Tuesday, May 16
Norman, Okla.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Second Round
Clark reacts after sinking a 65-foot birdie putt on No. 9 to finish with a 5-under 67.
Photo by: Brent DePaepe/CU Athletics
Golfers Move Into Tie For Third At NCAA Central/Norman Regional
May 16, 2023 | Men's Golf
Biwer, Swanson tied for 12th; Clark records low round in the field
NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Colorado men's golf team used a strong opening effort here Tuesday, enabling the Buffaloes jump from fifth place into a tie for third after the second round of the NCAA Central/Norman Regional.
CU recorded the fourth-best team score in the second round, a 7-under par 281, giving the Buffaloes a 36-hole total of 11-under par 565. Combined with Monday's 4-under 284, it marked the first time in 23 regional events by Colorado that the Buffs recorded two subpar team scores.
It's a logjam at the top, as just seven strokes separate the top six teams. But only the top five will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals in two weeks in Scottdale, Ariz., along with the highest finishing individual not on one of those schools. If there any ties, a playoff will follow the completion of Wednesday's final round.
No. 17 and third-seeded Alabama took over the lead after tying with two others in posting the best single round Tuesday, an 8-under 280, as the Crimson Tide have a team score of 15-under par 561. Host, second-seed and No. 9 Oklahoma started out hot, 9-under through six holes, but eventually finished the round with a 284 score and a 13-under 563 overall. No. 5 and top seed Texas Tech slipped from first into a tie with the No. 52 (and ninth-seed) Buffaloes at 11-under 565, while No. 44 North Florida creeped up a spot into fifth (566). Lurking in sixth place, two strokes out of the coveted fifth spot is No. 32 Duke (568).
The Buffaloes arguably got off to one of, if not their best starts to a tournament this season, as the five players scorers collectively scored 10 birdies on their first 32 holes before the first bogey was recorded. A little over a third of the way through, and starting on the back nine which proved to be the tougher side on Monday, CU was 10-under par and had climbed from fifth into second before temporarily cooling off a bit – six bogeys and one birdie on the next 10 holes. That dropped CU down to 4-under, but the Buffs rallied to finish in the other direction on the front nine.
Colorado recorded five more birdies – 18 – than it did on Monday, moving into the middle of the pack from the 10th spot, but for the second straight day did a great job of avoiding big numbers. CU had just 13 holes worse than par in the second round (all bogeys), with its 23 bogeys and 26 holes worse than par both tied for the third-fewest through 36 holes. Only CU, Mississippi and Wake Forest had no player record a hole higher than a bogey Tuesday.
"Another good, solid day," head coach Roy Edwards said. "The guys were just ready from the start of the round, hitting good shots and making good decisions."
Sophomore Justin Biwer and freshman Hunter Swanson are tied for 12th with 3-under 141 scorecards; Biwer fashioned a 1-under 71 and Swanson an even-par 72 Tuesday on the 7,452-yard, par-72 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club course layout. In the second trip around "The Jimmie," Biwer had three birdies and 13 pars with two bogeys, while Swanson had four birdies and 10 pars opposite four bogeys. Both opened with two birdies rather quickly; Biwer fell back to even by the turn on to No. 1, which he birdied, and then parred out.
Swanson also dropped back to even after No. 16, birdied Nos. 4 and 5 back-to-back to get back into the red before bogeying two of his last three coming in. His 141 total is the 36-hole best by a CU freshman in NCAA regional action; the previous best by 18 frosh before him as 145 by Biwer last year, on this same golf course.
Sophomore Tucker Clark improved 10 shots from his opening round in posting CU's low score of the day, a 5-under 67, that tied the low score in the second round among the 72-man field. In the process, he jumped from 63rd to a tie for 33rd in the standings with an even-par 144 total. He had six birdies, 11 pars and a bogey in bouncing back strong just as the coaches predicted he would; confident Clark would turn it around because he hit a lot of good shots despite a 77 Monday, he had closed the first round with two birdies on his last three holes and thus has played his last 21 at 7-under par. Tuesday, he opened with two birdies in his first four holes (Nos. 11 and 13), and polished off each nine with back-to-back birdies, capping the last one on No. 9 by drilling a 65-foot putt.
Sophomore Jack Holland is also tied for 33rd after he recorded a 1-under 71 for an even 144 score. He had four birdies and 11 pars opposite three bogeys in round two; he opened with three pars and then scored back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 and spent the rest of the round in the red. Unfortunately, two of those bogeys came in his last three holes. CU's No. 5 seed here, he's averaging well over three strokes better than the other fifth-spot players for the other 13 schools (147.5 for 36 holes).
Sophomore Dylan McDermott, CU's stroke average leader, has yet to catch fire here, but certainly hasn't played poorly. He turned in a 2-over 74 in the second round, giving him a 2-over 146 total that has him tied for 46th. He had a birdie and 14 pars against three bogeys on Tuesday, as the 74 ended a personal streak of 12 rounds of par or better, one shy of the school record he set last fall.
'Really spectacular round by Tucker," Edwards noted. "He had a great comeback from yesterday. Hunter, Justin, and Jack were all really good as well. Dylan had an uncharacteristic day but I'm excited for what he's going to bring tomorrow.
"This is basically the exact same experience we had in the Pac-12 Championship (when the Buffs tied for third and led briefly in the final round), so the team is ready."
Just three strokes separate the top five golfers (and six between first and 17th), Texas Tech's Ludvig Aberg assumed the lead overall with a 67-68—135 scorecard (9-under par). Next were Monday's co-leaders, Oklahoma's Drew Goodman, who holds down second, one back at 136, with Alabama's Nick Dunlap in third, two behind at 137.
The third and final round will be Wednesday; the Buffaloes are set to be paired once again with North Florida (now for all three rounds) and Duke for the second day in a row; they will tee off on No. 10 beginning at 7:30 a.m. mountain time. Live results on www.golfstat.com.
NOTES: No doubt every stroke will likely count Wednesday, as history shows the battle for the last qualifying spot to advance to the finals in regionals CU has been involved has been one stroke 12 times, after seven others involved ties and a subsequent playoff … CU's 7-under 281 team score tied for the fourth-best ever by the Buffaloes in 67 regional rounds since the format was created in 1989, bumping Monday's 284 into the sixth spot … The average score for all 150 rounds is 72.78; it was 72.21 on Tuesday, down from 73.35 for the first round, though there were just four more rounds in the 60s in round two (15 to 11) … Colorado is playing the par-4's the fourth-best at even-par, the par-3s at 7-over (still tied for eighth) and the par-5s at 11-under (fifth) … The Buffs have the third-lowest bogeys (23, Alabama and Oklahoma have 22), lead in pars (122, one more than Duke), and are tied for the seventh-most birdies (31, North Florida leads with 40) … The 17th hole has played the toughest here over the first two rounds (+0.42); the five Buffs played them at 3-over on Monday but even in the second round, topped only by LSU (1-under) … Clark's 10-shot improvement was the best in the field, with his jump of 30 spots in the standings tied for the most … Senior Jack Hughes is also here for the Buffaloes, as the sixth man allowed by the NCAA who can substitute in up to 10 minutes prior to a tee time in case of injury or illness … Late Monday at Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club in Fort Carson, CU alum Scott Petersen ('93) carded a 68 and then won the first playoff hole to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open next month in Stevens Point, Wis. – one of the players he defeated in the playoff was then-teammate Jonathan Kaye (also class of '93); Kaye is the first alternate; several other former Buffs competed and finished a few strokes out.
NOTES II: The Pac-12 placed eight teams in five different regionals this postseason; after two rounds, four are in the top five: including CU, Stanford and Arizona State switched spots but are still 1-2 in the Las Vegas regional, with Oregon third in the Bath (Michigan) regional. Elsewhere, Cal moved from 10th to sixth and Arizona from 12th into ninth in the Morgan Hill (Calif.) regional, while Washington remained in seventh and Oregon State 10th in their competitions.
CU recorded the fourth-best team score in the second round, a 7-under par 281, giving the Buffaloes a 36-hole total of 11-under par 565. Combined with Monday's 4-under 284, it marked the first time in 23 regional events by Colorado that the Buffs recorded two subpar team scores.
It's a logjam at the top, as just seven strokes separate the top six teams. But only the top five will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals in two weeks in Scottdale, Ariz., along with the highest finishing individual not on one of those schools. If there any ties, a playoff will follow the completion of Wednesday's final round.
No. 17 and third-seeded Alabama took over the lead after tying with two others in posting the best single round Tuesday, an 8-under 280, as the Crimson Tide have a team score of 15-under par 561. Host, second-seed and No. 9 Oklahoma started out hot, 9-under through six holes, but eventually finished the round with a 284 score and a 13-under 563 overall. No. 5 and top seed Texas Tech slipped from first into a tie with the No. 52 (and ninth-seed) Buffaloes at 11-under 565, while No. 44 North Florida creeped up a spot into fifth (566). Lurking in sixth place, two strokes out of the coveted fifth spot is No. 32 Duke (568).
The Buffaloes arguably got off to one of, if not their best starts to a tournament this season, as the five players scorers collectively scored 10 birdies on their first 32 holes before the first bogey was recorded. A little over a third of the way through, and starting on the back nine which proved to be the tougher side on Monday, CU was 10-under par and had climbed from fifth into second before temporarily cooling off a bit – six bogeys and one birdie on the next 10 holes. That dropped CU down to 4-under, but the Buffs rallied to finish in the other direction on the front nine.
Colorado recorded five more birdies – 18 – than it did on Monday, moving into the middle of the pack from the 10th spot, but for the second straight day did a great job of avoiding big numbers. CU had just 13 holes worse than par in the second round (all bogeys), with its 23 bogeys and 26 holes worse than par both tied for the third-fewest through 36 holes. Only CU, Mississippi and Wake Forest had no player record a hole higher than a bogey Tuesday.
"Another good, solid day," head coach Roy Edwards said. "The guys were just ready from the start of the round, hitting good shots and making good decisions."
Sophomore Justin Biwer and freshman Hunter Swanson are tied for 12th with 3-under 141 scorecards; Biwer fashioned a 1-under 71 and Swanson an even-par 72 Tuesday on the 7,452-yard, par-72 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club course layout. In the second trip around "The Jimmie," Biwer had three birdies and 13 pars with two bogeys, while Swanson had four birdies and 10 pars opposite four bogeys. Both opened with two birdies rather quickly; Biwer fell back to even by the turn on to No. 1, which he birdied, and then parred out.
Swanson also dropped back to even after No. 16, birdied Nos. 4 and 5 back-to-back to get back into the red before bogeying two of his last three coming in. His 141 total is the 36-hole best by a CU freshman in NCAA regional action; the previous best by 18 frosh before him as 145 by Biwer last year, on this same golf course.
Sophomore Tucker Clark improved 10 shots from his opening round in posting CU's low score of the day, a 5-under 67, that tied the low score in the second round among the 72-man field. In the process, he jumped from 63rd to a tie for 33rd in the standings with an even-par 144 total. He had six birdies, 11 pars and a bogey in bouncing back strong just as the coaches predicted he would; confident Clark would turn it around because he hit a lot of good shots despite a 77 Monday, he had closed the first round with two birdies on his last three holes and thus has played his last 21 at 7-under par. Tuesday, he opened with two birdies in his first four holes (Nos. 11 and 13), and polished off each nine with back-to-back birdies, capping the last one on No. 9 by drilling a 65-foot putt.
Sophomore Jack Holland is also tied for 33rd after he recorded a 1-under 71 for an even 144 score. He had four birdies and 11 pars opposite three bogeys in round two; he opened with three pars and then scored back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 and spent the rest of the round in the red. Unfortunately, two of those bogeys came in his last three holes. CU's No. 5 seed here, he's averaging well over three strokes better than the other fifth-spot players for the other 13 schools (147.5 for 36 holes).
Sophomore Dylan McDermott, CU's stroke average leader, has yet to catch fire here, but certainly hasn't played poorly. He turned in a 2-over 74 in the second round, giving him a 2-over 146 total that has him tied for 46th. He had a birdie and 14 pars against three bogeys on Tuesday, as the 74 ended a personal streak of 12 rounds of par or better, one shy of the school record he set last fall.
'Really spectacular round by Tucker," Edwards noted. "He had a great comeback from yesterday. Hunter, Justin, and Jack were all really good as well. Dylan had an uncharacteristic day but I'm excited for what he's going to bring tomorrow.
"This is basically the exact same experience we had in the Pac-12 Championship (when the Buffs tied for third and led briefly in the final round), so the team is ready."
Just three strokes separate the top five golfers (and six between first and 17th), Texas Tech's Ludvig Aberg assumed the lead overall with a 67-68—135 scorecard (9-under par). Next were Monday's co-leaders, Oklahoma's Drew Goodman, who holds down second, one back at 136, with Alabama's Nick Dunlap in third, two behind at 137.
The third and final round will be Wednesday; the Buffaloes are set to be paired once again with North Florida (now for all three rounds) and Duke for the second day in a row; they will tee off on No. 10 beginning at 7:30 a.m. mountain time. Live results on www.golfstat.com.
NOTES: No doubt every stroke will likely count Wednesday, as history shows the battle for the last qualifying spot to advance to the finals in regionals CU has been involved has been one stroke 12 times, after seven others involved ties and a subsequent playoff … CU's 7-under 281 team score tied for the fourth-best ever by the Buffaloes in 67 regional rounds since the format was created in 1989, bumping Monday's 284 into the sixth spot … The average score for all 150 rounds is 72.78; it was 72.21 on Tuesday, down from 73.35 for the first round, though there were just four more rounds in the 60s in round two (15 to 11) … Colorado is playing the par-4's the fourth-best at even-par, the par-3s at 7-over (still tied for eighth) and the par-5s at 11-under (fifth) … The Buffs have the third-lowest bogeys (23, Alabama and Oklahoma have 22), lead in pars (122, one more than Duke), and are tied for the seventh-most birdies (31, North Florida leads with 40) … The 17th hole has played the toughest here over the first two rounds (+0.42); the five Buffs played them at 3-over on Monday but even in the second round, topped only by LSU (1-under) … Clark's 10-shot improvement was the best in the field, with his jump of 30 spots in the standings tied for the most … Senior Jack Hughes is also here for the Buffaloes, as the sixth man allowed by the NCAA who can substitute in up to 10 minutes prior to a tee time in case of injury or illness … Late Monday at Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club in Fort Carson, CU alum Scott Petersen ('93) carded a 68 and then won the first playoff hole to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open next month in Stevens Point, Wis. – one of the players he defeated in the playoff was then-teammate Jonathan Kaye (also class of '93); Kaye is the first alternate; several other former Buffs competed and finished a few strokes out.
NOTES II: The Pac-12 placed eight teams in five different regionals this postseason; after two rounds, four are in the top five: including CU, Stanford and Arizona State switched spots but are still 1-2 in the Las Vegas regional, with Oregon third in the Bath (Michigan) regional. Elsewhere, Cal moved from 10th to sixth and Arizona from 12th into ninth in the Morgan Hill (Calif.) regional, while Washington remained in seventh and Oregon State 10th in their competitions.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | |||
| T12. | Hunter Swanson | 69-72—141 | |
| T12. | Justin Biwer | 70-71—141 | |
| T33. | Tucker Clark | 77-67—144 | |
| T33. | Jack Holland | 73-71—144 | |
| T46. | Dylan McDermott | 72-74—146 | |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Ludvig Aberg, Texas Tech | 67-68—135 |
| 2. | Drew Goodman, Oklahoma | 66-70—136 |
| 3. | Nick Dunlap, Alabama | 66-71—137 |
| T4. | Davis Lee, North Florida | 69-69—138 |
| T4. | Hugo Townsend, Mississippi | 69-69—138 |
| 6. | Will King, Kansas | 68-71—139 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Alabama | 281-280—561 |
| 2. | Oklahoma | 279-284—563 |
| 3. | COLORADO | 284-281—565 |
| 3. | Texas Tech | 278-287—565 |
| 5. | North Florida | 285-281—566 |
| 6. | Duke | 283-285—568 |
| 7. | Louisiana State | 292-280—572 |
| 8. | Mississippi | 293-280—573 |
| 9. | Wake Forest | 294-281—575 |
| 10. | Kansas | 288-289—577 |
| 11. | UNC-Wilmington | 296-282—578 |
| 12. | Louisiana | 297-290—587 |
| 13. | Princeton | 293-296—589 |
| 14. | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 313-307—620 |
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Join us for the 15th Annual Colorado Golf Day on August 25 at Boulder Country Club! ⛳
Tuesday, August 12
Buffalo Stampede WEEK 24
Tuesday, February 06
Buffalo Stampede Week 24 TUCKER CLARK
Tuesday, February 06
Afternoon Tee with Matt Thurmond
Monday, June 08