McDermott leads a talented group of Buffaloes into this week's NCAA Finals.
Photo by: Mike Rasay
Golfers In Final Preparations For NCAA Finals
May 23, 2023 | Men's Golf
Colorado Coming Off Third Place Finishes in Conference and Regional Action
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The University of Colorado men's golf team arrived here Tuesday afternoon to begin its final preparations for the NCAA Championship Finals that begin later this week.
The Buffaloes, now ranked 48th in the nation by GolfStat, are one of four schools from the Pac-12 Conference in the 30-team field, joined by No. 4 Arizona State, No. 6 Stanford and No. 19 Oregon. The Buffs finished behind Stanford and ASU in last month's Pac-12 Championship, and last week claimed third outright in the NCAA Central/Norman Regional, just five strokes out of the lead.
The format since 2009 will be four rounds of stroke play beginning this Friday, May 26; after three rounds, the top 15 teams and nine unaffiliated individuals will qualify for the fourth round Monday. At that point, the top eight teams after 72 holes advance to match play on Tuesday (May 30, quarterfinals and semifinals) and Wednesday (May 31, championship).
"The NCAA finals is the goal for every team, every year, so we're right where we've been working toward all year," said head coach Roy Edwards, who is completing his 17th season at the reins of the program. "At different times during the year we played really well, so for a young team that keeps gaining experience and believing in themselves, we certainly expected to play how we know we were capable of (the last two outings), and we expect even more.
"It's really a credit to the team to keep working and believing, and the result was they performed at their best when their best was needed. We look forward for that to continue," he continued. "We've beaten many of the best teams in the country, so overall, I've been pretty pleased with the year. We've had a lot of good finishes in tournaments and individually some strong moments. Everyone on our roster is capable of some really low numbers."
Edwards and associate coach Derek Tolan have brought the spring's familiar line-up to Arizona. The starting lineup will feature four sophomores, Justin Biwer, Tucker Clark, Jack Holland and Dylan McDermott and a true freshman, Hunter Swanson. Senior Jack Hughes will also be on trip at the substitute alternate, new to the NCAA's from six years ago. All competed in the Pac-12's at Stanford and the five scorers in almost every tournament this spring.
"We're actually a lot more experienced team than it shows on paper," Edwards said. "All now have NCAA experience and understand what it takes to play well and to score well, and their course management the last two tournaments has been exceptional. These six have comprised our team the entire spring and have been through the fire. Obviously, the NCAA finals is the biggest stage for anyone to play in college golf, but I believe all have the right mindset and they're excited to continue what we've started in the conference meet and to play well."
McDermott leads the team in stroke average with a 69.95 figure, which is also good for fourth in the Pac-12 and 17th in the nation, while Biwer is next at 70.81. But all six of the aforementioned Buffs have contributed in a big way to CU's two bronze finishes, including 67s from Clark, Holland and Hughes and Swanson's 6-under effort in the regional that led the Buffs, all of who finished par or better.
The event will take place at Grayhawk Golf Club, which was also the site of this year's women's NCAA Finals, completed on Wednesday. For the men's event, it will play at 7,289-yard with a par-70 configuration (just two par-5s). Edwards has played it a few times and is fairly familiar with it. The Buffs will tee off on No. 10 at 9:00 a.m. (MST) on Friday and off No. 1 at 2:20 p.m. Saturday; CU will be paired with Chattanooga and New Mexico both days.
"It's a really solid, challenging golf course, what you'd expect for the finals," he said. "It plays a lot different in the morning than in the afternoon, when it gets really firm and fast. Being patient off the tee is a must, and it's important to hit as many greens as possible. It's a rye grass Bermuda combo, so they will be firm, fast greens. The course sits on a kind of a down slope toward downtown Phoenix."
NOTES: Colorado was scheduled to play a practice round Wednesday at Desert Forest Golf Club in Scottsdale and were to be joined by alum Yannik Paul ('18), who is a fast-rising star on the DP World Tour (he's currently ranked 13th; Rory McIlroy is first) … Swanson teamed with longtime friend and fellow Colorado Mines freshman Maxwell Lange this past weekend in the USGA's Four Ball Championship in South Carolina; the pair tied for 27th in stroke play (9-under 133) and then won two matches over duos seeded fifth and 12th before falling 1-up to the 13th seed in the quarterfinals on Monday … Hughes graduated on May 11 with Business degrees in Real Estate and Marketing … Eight conferences make up the 2023 champions field: Southeastern (eight teams), Atlantic Coast (five), Pac-12 (four), Big 12 (four), West Coast (three), Mountain West (two) and Southern (two) … This will be the 16th NCAA Finals that CU will be participating in; just the second time in-state rival Colorado State is also in the same field (the other year was 1999; neither advanced into the final 15, but CU edged the Rams by one stroke in the 36 hole qualifier) … Colorado is 6-21-1 this season against 16 of the other 29 teams that qualified (23-62-2 in rounds head-to-head).
The Buffaloes, now ranked 48th in the nation by GolfStat, are one of four schools from the Pac-12 Conference in the 30-team field, joined by No. 4 Arizona State, No. 6 Stanford and No. 19 Oregon. The Buffs finished behind Stanford and ASU in last month's Pac-12 Championship, and last week claimed third outright in the NCAA Central/Norman Regional, just five strokes out of the lead.
The format since 2009 will be four rounds of stroke play beginning this Friday, May 26; after three rounds, the top 15 teams and nine unaffiliated individuals will qualify for the fourth round Monday. At that point, the top eight teams after 72 holes advance to match play on Tuesday (May 30, quarterfinals and semifinals) and Wednesday (May 31, championship).
"The NCAA finals is the goal for every team, every year, so we're right where we've been working toward all year," said head coach Roy Edwards, who is completing his 17th season at the reins of the program. "At different times during the year we played really well, so for a young team that keeps gaining experience and believing in themselves, we certainly expected to play how we know we were capable of (the last two outings), and we expect even more.
"It's really a credit to the team to keep working and believing, and the result was they performed at their best when their best was needed. We look forward for that to continue," he continued. "We've beaten many of the best teams in the country, so overall, I've been pretty pleased with the year. We've had a lot of good finishes in tournaments and individually some strong moments. Everyone on our roster is capable of some really low numbers."
Edwards and associate coach Derek Tolan have brought the spring's familiar line-up to Arizona. The starting lineup will feature four sophomores, Justin Biwer, Tucker Clark, Jack Holland and Dylan McDermott and a true freshman, Hunter Swanson. Senior Jack Hughes will also be on trip at the substitute alternate, new to the NCAA's from six years ago. All competed in the Pac-12's at Stanford and the five scorers in almost every tournament this spring.
"We're actually a lot more experienced team than it shows on paper," Edwards said. "All now have NCAA experience and understand what it takes to play well and to score well, and their course management the last two tournaments has been exceptional. These six have comprised our team the entire spring and have been through the fire. Obviously, the NCAA finals is the biggest stage for anyone to play in college golf, but I believe all have the right mindset and they're excited to continue what we've started in the conference meet and to play well."
McDermott leads the team in stroke average with a 69.95 figure, which is also good for fourth in the Pac-12 and 17th in the nation, while Biwer is next at 70.81. But all six of the aforementioned Buffs have contributed in a big way to CU's two bronze finishes, including 67s from Clark, Holland and Hughes and Swanson's 6-under effort in the regional that led the Buffs, all of who finished par or better.
The event will take place at Grayhawk Golf Club, which was also the site of this year's women's NCAA Finals, completed on Wednesday. For the men's event, it will play at 7,289-yard with a par-70 configuration (just two par-5s). Edwards has played it a few times and is fairly familiar with it. The Buffs will tee off on No. 10 at 9:00 a.m. (MST) on Friday and off No. 1 at 2:20 p.m. Saturday; CU will be paired with Chattanooga and New Mexico both days.
"It's a really solid, challenging golf course, what you'd expect for the finals," he said. "It plays a lot different in the morning than in the afternoon, when it gets really firm and fast. Being patient off the tee is a must, and it's important to hit as many greens as possible. It's a rye grass Bermuda combo, so they will be firm, fast greens. The course sits on a kind of a down slope toward downtown Phoenix."
NOTES: Colorado was scheduled to play a practice round Wednesday at Desert Forest Golf Club in Scottsdale and were to be joined by alum Yannik Paul ('18), who is a fast-rising star on the DP World Tour (he's currently ranked 13th; Rory McIlroy is first) … Swanson teamed with longtime friend and fellow Colorado Mines freshman Maxwell Lange this past weekend in the USGA's Four Ball Championship in South Carolina; the pair tied for 27th in stroke play (9-under 133) and then won two matches over duos seeded fifth and 12th before falling 1-up to the 13th seed in the quarterfinals on Monday … Hughes graduated on May 11 with Business degrees in Real Estate and Marketing … Eight conferences make up the 2023 champions field: Southeastern (eight teams), Atlantic Coast (five), Pac-12 (four), Big 12 (four), West Coast (three), Mountain West (two) and Southern (two) … This will be the 16th NCAA Finals that CU will be participating in; just the second time in-state rival Colorado State is also in the same field (the other year was 1999; neither advanced into the final 15, but CU edged the Rams by one stroke in the 36 hole qualifier) … Colorado is 6-21-1 this season against 16 of the other 29 teams that qualified (23-62-2 in rounds head-to-head).
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