Colorado University Athletics
Wednesday, January 31
Westlake Village, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Third Round
Tucker Clark walks off No. 18 Wednesday after chipping in for birdie.
Photo by: Vinny Lavalsiti
Golfers Close Out Spring Opener In Dogfight
January 31, 2024 | Men's Golf
Buffaloes Finish Tied For Sixth In Hotly Contested Southwestern Invitational
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team found itself in one of the most closely contested tournaments on the college scene in recent memory, and in the end finished tied for sixth here Wednesday in the 45th Annual Southwestern Invitational.
Only six strokes separated the top seven teams, five of whom occupied first place at one time or another. Two strokes separated third through seventh slots, virtually unheard of outside of the NCAA regionals and finals.
Ohio State hung on to claim the title, finishing with a 13-under 839 team score; the Buckeyes led the Buffaloes by two strokes entering the final round, but at one point dropped to below as fifth, as the standings throughout the final round juggled around like few others in regular season play. Nevada-Las Vegas was tied for second and wound up one stroke back at 840, with UCLA and San Diego State tying for third with 843 scores. Washington grabbed fifth (844) after recording the best team score in the final round, a 6-under 278.
Colorado and Texas Tech tied for sixth with 7-under 845 scores; both turned in 1-over 285 totals Wednesday, which seven teams post scores between 280 and 285. The sixth place effort tied for the second-best stroke play tournament finish to open the spring by the Buffaloes over the last 22 seasons.
Junior Tucker Clark entered the final round with a two-stroke lead, but those in hot pursuit slowly chipped away at his lead, which he still shared at the turn. He wound up firing a 3-over 74 Wednesday on the 6,775-yard, par-71 North Ranch Country Club course layout, finishing up with a 7-under 206 score. He had a birdie and 13 pars with four bogeys, but he did end the tournament in style, chipping in for that birdie on the 18th hole.
It was his best finish as a Buffalo, topping an eighth-place performance in the 2022 Ka'anapali Classic and his fourth subpar tournament effort. He led the team with 15 birdies, tying the third-most by a Buff in a tournament this season, along with an eagle and 28 pars to counter 10 bogeys.
Colorado top two juniors left here with identical 74-69-71—214 scorecards, or 1-over par, tying both for 23rd in the process. And both reached their final round 71s in the same fashion, with three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys.
Justin Biwer had nine birdies and 37 pars for the week, opposite six bogeys and two double bogeys, the latter he endured within the first few holes on Monday, otherwise spent the last 50 holes in the red numbers. He played the par-5's here at 5-under and the par-3's as just 1-over. Biwe moved into fourth all-time in rounds of par or better at Colorado with 65, passing Philip Juel-Berg, who had 64 from 2012-16.
Dylan McDermott had an eagle, one of CU's four, along with nine birdies and 33 pars against 10 bogeys and a double. He also played the par-5's well at 6-under. McDermott is sixth on the par or better rounds list with 58; he is fourth in rounds in the 60s with 34 after his second round 69.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson rebounded from a pair of 74's to record CU's best score in the final round, a 2-under 69, which enabled him to finish tied for 38th with a 4-over 217 total. Scores in the 60s were hard to come by Wednesday, as only 11 were posted in the 75-man field, with just four by players outside of the top 10. After opening par-bogey, he played the next 12 holes at 3-under that gave him the chance to be one of the few who posted a sub-70 score. He led the Buffs with two eagles this week, along with scoring seven birdies and 33 pars.
Freshman Brandon Knight tied for 49th after closing with a 7-over 78 for a 7-over 220 total. He got off to a rough start Wednesday with a triple bogey – CU's only one in the event – and though he bounced right back with a birdie on No. 2, back-to-back-back bogeys on Nos. 4 through 6 had him facing an uphill battle all day. He would score one more birdie later in the round and made nine pars. He did have the second-most birdies by a Buff here over the three days with 11, along with 28 pars.
Ohio State's Neal Shipley earned medalist honors, as a final round 65 gave him a 12-under 201 score. He was able to hold off Washington's Taehoon Song by a stroke; the Husky recorded the best score Wednesday with a 7-under 64.
"The guys did a good job today despite not having even close to our best, which is actually a big strength of this team," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We were right in the mix all day and kept battling and just finished a few strokes out of the lead. Overall, it was a good start to the spring as this will be one of the top fields in college golf all year. There were a lot of positives for each of the guys."
The Buffaloes will return to action in three weeks in the Wyoming World Match Play Championship, Feb. 20-21, in Palm Desert, Calif.
NOTES: The only better finish to open the spring portion of the season came in 2017, when the Buffaloes finished fourth in the Hawai'i-Hilo Amer Ari Invitational (not including second- and fifth-place efforts in match play events) … CU's 270 score in the second round was the best single round gross score in first event of the spring season in its history, with the 14-under the second-best in relation to par behind a 17-under 271 in the 2015 Hawai'i-Hilo Amer Ari Invitational … Clark's second round 8-under 63 tied the school mark for the lowest single round and well as the lowest score in relation to par; his 132 total for 36 holes was one shy of the school mark … The average score for all 225 rounds was 72.14 (with a high of 72.32 for the final round after 72.12 Tuesday and 71.97 for the first round); 22 players finished under par with the remaining 53 over par (no even 213's) … Colorado played the par-5's the best here at 30-under with four eagles, the most by CU in a tournament in 2023-24, and played the par-3's at 15-over and par-4's at 21-over … The tie for sixth gives Colorado a 42-48-1 record (.467) against Division I competition for the fall; a team must finish above .500 to qualify for the NCAA postseason … Biwer led the team in stroke average for the fall with a 70.47 mark, and it rose just a shade to 70.61; McDermott and Swanson are next at 71.28, while Clark improved his average by over a stroke to 72.87.
Only six strokes separated the top seven teams, five of whom occupied first place at one time or another. Two strokes separated third through seventh slots, virtually unheard of outside of the NCAA regionals and finals.
Ohio State hung on to claim the title, finishing with a 13-under 839 team score; the Buckeyes led the Buffaloes by two strokes entering the final round, but at one point dropped to below as fifth, as the standings throughout the final round juggled around like few others in regular season play. Nevada-Las Vegas was tied for second and wound up one stroke back at 840, with UCLA and San Diego State tying for third with 843 scores. Washington grabbed fifth (844) after recording the best team score in the final round, a 6-under 278.
Colorado and Texas Tech tied for sixth with 7-under 845 scores; both turned in 1-over 285 totals Wednesday, which seven teams post scores between 280 and 285. The sixth place effort tied for the second-best stroke play tournament finish to open the spring by the Buffaloes over the last 22 seasons.
Junior Tucker Clark entered the final round with a two-stroke lead, but those in hot pursuit slowly chipped away at his lead, which he still shared at the turn. He wound up firing a 3-over 74 Wednesday on the 6,775-yard, par-71 North Ranch Country Club course layout, finishing up with a 7-under 206 score. He had a birdie and 13 pars with four bogeys, but he did end the tournament in style, chipping in for that birdie on the 18th hole.
It was his best finish as a Buffalo, topping an eighth-place performance in the 2022 Ka'anapali Classic and his fourth subpar tournament effort. He led the team with 15 birdies, tying the third-most by a Buff in a tournament this season, along with an eagle and 28 pars to counter 10 bogeys.
Colorado top two juniors left here with identical 74-69-71—214 scorecards, or 1-over par, tying both for 23rd in the process. And both reached their final round 71s in the same fashion, with three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys.
Justin Biwer had nine birdies and 37 pars for the week, opposite six bogeys and two double bogeys, the latter he endured within the first few holes on Monday, otherwise spent the last 50 holes in the red numbers. He played the par-5's here at 5-under and the par-3's as just 1-over. Biwe moved into fourth all-time in rounds of par or better at Colorado with 65, passing Philip Juel-Berg, who had 64 from 2012-16.
Dylan McDermott had an eagle, one of CU's four, along with nine birdies and 33 pars against 10 bogeys and a double. He also played the par-5's well at 6-under. McDermott is sixth on the par or better rounds list with 58; he is fourth in rounds in the 60s with 34 after his second round 69.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson rebounded from a pair of 74's to record CU's best score in the final round, a 2-under 69, which enabled him to finish tied for 38th with a 4-over 217 total. Scores in the 60s were hard to come by Wednesday, as only 11 were posted in the 75-man field, with just four by players outside of the top 10. After opening par-bogey, he played the next 12 holes at 3-under that gave him the chance to be one of the few who posted a sub-70 score. He led the Buffs with two eagles this week, along with scoring seven birdies and 33 pars.
Freshman Brandon Knight tied for 49th after closing with a 7-over 78 for a 7-over 220 total. He got off to a rough start Wednesday with a triple bogey – CU's only one in the event – and though he bounced right back with a birdie on No. 2, back-to-back-back bogeys on Nos. 4 through 6 had him facing an uphill battle all day. He would score one more birdie later in the round and made nine pars. He did have the second-most birdies by a Buff here over the three days with 11, along with 28 pars.
Ohio State's Neal Shipley earned medalist honors, as a final round 65 gave him a 12-under 201 score. He was able to hold off Washington's Taehoon Song by a stroke; the Husky recorded the best score Wednesday with a 7-under 64.
"The guys did a good job today despite not having even close to our best, which is actually a big strength of this team," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We were right in the mix all day and kept battling and just finished a few strokes out of the lead. Overall, it was a good start to the spring as this will be one of the top fields in college golf all year. There were a lot of positives for each of the guys."
The Buffaloes will return to action in three weeks in the Wyoming World Match Play Championship, Feb. 20-21, in Palm Desert, Calif.
NOTES: The only better finish to open the spring portion of the season came in 2017, when the Buffaloes finished fourth in the Hawai'i-Hilo Amer Ari Invitational (not including second- and fifth-place efforts in match play events) … CU's 270 score in the second round was the best single round gross score in first event of the spring season in its history, with the 14-under the second-best in relation to par behind a 17-under 271 in the 2015 Hawai'i-Hilo Amer Ari Invitational … Clark's second round 8-under 63 tied the school mark for the lowest single round and well as the lowest score in relation to par; his 132 total for 36 holes was one shy of the school mark … The average score for all 225 rounds was 72.14 (with a high of 72.32 for the final round after 72.12 Tuesday and 71.97 for the first round); 22 players finished under par with the remaining 53 over par (no even 213's) … Colorado played the par-5's the best here at 30-under with four eagles, the most by CU in a tournament in 2023-24, and played the par-3's at 15-over and par-4's at 21-over … The tie for sixth gives Colorado a 42-48-1 record (.467) against Division I competition for the fall; a team must finish above .500 to qualify for the NCAA postseason … Biwer led the team in stroke average for the fall with a 70.47 mark, and it rose just a shade to 70.61; McDermott and Swanson are next at 71.28, while Clark improved his average by over a stroke to 72.87.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS | |||
| T6. | Tucker Clark | 69-63-74—206 | |
| T23. | Dylan McDermott | 74-69-71—214 | |
| T23. | Justin Biwer | 74-69-71—214 | |
| T38. | Hunter Swanson | 74-74-69—217 | |
| T49. | Brandon Knight | 73-69-78—220 | |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Neal Shipley, Ohio State | 69-67-65—201 |
| 2. | Taehoon Song, Washington | 70-68-64—202 |
| T3. | Caden Fioroni, UNLV | 62-73-68—203 |
| T3. | Tyran Snyders, Texas Tech | 66-68-69—203 |
| 5. | Santiago De La Fuente, Houston | 67-68-69—204 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Ohio State | 285-273-281—839 |
| 2. | Nevada-Las Vegas | 279-281-280—840 |
| 3. | UCLA | 280-281-282—843 |
| 3. | San Diego State | 285-277-281—843 |
| 5. | Washington | 286-280-278—844 |
| 6. | COLORADO | 290-270-285—845 |
| 6. | Texas Tech | 277-283-285—845 |
| 8. | Wake Forest | 284-283-282—849 |
| 9. | California | 281-285-286—852 |
| 10. | San Jose State | 288-282-291—861 |
| 11. | Pepperdine | 284-287-296—867 |
| 12. | Houston | 291-285-292—868 |
| 12. | Southern California | 278-294-296—868 |
Players Mentioned
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