Colorado University Athletics
Tuesday, January 30
Westlake Village, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Second Round
The team poses in front of the leaderboard after the second round.
Photo by: Jimmy McDermott
Golfers Vault From 12th Into Second In Southwestern Invitational
January 30, 2024 | Men's Golf
Tucker Clark Ties School Record With an 8-Under 63
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team caught fire on the back nine here Tuesday and zoomed from 12th place into a tie for second after two rounds in the 45th Annual Southwestern Invitational.
Ohio State moved from eighth into first place, as the Buckeyes had the second-best team score behind CU Tuesday, an 11-under 273 giving them a two round score of 10-under 558. The Buffaloes chopped 20 strokes off its first round score in lighting up the course with a 14-under 270; Colorado is in at 8-under 560, two strokes back and tied with Nevada-Las Vegas and Texas Tech. UCLA rounded out the top five, just three back at 561, and with San Diego State next at 562, that's only four strokes that separate the top six teams.
The Buffaloes turned in a 14-under 270 score, the best single round gross score in first event of the spring season in their history. In the 2015 Hawai'i-Hilo Amer Ari Invitational, CU had a 17-under 271 score for the only round in the first spring meet that was better in relation to par than Tuesday's effort here.
Colorado, in 12th place and 6-over par after the first round and fluctuating between ninth and 10th and still 4-over when it made the turn, made its move up the standings on the back nine. The four players that contributed to the team score on Tuesday all parred the par-3 10th, and then went birdie-crazy, the quartet scoring 13 birdies and 22 pars with just one bogey over the last nine holes temporarily to zoom into the lead by two shots. CU only fell back into second since it teed off first in the second round before Monday's leaders hit the course.
Junior Tucker Clark had nine birdies and eight pars with just one bogey in tying the school record for both low gross score – 63 – and low score in relation to par – 8-under on the 6,775-yard, par-71 North Ranch Country Club course layout. In doing so, he moved from 10th place into the lead with a 10-under 69-63—132 scorecard. He said he didn't hit the ball off tee very well Tuesday – hitting seven of 13 fairways – he more than made up for it by having just 23 putts.
Clark had some struggles in the fall, seeing his stroke average rise to just under 74 per round after a 72.2 mark his sophomore season. But he credits his improvement to nothing technical with his game.
"I spent a lot of time during the break working with a new mental coach, and she's been outstanding," Clark said. "I really didn't change anything technically it was all mental work. It's meant a world of difference. I had a great start to this trip with some solid practice rounds, and before I came back to school, I was playing some amazing golf.
"My approach shots have been great and the putter's been clicking," he remarked about his play the last two days. "I honestly didn't drive it particularly well today, I was just really good into the greens. I gave myself a lot of good looks that made up for some drives that weren't all that good. But my approach game and putting have been on different level."
He wasn't aware of tying the school record until he received a text from CU athletic director Rick George.
"I just found out, I had no idea," he relayed some two hours after his round was complete. "It was pretty cool to get a text and learn that from Rick. It's an unbelievable feeling. There have been so many great players to come through the program, and it's really cool to have my name etched into that kind of history for CU.
The only 63 in school history occurred almost 19 years ago to the day. Also on a par-71 course, Edward McGlasson recorded an 8-under 63 in the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate – on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2005: the round was played over two days as the first 14 holes were completed before play halted due to darkness). There have been four occasions where Buffaloes recorded 8-under 64 scores.
He also matched the team's season-best for the low score for nine holes – a 5-under 31 – on the front nine, as he had six birdies, four in a row at one point, with two pars and a bogey. His 132 total for 36 holes is a collegiate career-best, some six strokes better than a 138 after two rounds of the 2022 Ka'anapali Classic; it also is a CU team-best for the season and one shy of the school mark (131) for 36 holes.
Freshman Brandon Knight turned one of CU's three 2-under 69 scores Tuesday, which landed him in a tie for 21st with an even 142 total. He scored six birdies and eight pars opposite four bogeys in round two; two of those bogeys started off his round in the first three holes, but he worked his way back to even quickly with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5. His last two bogeys then came back-to-back on Nos. 7 and 8, thus he made the turn at 2-over. But four birdies on the back nine, which translated to a 4-under 31, earned him his third collegiate round in the 60s. It was the third time in his young CU career that he had six birdies in a round.
Junior Justin Biwer rebounded from an opening 74 to card a 2-under 69, giving him a 1-over 143 score that has him tied for 28th. He had a very steady, typical round for him with four birdies and 12 pars and just two bogeys. He opened with two pars and then went birdie-bogey, and a bogey on No. 8 forced him to make the turn at 1-over. But he went on to score three birdies and six pars on the back nine to record his 51st career subpar round (and 64th of par or better, both team-bests).
Junior Dylan McDermott also shaved five strokes off his first round effort with a 2-under 69, also tying him for 28th with a 1-over 143 total through 36 holes. He opened with three pars and then eagled the 576-yard, par-5 4th hole to get into red numbers; he fell back to even with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9, but returned into the red with three birdies in a four-hole span on the back nine.
It marked the ninth time in school history that four players scored in the 60s in the same round; the last time it happened was in the second round of last April's Pac-12 Championships. Biwer and McDermott contributed both times. No other school had more than two players in the 60s in the second round.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson got off to another rough start, double-bogeying two of his first five holes; 5-overnthrough 11, he settled own and finished with an eagle and six pars for a second straight 3-over 74. His 6-over 148 total has him tied for 55th. He had the eagle, one birdie and 12 pars on the positive side Tuesday, and now had seven eagles on the season, one shy of CU's single-season record set by Jason Burstyn in the 2012-13 season.
Clark takes a two-stroke lead into the final round, with Texas Tech's Tyran Snyders in at 8-under 134. UNLV's Caden Fioroni, the first round leader, is three back at 135 after he shot a 2-over 73 after opening with a 9-under 62.
"I'm really looking forward to go out and play tomorrow," Clark said. "We really want to win as a team, and that means I need to do my part individually. If I happen to win, great, but I just want to do everything I can to help the team tomorrow. There are a lot of good teams bunched together so it will be a real dogfight."
"Obviously a tremendous day and a spectacular round by Tucker," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "He has been playing so well and him being in this position is not a surprise. All of the guys had some good moments. They have been working really hard, especially on their short games, and it showed today. We are looking forward to tomorrow, we just need to continue focusing on enjoying the day and what we have control over, which is our confidence, our attitudes and how we compete."
The third and final round is Wednesday; Colorado will be paired with UCLA and San Diego State and will start on the No. 1 tee at 9:55 a.m. MDT, with tee times in 11-minute intervals. Clark will be the last to start at 10:39 a.m.
NOTES: It was about 10 degrees cooler than Monday, with temperatures in the mid-60s, but still under sunny skies … The only other double-digit stroke count in relation to par in the spring opener – a 10-under 278 – came in the third round 2014 Amer Ari event; Tuesday's 270 was the eighth sub-280 team score in the first spring event (six of which were in the second round) … McGlasson also owns one of the 8-under 64 efforts (in the 2006 Courtyard By Marriott Invitational); the others were by Kevin Kring in the 2009 Air Force Falcon Invitational; by David Oraee in the 2014 CU-Mark Simpson Invitational; and by Jeremy Paul in the 2017 Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate … The 132 was the sixth time a Buff posted that total through 36 holes; those are trailing 131's by David Oraee (64-67) in the 2014 CU-Simpson Beau Schoolcraft (64-67) in the 2012 Wyoming Cowboy Classic … Of the nine occasions that four Buffaloes scored in the 60s in the same round, seven of those times have come under coach Roy Edwards' watch … The 20-stroke improvement by the Buffaloes from one round to the next (same event) was only the 28th best in CU annals ... The average score for the 150 rounds is 72.05 (72.12 Tuesday after 71.97 for the first round), with 20 players under par with seven equaling it … Colorado is tearing up the par-5's, the quintet playing them at 24-under with four eagles, the most by CU in a tournament in 2023-24 … CU is playing the par-4's at 9-over and the par-3's at 13-over … Clark's nine birdies were the most by a Buffalo this year (McDermott and Swanson are next with eight) … Clark is looking to extend CU's streak to 14 seasons of having at least one tournament medalist; McDermott was the last Buff to win a meet, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic to open the 2022-23 season … This the fifth time CU is participating in the Southwestern, but for the first time since 1995; its best finish was a third place showing in 1993; Scott Petersen's tie for third that same year is the best Buffalo effort in the event (68-68-86—211).
Ohio State moved from eighth into first place, as the Buckeyes had the second-best team score behind CU Tuesday, an 11-under 273 giving them a two round score of 10-under 558. The Buffaloes chopped 20 strokes off its first round score in lighting up the course with a 14-under 270; Colorado is in at 8-under 560, two strokes back and tied with Nevada-Las Vegas and Texas Tech. UCLA rounded out the top five, just three back at 561, and with San Diego State next at 562, that's only four strokes that separate the top six teams.
The Buffaloes turned in a 14-under 270 score, the best single round gross score in first event of the spring season in their history. In the 2015 Hawai'i-Hilo Amer Ari Invitational, CU had a 17-under 271 score for the only round in the first spring meet that was better in relation to par than Tuesday's effort here.
Colorado, in 12th place and 6-over par after the first round and fluctuating between ninth and 10th and still 4-over when it made the turn, made its move up the standings on the back nine. The four players that contributed to the team score on Tuesday all parred the par-3 10th, and then went birdie-crazy, the quartet scoring 13 birdies and 22 pars with just one bogey over the last nine holes temporarily to zoom into the lead by two shots. CU only fell back into second since it teed off first in the second round before Monday's leaders hit the course.
Junior Tucker Clark had nine birdies and eight pars with just one bogey in tying the school record for both low gross score – 63 – and low score in relation to par – 8-under on the 6,775-yard, par-71 North Ranch Country Club course layout. In doing so, he moved from 10th place into the lead with a 10-under 69-63—132 scorecard. He said he didn't hit the ball off tee very well Tuesday – hitting seven of 13 fairways – he more than made up for it by having just 23 putts.
Clark had some struggles in the fall, seeing his stroke average rise to just under 74 per round after a 72.2 mark his sophomore season. But he credits his improvement to nothing technical with his game.
"I spent a lot of time during the break working with a new mental coach, and she's been outstanding," Clark said. "I really didn't change anything technically it was all mental work. It's meant a world of difference. I had a great start to this trip with some solid practice rounds, and before I came back to school, I was playing some amazing golf.
"My approach shots have been great and the putter's been clicking," he remarked about his play the last two days. "I honestly didn't drive it particularly well today, I was just really good into the greens. I gave myself a lot of good looks that made up for some drives that weren't all that good. But my approach game and putting have been on different level."
He wasn't aware of tying the school record until he received a text from CU athletic director Rick George.
"I just found out, I had no idea," he relayed some two hours after his round was complete. "It was pretty cool to get a text and learn that from Rick. It's an unbelievable feeling. There have been so many great players to come through the program, and it's really cool to have my name etched into that kind of history for CU.
The only 63 in school history occurred almost 19 years ago to the day. Also on a par-71 course, Edward McGlasson recorded an 8-under 63 in the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate – on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2005: the round was played over two days as the first 14 holes were completed before play halted due to darkness). There have been four occasions where Buffaloes recorded 8-under 64 scores.
He also matched the team's season-best for the low score for nine holes – a 5-under 31 – on the front nine, as he had six birdies, four in a row at one point, with two pars and a bogey. His 132 total for 36 holes is a collegiate career-best, some six strokes better than a 138 after two rounds of the 2022 Ka'anapali Classic; it also is a CU team-best for the season and one shy of the school mark (131) for 36 holes.
Freshman Brandon Knight turned one of CU's three 2-under 69 scores Tuesday, which landed him in a tie for 21st with an even 142 total. He scored six birdies and eight pars opposite four bogeys in round two; two of those bogeys started off his round in the first three holes, but he worked his way back to even quickly with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5. His last two bogeys then came back-to-back on Nos. 7 and 8, thus he made the turn at 2-over. But four birdies on the back nine, which translated to a 4-under 31, earned him his third collegiate round in the 60s. It was the third time in his young CU career that he had six birdies in a round.
Junior Justin Biwer rebounded from an opening 74 to card a 2-under 69, giving him a 1-over 143 score that has him tied for 28th. He had a very steady, typical round for him with four birdies and 12 pars and just two bogeys. He opened with two pars and then went birdie-bogey, and a bogey on No. 8 forced him to make the turn at 1-over. But he went on to score three birdies and six pars on the back nine to record his 51st career subpar round (and 64th of par or better, both team-bests).
Junior Dylan McDermott also shaved five strokes off his first round effort with a 2-under 69, also tying him for 28th with a 1-over 143 total through 36 holes. He opened with three pars and then eagled the 576-yard, par-5 4th hole to get into red numbers; he fell back to even with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9, but returned into the red with three birdies in a four-hole span on the back nine.
It marked the ninth time in school history that four players scored in the 60s in the same round; the last time it happened was in the second round of last April's Pac-12 Championships. Biwer and McDermott contributed both times. No other school had more than two players in the 60s in the second round.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson got off to another rough start, double-bogeying two of his first five holes; 5-overnthrough 11, he settled own and finished with an eagle and six pars for a second straight 3-over 74. His 6-over 148 total has him tied for 55th. He had the eagle, one birdie and 12 pars on the positive side Tuesday, and now had seven eagles on the season, one shy of CU's single-season record set by Jason Burstyn in the 2012-13 season.
Clark takes a two-stroke lead into the final round, with Texas Tech's Tyran Snyders in at 8-under 134. UNLV's Caden Fioroni, the first round leader, is three back at 135 after he shot a 2-over 73 after opening with a 9-under 62.
"I'm really looking forward to go out and play tomorrow," Clark said. "We really want to win as a team, and that means I need to do my part individually. If I happen to win, great, but I just want to do everything I can to help the team tomorrow. There are a lot of good teams bunched together so it will be a real dogfight."
"Obviously a tremendous day and a spectacular round by Tucker," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "He has been playing so well and him being in this position is not a surprise. All of the guys had some good moments. They have been working really hard, especially on their short games, and it showed today. We are looking forward to tomorrow, we just need to continue focusing on enjoying the day and what we have control over, which is our confidence, our attitudes and how we compete."
The third and final round is Wednesday; Colorado will be paired with UCLA and San Diego State and will start on the No. 1 tee at 9:55 a.m. MDT, with tee times in 11-minute intervals. Clark will be the last to start at 10:39 a.m.
NOTES: It was about 10 degrees cooler than Monday, with temperatures in the mid-60s, but still under sunny skies … The only other double-digit stroke count in relation to par in the spring opener – a 10-under 278 – came in the third round 2014 Amer Ari event; Tuesday's 270 was the eighth sub-280 team score in the first spring event (six of which were in the second round) … McGlasson also owns one of the 8-under 64 efforts (in the 2006 Courtyard By Marriott Invitational); the others were by Kevin Kring in the 2009 Air Force Falcon Invitational; by David Oraee in the 2014 CU-Mark Simpson Invitational; and by Jeremy Paul in the 2017 Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate … The 132 was the sixth time a Buff posted that total through 36 holes; those are trailing 131's by David Oraee (64-67) in the 2014 CU-Simpson Beau Schoolcraft (64-67) in the 2012 Wyoming Cowboy Classic … Of the nine occasions that four Buffaloes scored in the 60s in the same round, seven of those times have come under coach Roy Edwards' watch … The 20-stroke improvement by the Buffaloes from one round to the next (same event) was only the 28th best in CU annals ... The average score for the 150 rounds is 72.05 (72.12 Tuesday after 71.97 for the first round), with 20 players under par with seven equaling it … Colorado is tearing up the par-5's, the quintet playing them at 24-under with four eagles, the most by CU in a tournament in 2023-24 … CU is playing the par-4's at 9-over and the par-3's at 13-over … Clark's nine birdies were the most by a Buffalo this year (McDermott and Swanson are next with eight) … Clark is looking to extend CU's streak to 14 seasons of having at least one tournament medalist; McDermott was the last Buff to win a meet, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic to open the 2022-23 season … This the fifth time CU is participating in the Southwestern, but for the first time since 1995; its best finish was a third place showing in 1993; Scott Petersen's tie for third that same year is the best Buffalo effort in the event (68-68-86—211).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | |||
| 1. | Tucker Clark | 69-63—132 | |
| T21. | Brandon Knight | 73-69—142 | |
| T28. | Justin Biwer | 74-69—143 | |
| T28. | Dylan McDermott | 74-69—143 | |
| T55. | Hunter Swanson | 74-74—148 | |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Tucker Clark, Colorado | 69-63—132 |
| 2. | Tyran Snyders, Texas Tech | 66-68—134 |
| T3. | Caden Fioroni, UNLV | 62-73—135 |
| T3. | Santiago De La Fuente, Houston | 67-68—135 |
| T5. | Luke Powell, UCLA | 67-69—136 |
| T5. | Neal Shipley, Ohio State | 69-67—136 |
| T5. | Tyler Kowack, San Diego State | 69-67—136 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Ohio State | 285-273—558 |
| 2. | COLORADO | 290-270—560 |
| 2. | Texas Tech | 277-283—560 |
| 2. | Nevada-Las Vegas | 279-281—560 |
| 5. | UCLA | 280-281—561 |
| 6. | San Diego State | 285-277—562 |
| 7. | California | 281-285—566 |
| 7. | Washington | 286-280—566 |
| 9. | Wake Forest | 284-283—567 |
| 10. | San Jose State | 288-282—570 |
| 11. | Pepperdine | 284-287—571 |
| 12. | Southern California | 278-294—572 |
| 13. | Houston | 291-285—576 |
Players Mentioned
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