Buffs Have Rough Opening Day In Big 12 Match Play Championship

Monday, October 7

Hockley, Texas

All Day

Colorado

TCU

All images copright to ©Juan DeLeon Creative

Brandon Knight improved his match play record to 4-1 with a split here Monday.

Photo by: Juan DeLeon Creative

Buffs Have Rough Opening Day In Big 12 Match Play Championship

October 07, 2024 | Men's Golf

TCU, Baylor Edge CU In Close Matches

By: David Plati, SID-Emeritus/Athletic Historian

               HOCKLEY, Texas — The University of Colorado men's golf team return to its former conference play after 14 years didn't go as expected, as the Buffaloes dropped their first two matches in the Big 12 Match Play Championship here Monday.

               Colorado was involved in the two most competitive matches of the day, as 10 of the 12 pairings went the full 18 holes, but in the end, 12th-seeded TCU blanked the fifth-seeded Buffs, 5-0, followed by No. 13 Baylor rallying on the last two holes to win, 3-2. No other team of the 15 competing here had that many go the distance.

             "Not much to say other than it was a very disappointing day," said head coach Roy Edwards. "We had a chance to win both matches, but weren't able to do it. We didn't play well and had too many unforced errors on top of that. You absolutely can't do that when you are playing teams like Baylor and TCU. We have to regroup and have a chance to redeem ourselves Tuesday."

            Sophomores Ty Holbrook and Brandon Knight provided CU's two wins Monday. Holbrook, playing in his first collegiate match play action, dropped his first round duel to TCU's Charlie Wylie (2 & 1), but came back to beat Baylor's Jonas Appel in the afternoon (2 up). Knight split a pair of 1-up results, falling to TCU's Joe Pagdin and then defeating BU's Davis Ovard; he improved to 4-1 in college match play competition.

            Senior Dylan McDermott came in with a 7-1-1 match play mark, but dropped a pair of close ones, as did fellow senior Justin Biwer (3-4-4 now in match play); CU's fifth player, senior Freddy Eisenbeis, also was playing his first match play events, dropping both 1-up. Biwer and Eisenbeis were both one down with two holes left in the afternoon matches, but rallied to tie each with pars on the 204-yard, par-3 15th. But on the 558-yard, par-5 16th, Biwer made par while his counterpart, Zach Heffernan, birdied, and Eisenbeis bogeyed with the Bears' Vincent Sternfeldt scratching out a par.

               The format here is dividing into four pools; CU will face the other team in its grouping, No. 4 Texas Tech, Tuesday morning before cross-pool play will be determined for the afternoon matches which will set up Wednesday's fifth and final matches.

NOTES: Junior Hunter Swanson is also here but was sick Monday; he's 4-2 in career match play action and could crack the line-up Tuesday if well enough … Overall, the five Buffs won 44 holes and tied 80 on Monday, dropping 54 (Eisenbeis and Holbrook won the most with 10, Knight had nine).

Big 12 Match Play Championship Results

Round One
No. 1 Arizona State def. No. 9 Cincinnati, 4-1
No. 2 Oklahoma State def. No. 15 UCF, 3½-1½
No. 3 Utah tied No. 14 West Virginia, 2½-2½
No. 4 Texas Tech def. No. 13 Baylor, 3-2
No.12 TCU def. No. 5 Colorado, 5-0
No. 6 BYU def. No. 11 Houston, 3½-1½
No. 7 Kansas def. No. 10 Kansas State, 3-2
No. 8 Iowa State idle

Round Two
No. 8 Iowa State def. No. 9 Cincinnati, 4-1
No. 2 Oklahoma State tied No. 10 Kansas State, 2½-2½
No. 6 BYU def. No. 14 West Virginia, 4-1
No. 13 Baylor def. No. 5 Colorado, 3-2
No. 4 Texas Tech def. No.12 TCU, 3-2
No. 3 Utah def. No. 11 Houston, 4-1
No. 7 Kansas tied No. 15 UCF, 2½-2½
No. 1 Arizona State idle

TCU def. Colorado, 5-0
Scott Roden (TCU) def. Dylan McDermott, 1 up
Joe Pagdin (TCU) def. Brandon Knight, 1 up
Toby Wilt (TCU) def. Freddy Eisenbeis,1 up
Charlie Wylie (TCU) def. Ty Holbrook, 2 & 1
Jack Beauchamp (TCU) def. Justin Biwer, 2 up

Baylor def. Colorado, 3-2
Brandon Knight (CU) def. Davis Ovard, 1 up
Ty Holbrook (CU) def. Jonas Appel, 2 up
Vincent Sternfeldt (BU) def. Freddy Eisenbeis, 1 up
Zach Heffernan (BU) def. Justin Biwer, 1 up
Drew Wrightson (BU) def. Dylan McDermott, 2 & 1

Round Three Schedule (Tuesday a.m.)
No. 1 Arizona State (1-0) vs. No. 8 Iowa State (1-0)
No. 2 Oklahoma State (1-0-1) vs. No. 7 Kansas (1-0-1)
No. 3 Utah (1-0-1) vs. No. 6 BYU (2-0)
No. 4 Texas Tech (2-0) vs. No. 5 Colorado (0-2)
No. 10 Kansas State (0-1-1) vs. No. 15 UCF (0-1-1)
No. 11 Houston (0-2) vs. No. 14 West Virginia (0-1-1)
No. 12 TCU (1-1) vs. No. 13 Baylor (1-1)
No. 9 Cincinnati (0-2) idle