
All six CU golfers at present are in the top 28 in the standings; next best was No. 18 Arizona who had all six of its players in the top 47.
Sophomore Dylan McDermott continued his season-long hot play with a pair of 66's for an 8-under 132 that has him in third place entering the weekend. He had a team-high 12 birdies with 20 pars against four bogeys, as he closed each round with three birdies on his last five holes (Nos. 5 through 9). McDermott's 36-hole total of 132 is the best-ever by a Buff in a conference championship, as he bested the previous mark of 135 (67-68) by Jeremy Paul in the 2016 Pac-12's.
McDermott played the par-4's the best in the 72-man field at 8-under (three better than anyone else), and tied for second with the 12 birdies.
Sophomore Justin Biwer is tied for 11th after logging a 4-under 70-66—136 scorecard. He had nine birdies and 22 pars against five bogeys to begin here; he had trouble closing both rounds, with four of his bogeys coming on the last three holes (Nos. 7 to 9). He was perfect in the second round with six birdies and 10 pars before the last two holes, but his 66 was still his season-best gross score. He also played the par-4's well, fourth-best at 3-under.
This was just the seventh time in CU golf history that the Buffs had two scores of 66 (or lower) count toward the team score, the first time in a conference meet but the second time on this course. Daniel O'Loughlin and Trevor Olkowski both had 66s in Stanford's "The Goodwin" in 2018.
Freshman Hunter Swanson fashioned a 70-67—137 performance to open his first college championship tourney, tying him for 16th at the halfway mark. The afternoon 67 matched his collegiate best as he recorded six birdies the second time around the course. He had nine birdies and 23 pars with two bogeys and two doubles. One of the double bogeys came on his fourth hole of the day (No. 13), but he rebounded quickly with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16; the other came on No. 18 in round two and he responded by shooting a 31 on the front side. Of the 19 freshmen competing here, his score tied for the third best Friday.
Swanson also matched the low score by a freshman in a conference championship in CU history, as Biwer set the record last year with a third round 67 in Sammamish, Wash. He played the par-3's fourth-best at 2-under Friday.
Sophomore Jack Hughes is tied for 25th after he turned in a 1-under 72-67—139 score; he had nine birdies and 19 pars with eight bogeys on his day. He was 4-over through 11 holes to start the day, closed the morning with two birdies in his final seven and then recorded his best single round of the season with the 3-under 67. It was also his best second round of any tournament this year, as he had been averaging nearly 76 strokes in six previous events.
Sophomore Jack Holland is also tied for 25th after a 1-under 68-71—139 effort; he recorded six birdies and 26 pars opposite three bogeys and a double. He started 2-over after five holes in the morning and then 3-over after four in the afternoon, otherwise was 6-under for his other 27 holes. Slotted in the No. 6 position for the Buffs, his morning 68 was the best by all the team's six seeds here, with his 139 the second-best, one back of Oregon State's sixth-man, Collin Hodginson.
His 26 pars are tied for fourth.
Sophomore Tucker Clark carded a pair of even-par 70s for a 140 total, doing so in identical fashion with four birdies, 10 pars and four bogeys in each round; he's tied for 28th. He had the same score in both rounds on just four holes (Nos. 4, 10, 15 and 18), otherwise different scores on the other 14.
Arizona State's Preston Summerhays and Stanford's Michael Thorbjornsen are tied for the individual lead with 11-under par 129 totals through 36 holes. Twenty-seven players are under par and another six stand even at the halfway mark.
Third round play is set for Saturday; Colorado will be paired with Arizona State and Washington and will begin play off the No. 1 tee at 12:12 p.m. MDT. The fourth and final round is Sunday.
NOTES: After competing much of the spring in cold temperatures with precipitation and windy at times, Friday was a perfect 75 degree day … CU's previous best scores in the Pac-12's came in the 2018 event at Rancho Palos Verdes, a pair of 8-under 347's scored in the third and final rounds … The 10-under in the 2012 Wyoming event was a 270; the best 6-for-5 score were four 8-unders including the two aforementioned Pac-12s … The 66's by McDermott and Biwer tied Matt Call for the second-best gross score in a conference meet; Call had a 4-under 66 in the '99 Big 12 Championship in Hutchinson, Kan.. The only lower score was a 65 in the fourth round of the 2021 Pac-12s by Victor Bjorlow … This marked the eighth time in school history the Buffs had four players score in the 60s in the same round … McDermott's two rounds in the 60s gave him 18 for the season, tying the school mark set by Jeremy Paul in 2015-16; he also has nine straight rounds of par or better after setting the school mark of 13 last fall … McDermott also now has 22 subpar rounds, two shy of the school-best … When Paul set the 36-hole record score of 135, at the time he broke 48-year old record held by Bill Musselman he had set in the '68 Big Eight's … Arizona State's Luke Potter had the low score by a freshman through 36 holes (67-67—134) … The average score for all 144 rounds Friday was 70.56: 70.86 for the morning round and 70.26 for the afternoon 18 … Colorado played the par-3s at 2-over (fourth in the field), the par-4s at 2-under (the best, Oregon was next at 5-over) and the par-5s at 17-under (fifth) … The Buffs led the field in birdies with 53 (Oregon and Washington are next with 49) and were tied for sixth in pars (130; UW leads with 139).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | ||
| 3. | Dylan McDermott | 66-66—132 |
| T11. | Justin Biwer | 70-66—136 |
| T16. | Hunter Swanson | 70-67—137 |
| T25. | Jack Holland | 68-71—139 |
| T25. | Jack Hughes | 72-67—139 |
| T28. | Tucker Clark | 70-70—140 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Preston Summerhays, Arizona State | 64-65—129 |
| 2. | Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford | 63-66—129 |
| 3. | Dylan McDermott, Colorado | 66-66—132 |
| T4. | Taehoon Song, Washington | 68-66—134 |
| T4. | Luke Potter, Arizona State | 67-67—134 |
| T4. | Pono Yanagi, Washington State | 68-66—135 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Arizona State | 331-345—676 |
| 2. | COLORADO | 344-336—680 |
| 3. | Washington | 343-343—686 |
| 4. | Oregon | 342-345—687 |
| 5. | Stanford | 350-341—691 |
| 6. | Washington State | 344-349—693 |
| 7. | Arizona | 352-349—701 |
| 8. | California | 351-353—704 |
| 9. | Utah | 361-348—709 |
| 10. | Southern California | 356-354—710 |
| 11. | Oregon State | 351-362—713 |
| 12. | UCLA | 366-348—714 |
Players Mentioned
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