Colorado University Athletics
McDermott caught fire on the last nine holes and pulled away for a four stroke win.
Photo by: Lexi Hartmann
McDermott Earns Return Trip To U.S. Amateur
July 10, 2023 | Men's Golf
Scores Eight Birdies Over Last 22 Holes To Earn Medalist Honors
GRANITE BAY, Calif. — University of Colorado sophomore Dylan McDermott has advanced to the U.S. Amateur for the second year in row, as he earned medalist honors in the final qualifying stage for the event here Monday with a 71-64—135 scorecard.
McDermott, who entered the week as the 163rd ranked amateur in the world, was tied for 11th after opening with an even-par 71 in the morning on the 6,889-yard Granite Bay Golf Club; though McDermott hails from Granite Bay, this wasn't his home course as he plays out of Winchester Country Club. He started with a par on No. 1, but scored a double bogey on No. 2; he got one stroke back by birdying N. 4 and then parred out on the front side; on the back nine, he scored three birdies against two bogeys, his last bird coming on No. 17 to get back to even for the first 18. He was five off the lead at that point.
He caught fire the second time around the GBGC track, firing a sizzling 7-under 64 starting on No. 10 and making birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 to rise into a tie for third. McDermott then opened up front side with birdies on Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to assume the lead and then split from the pack with two more birds on Nos. 6 and 7. He led all players with 11 birdies while recording 22 pars with just three holes worse than par; he also played the par-4 holes the best at 4-under. His 7-under 135 scorecard in the end earned him first place and a four-stroke win over three players at 3-under 139. Only nine players finished under par and none at even in the 74-man field.
The 7-under, bogey free round matched his best effort in competition related to par almost three years to the day, as he had 7-under 65 in the July 2020 AJGA Dana Incorporated Open in Sylvania, Ohio. The 64 is his low gross score, as he has two 65's as a collegian (both 5-under efforts) along with the Sylvania effort.
The top two finishers here Monday advanced, with two others in alternate positions. On qualifying a second consecutive year, he felt he really earned it this year.
"It's really awesome," McDermott said. "I have to admit that last year, I didn't quite feel like I fully deserved it, the guy I was playing didn't finish strong and I wasn't playing my best. Today, things really came together after that early double. I didn't feel any pressure at that point, because I knew that I definitely had what it took to make it, I just needed to be patient. My swing coach (and his caddy, Phil Dawson) told me to be patient and the putts would start falling. This was a really good way to cap my sophomore year."
Now he gets to participate in the U.S. Amateur in the state he calls home for his collegiate career, August 14-20 at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club.
I'm very excited for that he said, and the fact that I get to stay in my own apartment is really appealing to me," he mused. "The course here was literally next to my house and I grew up on it – it was my home course for about 10-12 years, so it was cool to play here, even though there was a complete renovation. But it felt like home even though I haven't been a member here for four years, I wouldn't have wanted to do it anywhere else."
Last summer, he finished second in qualifying at Rancho Murietta (Calif.) CC with a 68-71—139 (-5) before tying for 151st (74-78—152, +11) and missing the cut for match play in Paramus, N.J.
A first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and PING All-West Region member who earned honorable mention All-American honors this past season, he had one of the most prolific years in CU golf history. He set 10 school records and led the team in a record-breaking 36 statistical categories (*—indicates school record): rounds (41), *stroke average (70.12), stroke count in relation to par (minus-37), spring average (70.48), *fall average (69.67), team top finisher (9), wins (1), top five finishes (5), top 10 finishes (8), top 20 finishes (9), rounds in the 60s (20), subpar rounds (25), low 36-hole score (132), *low 54-hole score (199), eagles (4), birdies (149), pars (475), subpar hole percentage (20.7), par or better hole percentage (85.1), jumbo percentage (.244), consecutive holes of par or better (30), bogey-free rounds (1), fewest holes worse than par, tournament (4), *rounds with fewest holes worse than bogey (35), first round average (70.46), middle round average (70.40), final round average (69.46), par-4 scoring (1-over), par-5 scoring (57-under), *most consecutive rounds under par (10), *most consecutive rounds of par or better (13), *most tournaments under par (10), *most consecutive tournaments under par (7), *most tournaments of par or better (11), *most consecutive tournaments of par or better (7) and wins/winning percentage (1,064, .830).
McDermott is the eighth-known Buffalo to qualify for the championship portion of U.S. Amateur, dating back to 1967 when Jim English tied for 38th in the event, which was in an eight-year period as a stroke play competition. Bill Musselman competed in the same format in 1972 (tying for 33rd), and since 1973 when the Amateur returned to a stroke play qualifier and then a 64-man match play, five Buffs have qualified: Steve Jones (1980), Matt Potter (1988), Scott Petersen (1992), David Oraee (2015) and McDermott's teammate Justin Biwer (2022). Potter, Oraee and Biwer all won two matches, reaching the round of 16 before being eliminated.
He will be one of 312 golfers competing next month in the 123rd U.S. Amateur, which has returned to Colorado for the first time since 2012 and for the fifth time overall. Two days of stroke play will take place August 14-15 at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club, with five days of match play commencing Aug. 16 leading up to a 36-hole championship match at Cherry Hills on Sunday, Aug. 20. Cherry Hills also hosted the event in 1990 and 2012, with the Broadmoor doing so the first two occasions in 1959 and 1967.
McDermott, who entered the week as the 163rd ranked amateur in the world, was tied for 11th after opening with an even-par 71 in the morning on the 6,889-yard Granite Bay Golf Club; though McDermott hails from Granite Bay, this wasn't his home course as he plays out of Winchester Country Club. He started with a par on No. 1, but scored a double bogey on No. 2; he got one stroke back by birdying N. 4 and then parred out on the front side; on the back nine, he scored three birdies against two bogeys, his last bird coming on No. 17 to get back to even for the first 18. He was five off the lead at that point.
He caught fire the second time around the GBGC track, firing a sizzling 7-under 64 starting on No. 10 and making birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 to rise into a tie for third. McDermott then opened up front side with birdies on Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to assume the lead and then split from the pack with two more birds on Nos. 6 and 7. He led all players with 11 birdies while recording 22 pars with just three holes worse than par; he also played the par-4 holes the best at 4-under. His 7-under 135 scorecard in the end earned him first place and a four-stroke win over three players at 3-under 139. Only nine players finished under par and none at even in the 74-man field.
The 7-under, bogey free round matched his best effort in competition related to par almost three years to the day, as he had 7-under 65 in the July 2020 AJGA Dana Incorporated Open in Sylvania, Ohio. The 64 is his low gross score, as he has two 65's as a collegian (both 5-under efforts) along with the Sylvania effort.
The top two finishers here Monday advanced, with two others in alternate positions. On qualifying a second consecutive year, he felt he really earned it this year.
"It's really awesome," McDermott said. "I have to admit that last year, I didn't quite feel like I fully deserved it, the guy I was playing didn't finish strong and I wasn't playing my best. Today, things really came together after that early double. I didn't feel any pressure at that point, because I knew that I definitely had what it took to make it, I just needed to be patient. My swing coach (and his caddy, Phil Dawson) told me to be patient and the putts would start falling. This was a really good way to cap my sophomore year."
Now he gets to participate in the U.S. Amateur in the state he calls home for his collegiate career, August 14-20 at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club.
I'm very excited for that he said, and the fact that I get to stay in my own apartment is really appealing to me," he mused. "The course here was literally next to my house and I grew up on it – it was my home course for about 10-12 years, so it was cool to play here, even though there was a complete renovation. But it felt like home even though I haven't been a member here for four years, I wouldn't have wanted to do it anywhere else."
Last summer, he finished second in qualifying at Rancho Murietta (Calif.) CC with a 68-71—139 (-5) before tying for 151st (74-78—152, +11) and missing the cut for match play in Paramus, N.J.
A first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and PING All-West Region member who earned honorable mention All-American honors this past season, he had one of the most prolific years in CU golf history. He set 10 school records and led the team in a record-breaking 36 statistical categories (*—indicates school record): rounds (41), *stroke average (70.12), stroke count in relation to par (minus-37), spring average (70.48), *fall average (69.67), team top finisher (9), wins (1), top five finishes (5), top 10 finishes (8), top 20 finishes (9), rounds in the 60s (20), subpar rounds (25), low 36-hole score (132), *low 54-hole score (199), eagles (4), birdies (149), pars (475), subpar hole percentage (20.7), par or better hole percentage (85.1), jumbo percentage (.244), consecutive holes of par or better (30), bogey-free rounds (1), fewest holes worse than par, tournament (4), *rounds with fewest holes worse than bogey (35), first round average (70.46), middle round average (70.40), final round average (69.46), par-4 scoring (1-over), par-5 scoring (57-under), *most consecutive rounds under par (10), *most consecutive rounds of par or better (13), *most tournaments under par (10), *most consecutive tournaments under par (7), *most tournaments of par or better (11), *most consecutive tournaments of par or better (7) and wins/winning percentage (1,064, .830).
McDermott is the eighth-known Buffalo to qualify for the championship portion of U.S. Amateur, dating back to 1967 when Jim English tied for 38th in the event, which was in an eight-year period as a stroke play competition. Bill Musselman competed in the same format in 1972 (tying for 33rd), and since 1973 when the Amateur returned to a stroke play qualifier and then a 64-man match play, five Buffs have qualified: Steve Jones (1980), Matt Potter (1988), Scott Petersen (1992), David Oraee (2015) and McDermott's teammate Justin Biwer (2022). Potter, Oraee and Biwer all won two matches, reaching the round of 16 before being eliminated.
He will be one of 312 golfers competing next month in the 123rd U.S. Amateur, which has returned to Colorado for the first time since 2012 and for the fifth time overall. Two days of stroke play will take place August 14-15 at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club, with five days of match play commencing Aug. 16 leading up to a 36-hole championship match at Cherry Hills on Sunday, Aug. 20. Cherry Hills also hosted the event in 1990 and 2012, with the Broadmoor doing so the first two occasions in 1959 and 1967.
Players Mentioned
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