Friday, September 8
Scottsdale, Ariz.
All Day
Colorado
vs
First Round
Justin Biwer opened his junior season with his team-best 41st subpar round (22nd in the 60s)
Photo by: Mike Rasay
Golfers Open Season Tied For Eighth In Mirabel Maui Jim Intercollegiate
September 08, 2023 | Men's Golf
Biwer, Knight Have Historic Rounds
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The University of Colorado men's golf team opened its 2023-24 season here Friday by opening in a tie for eighth place in the Mirabel Maui Jim Intercollegiate.
Auburn, ranked No. 6 in the preseason Bushnell/GCAA Coaches poll, played like its ranking, taking the first round lead with a 24-under par 260 team score. No. 30 San Diego State is three back (263), with SMU six off the lead (266). No. 22 Oregon (270) and Fresno State (273) round out the top five. Colorado is tied with three others with 279 totals.
The 5-under par effort was CU's best opening round of a season since 2012, when the Buffaloes opened with a 7-under 281 en route to winning the Air Force Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
All five of CU's players in the main event here are juniors; a sidebar event is the Maui Jim Individual, with two additional Buffs on the trip playing in that 35-man field.
Justin Biwer paced the Buffaloes on Friday, as he carded a 4-under par 67 on the 7,147-yard, par-71 Mirabel Club course. He did so by recording four birdies and 14 pars, and is the first Buffalo in recent memory, if not ever, to start a season with a bogey-free round. He is tied for 13th, five off the lead.
Frederik Eisenbeis turned in a 1-under 70, as one bad hole kept him out of the 60s; he had a double bogey on the 558-yard, par-5 7th, but returned to even when he opened the back nine with back-to-back birdies. He closed with a birdie-3 on No. 18 to get under par to open his junior year and stand in a tie for 32nd.
Dylan McDermott opened bogey-birdie-bogey and had one more bogey to make the turn at 2-over, but birdies on Nos. 10 and 17 got him back to even for the day; his 71 is tied for 44th.
Tucker Clark also carded an even-par 71; the lone Buff of the five to open with a birdie on the 405-yard, par-4 1st hole, he would record 14 pars to match Biwer and Eisenbeis, with two birdies and two bogeys.
Jack Holland rounded out the action, finishing with a 2-over 73 to stand tied for 58th. After struggling on the front nine with a 41 due to three bogeys and a double, he rebounded to record CU's best side of the day with a 32 on the back nine (three birdies, six pars).
San Diego State's Justin Hastings is the leader through 18 holes, firing a 9-under 62 on the strength of a bogey-free round with nine birdies. But Auburn's Ryan Eshelman is just one back with an 8-under 63, as he also had nine birdies but with a bogey.
In the individual event, true freshman Brandon Knight posted just the third score in the 60s for a first collegiate round in CU history, which also was the second-best in relation to par with a 3-under 69 score on the 6,845-yard, par-72 Legend Trail Golf Club course design. The Pleasanton, Calif. product (Foothill High School) opened his CU career with two birdies followed by four pars. You could then say he had a "freshman seven," going birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie before closing with five straight pars. He's tied for third with five others, three back of New Mexico's Connor Adams who shot a 66.
Auburn, ranked No. 6 in the preseason Bushnell/GCAA Coaches poll, played like its ranking, taking the first round lead with a 24-under par 260 team score. No. 30 San Diego State is three back (263), with SMU six off the lead (266). No. 22 Oregon (270) and Fresno State (273) round out the top five. Colorado is tied with three others with 279 totals.
The 5-under par effort was CU's best opening round of a season since 2012, when the Buffaloes opened with a 7-under 281 en route to winning the Air Force Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
All five of CU's players in the main event here are juniors; a sidebar event is the Maui Jim Individual, with two additional Buffs on the trip playing in that 35-man field.
Justin Biwer paced the Buffaloes on Friday, as he carded a 4-under par 67 on the 7,147-yard, par-71 Mirabel Club course. He did so by recording four birdies and 14 pars, and is the first Buffalo in recent memory, if not ever, to start a season with a bogey-free round. He is tied for 13th, five off the lead.
Frederik Eisenbeis turned in a 1-under 70, as one bad hole kept him out of the 60s; he had a double bogey on the 558-yard, par-5 7th, but returned to even when he opened the back nine with back-to-back birdies. He closed with a birdie-3 on No. 18 to get under par to open his junior year and stand in a tie for 32nd.
Dylan McDermott opened bogey-birdie-bogey and had one more bogey to make the turn at 2-over, but birdies on Nos. 10 and 17 got him back to even for the day; his 71 is tied for 44th.
Tucker Clark also carded an even-par 71; the lone Buff of the five to open with a birdie on the 405-yard, par-4 1st hole, he would record 14 pars to match Biwer and Eisenbeis, with two birdies and two bogeys.
Jack Holland rounded out the action, finishing with a 2-over 73 to stand tied for 58th. After struggling on the front nine with a 41 due to three bogeys and a double, he rebounded to record CU's best side of the day with a 32 on the back nine (three birdies, six pars).
San Diego State's Justin Hastings is the leader through 18 holes, firing a 9-under 62 on the strength of a bogey-free round with nine birdies. But Auburn's Ryan Eshelman is just one back with an 8-under 63, as he also had nine birdies but with a bogey.
In the individual event, true freshman Brandon Knight posted just the third score in the 60s for a first collegiate round in CU history, which also was the second-best in relation to par with a 3-under 69 score on the 6,845-yard, par-72 Legend Trail Golf Club course design. The Pleasanton, Calif. product (Foothill High School) opened his CU career with two birdies followed by four pars. You could then say he had a "freshman seven," going birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie before closing with five straight pars. He's tied for third with five others, three back of New Mexico's Connor Adams who shot a 66.
Low Score, First Major Collegiate Round
67 (-5), Sebastian Heisele, DU-Ron Moore Invitational, Sept. 15, 2008
69 (-3), Brandon Knight, Maui Jim Individual, Sept. 8, 2023
69 (-1), Kane Webber, Colorado State Invitational, Sept. 27, 1999
70 (-2), Philip Juel-Berg. Ballyneal Challenge at Holyoke, Colo., Sept. 4, 2012
70 (-2), Robby Keilch, Air Force Miranda Individual, Sept. 9, 2022
70 (E), Joe Liley, Colorado State Invitational, Sept. 28, 1999
Sophomore Hunter Swanson actually did Knight one better, fashioning a 4-under 68 which is good for second in the standings. He made the turn at 1-under after starting with a bogey and then scoring birdies on Nos. 6 and 7; he then made eight straight pars before closing in a flourish, with a birdie on No. 16 and an eagle on the 510-yard, par-5 17th. It was the second eagle of his collegiate career.
"Justin had a nice round – he was in full control most of the day," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "The rest of the guys labored a bit, but they did a really nice job grinding and competing to post a decent score after a tough start. We didn't see a lot of putts drop today, but if we stay patient I would expect that to change the last two rounds.
"On the individual side, Brandon had a great start to his CU career and Hunter played well too."
The second round is set for Saturday, with Colorado again paired with Missouri and New Mexico and will begin play at 8:50 a.m. off the No. 10 tee. The 15-team field will be repaired for Sunday's final round which gets underway at 7 a.m.
NOTES: The average score Friday in the main event was 69.93, with 31 breaking par and another nine at even-par … In the individual event, the 35 players averaged 72.34 (15 under par, five even) … The five designated scorers played the par-4 and par-5 holes the best (3-under), but were 3-over on the par-3s … The Buffalo seven combined for an eagle, 24 birdies and 87 pars opposite 12 bogeys and two doubles over 126 holes … The individual portion of the event will be completed Saturday with 36 holes.
"Justin had a nice round – he was in full control most of the day," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "The rest of the guys labored a bit, but they did a really nice job grinding and competing to post a decent score after a tough start. We didn't see a lot of putts drop today, but if we stay patient I would expect that to change the last two rounds.
"On the individual side, Brandon had a great start to his CU career and Hunter played well too."
The second round is set for Saturday, with Colorado again paired with Missouri and New Mexico and will begin play at 8:50 a.m. off the No. 10 tee. The 15-team field will be repaired for Sunday's final round which gets underway at 7 a.m.
NOTES: The average score Friday in the main event was 69.93, with 31 breaking par and another nine at even-par … In the individual event, the 35 players averaged 72.34 (15 under par, five even) … The five designated scorers played the par-4 and par-5 holes the best (3-under), but were 3-over on the par-3s … The Buffalo seven combined for an eagle, 24 birdies and 87 pars opposite 12 bogeys and two doubles over 126 holes … The individual portion of the event will be completed Saturday with 36 holes.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | |
| T13. Justin Biwer..................................... 34-33—67 | |
| T32. Frederik Eisenbeis.......................... 38-32—70 | |
| T44. Tucker Clark................................... 35-36—71 | |
| T44. Dylan McDermott........................... 38-33—71 | |
| T58. Jack Holland.................................. 41-32—73 | |
| Maui Jim Individual: | |
| 2. *Hunter Swanson........................... 35-33—68 | |
| T3. *Brandon Knight............................ 33-36—69 | |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. Justin Hastings, San Diego State...........31-31—62 |
| 2. Ryan Eshleman, Auburn........................ 30-33—63 |
| 3. Daniel Medellin, Georgia State.............. 33-31—64 |
| T4. Five tied with..................................... 65 |
| Maui Jim Individual Leader: |
| 1. Connor Adams, New Mexico................. 31-34—65 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Auburn | 260 |
| 2. | San Diego State | 263 |
| 3. | SMU | 266 |
| 4. | Oregon | 270 |
| 5. | Fresno State | 273 |
| 6. | Ohio State | 275 |
| 7. | New Mexico | 277 |
| T8. | COLORADO | 279 |
| T8. | Arkansas-Little Rock | 279 |
| T8. | Santa Clara | 279 |
| 11. | UNLV | 280 |
| 12. | Georgia State | 283 |
| 13. | Missouri | 284 |
| 14. | Texas State | 288 |
| 15. | Mercer | 292 |
Players Mentioned
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