Colorado University Athletics
Saturday, March 30
San Francisco, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Third Round
Brandon Knight's putt is headed toward the cup on the back nine Saturday.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Men's Golfers Tie For 17th In Stanford's "The Goodwin"
March 30, 2024 | Men's Golf
Buffs Move Up Five Spots In Final Round; Frosh Knight Leads The Way
SAN FRANCISCO — The University of Colorado men's golf team played six rounds in as many days in two events on the west coast, but saved its best effort for last as the Buffaloes jumped up five spots in the final standings to finish in a tie for 17th in Stanford's "The Goodwin."
No. 22 Georgia leapfrogged No. 73 Utah to grab the team title, as the Bulldogs finished with a 1-under 839 team score; the Utes finished even with an 840 score, as UGA won the last round by two shots. Host and No. 44 Stanford finished third (844), with No. 7 Tennessee fourth (845) and No. 15 Georgia Tech (846).
The No. 62 Buffaloes tied with Arkansas-Little Rock with 23-over 863 scores, which were the near the top of a 12-team logjam separated by seven strokes between 13th and 24th places. Unlike the first two rounds where the Buff scorers lost 10 strokes down the stretch, on Saturday the quartet that contributed to the CU total played the last six at 2-under.
They say making pars on the 7,193-yard, par-70 TPC Harding Park track can be a good thing, and the five Buffaloes here took that to heart, as they combined for 67 of them, with 11 birdies and 12 bogeys. The four players that scored for CU on Saturday all made pars on the day's three toughest holes – Nos. 18, 9 and 8. These were significant reasons for CU's turnaround from entering Saturday's final round 24-over par as a team to shoot a 1-under 279, one of 10 subpar rounds posted in the 31-team field (and tying for the sixth-best on the day).
Freshman Brandon Knight led the Buffaloes scorers from start-to-finish, the first time he led the team in a tournament by himself. He wrapped things up Saturday with a 1-over 71 that enabled him to tie for 43rd with a 4-over 214 for his three times around TPC Harding. In the 26 times that CU has played in the event, Knight is just the third freshman to lead the Buffaloes, joining Edward McGlasson in 2003 and Jack Holland in 2022.
Junior Dylan McDermott closed things out with an even-par 70, finishing in a tie for 46th with a 5-over 215 effort. He had a solid round of two birdies and 14 pars with just two bogeys, and conquered his "enemy" from the second rounds: holes 17 and 18. After scoring bogey-double on Friday on those two, which cost him a subpar finish, he came back to score birdie-par on the two in the final round. He had six birdies and 38 pars opposite nine birdies and a double overall. He played the par-4's the best this week, tying for the 10th-best in the 168-man field in playing the 36 ones combined at even.
In the end, it wasn't a bad homecoming for Knight and McDermott, who both hail from Northern California not overly far from the Bay Area (Knight is from Pleasanton and McDermott from Granite Bay),
Junior Justin Biwer fashioned a 1-under 69 to thrust up 31 positions into a tie for 60th with a 7-over-217 total. He tied for the team-high with three birdies in the final round, with 13 pars and just two bogeys, as he played the par-4's the best at 2-under. He had seven birdies and 34 pars overall, against 12 bogeys and a double for the tourney overall. He was one of two Buffaloes to match his career-best improvement within an event – seven strokes – from one round to the next. He went from a 74 to a 67 in the middle rounds of the 2022 Pac-12 Championship.
Junior Tucker Clark turned in a second straight 2-over 72 effort, as he finished with a 10-over par 220 overall, which tied him for 92nd. His two 72s were identical in the sense that he had a birdie, 14 pars and three bogeys; he did bogey No. 9 both rounds but he had a birdie and a bogey on No. 16. He had three birdies and a team-high with 40 pars with nine bogeys and a double. The 40 pars were also a season-high for the Buffs in an event, and tied for the fifth-most in the field.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson closed out the week on the west coast with his best round of the six, a 1-under 69; that gave him a final scorecard of 12-over 222, which moved him up 27 spots in standings into a tie for 118th. He matched Biwer with a team-high three birdies with 13 pars and just bogeys on Saturday, rebounding strong after having 14 holes worse than par in the first two rounds. In fact, he had it 3-under through 12 holes (nine pars, three birds) and scored his bogeys over the last six holes to bring him back to 1-under. He played the par-5's at 3-under, tied for 10th-best in the field, and like Biwer, Swanson also matched his career-best improvement – eight strokes – from one round to the next. He previously shook off an opening round 79 for a 71 in round two last October in the Fallen Oak Collegiate.
Utah's Braxton Watts claimed medalist honors, firing final round 68 to win with a 5-under 205 score. That bested Stanford's star player and the third-ranked amateur in the world, Michael Thorbjornsen, by one shot.
"We had a much better day today," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "As a group the guys really hit the ball well but it was a so-so day on the greens from being a really good round. I certainly saw a good battle from the guys, but we just need to let things happen a little more than force them. We are excited to get back to work for the next ten days or so and get ready for a great event at Arizona State."
The Buffaloes will return to action in two weeks in the Arizona State Thunderbird Intercollegiate, April 12-13 in Phoenix. That will be the final tune-up prior to the 13th annual – and last – Pac-12 Conference Championships the last week of April.
NOTES: For the first time in six rounds this week between Eugene and San Francisco, CU finally had perfect weather from start-to-finish for a full round – no rain, negligible wind and temps in the mid-to-upper 50's … Saturday marked CU's 11th subpar team round of the season (out of 27, with one other was even) … The average score for all 503 rounds was 72.86 (71.65 on Saturday, the lowest of the three rounds when the conditions improved) … Overall, only 10 players finished under par while eight others matched it …After 16 players scored rounds of 80 or higher in the first two rounds, there was just one on Saturday … The Buffs tied for fourth in pars (178; Georgia had the most, 185), while making tying for the 20th-most birdies (31, Utah has made the most with 32) … There were just seven eagles overall … Colorado played the par-4's tied for the 10th-best at 26-over (just 2-over in the final round), and played the par-3's at 15-over (tied for 14th) and the par-5s at 3-under (tied for 20th) … The Buffaloes posted a 13-16-1 mark here, but maintained a winning season record over Division I opponents to 75-74-4 record (.503); a team must finish above .500 to qualify for the NCAA postseason. Thus moving up five spots was a swing of 10 in the W-L column … Biwer's three rounds here pushed his career total at CU to 101, the 39th player in school history to hit the 100-round mark; McDermott will join him next as he's played 99 … Clark's first 14 rounds as a designated scorer counted toward CU's team score until today's 72; the fifth-man average for the season is 76.3, the coaches would take a 72 for fifth tally most every time … It was Biwer's 30th tournament with a score of 220 or better, tying the school record set by Daniel O'Loughlin (2017-21) … Biwer continues to lead the team in stroke average with a 71.22 mark, with McDermott (71.56) and Swanson (71.93) in line behind him; Clark is fourth (72.67) and Knight seventh (73.55) … This was one of the most competitive tournaments of golf's regular season; of the 31 schools here, 10 were ranked in Scoreboard's latest top 50, 18 in the top 75 and 22 in the top 100 (306 schools compete in Division I); CU defeated four ahead of it (Long Beach State, San Diego, Washington State and Oregon State).
No. 22 Georgia leapfrogged No. 73 Utah to grab the team title, as the Bulldogs finished with a 1-under 839 team score; the Utes finished even with an 840 score, as UGA won the last round by two shots. Host and No. 44 Stanford finished third (844), with No. 7 Tennessee fourth (845) and No. 15 Georgia Tech (846).
The No. 62 Buffaloes tied with Arkansas-Little Rock with 23-over 863 scores, which were the near the top of a 12-team logjam separated by seven strokes between 13th and 24th places. Unlike the first two rounds where the Buff scorers lost 10 strokes down the stretch, on Saturday the quartet that contributed to the CU total played the last six at 2-under.
They say making pars on the 7,193-yard, par-70 TPC Harding Park track can be a good thing, and the five Buffaloes here took that to heart, as they combined for 67 of them, with 11 birdies and 12 bogeys. The four players that scored for CU on Saturday all made pars on the day's three toughest holes – Nos. 18, 9 and 8. These were significant reasons for CU's turnaround from entering Saturday's final round 24-over par as a team to shoot a 1-under 279, one of 10 subpar rounds posted in the 31-team field (and tying for the sixth-best on the day).
Freshman Brandon Knight led the Buffaloes scorers from start-to-finish, the first time he led the team in a tournament by himself. He wrapped things up Saturday with a 1-over 71 that enabled him to tie for 43rd with a 4-over 214 for his three times around TPC Harding. In the 26 times that CU has played in the event, Knight is just the third freshman to lead the Buffaloes, joining Edward McGlasson in 2003 and Jack Holland in 2022.
Junior Dylan McDermott closed things out with an even-par 70, finishing in a tie for 46th with a 5-over 215 effort. He had a solid round of two birdies and 14 pars with just two bogeys, and conquered his "enemy" from the second rounds: holes 17 and 18. After scoring bogey-double on Friday on those two, which cost him a subpar finish, he came back to score birdie-par on the two in the final round. He had six birdies and 38 pars opposite nine birdies and a double overall. He played the par-4's the best this week, tying for the 10th-best in the 168-man field in playing the 36 ones combined at even.
In the end, it wasn't a bad homecoming for Knight and McDermott, who both hail from Northern California not overly far from the Bay Area (Knight is from Pleasanton and McDermott from Granite Bay),
Junior Justin Biwer fashioned a 1-under 69 to thrust up 31 positions into a tie for 60th with a 7-over-217 total. He tied for the team-high with three birdies in the final round, with 13 pars and just two bogeys, as he played the par-4's the best at 2-under. He had seven birdies and 34 pars overall, against 12 bogeys and a double for the tourney overall. He was one of two Buffaloes to match his career-best improvement within an event – seven strokes – from one round to the next. He went from a 74 to a 67 in the middle rounds of the 2022 Pac-12 Championship.
Junior Tucker Clark turned in a second straight 2-over 72 effort, as he finished with a 10-over par 220 overall, which tied him for 92nd. His two 72s were identical in the sense that he had a birdie, 14 pars and three bogeys; he did bogey No. 9 both rounds but he had a birdie and a bogey on No. 16. He had three birdies and a team-high with 40 pars with nine bogeys and a double. The 40 pars were also a season-high for the Buffs in an event, and tied for the fifth-most in the field.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson closed out the week on the west coast with his best round of the six, a 1-under 69; that gave him a final scorecard of 12-over 222, which moved him up 27 spots in standings into a tie for 118th. He matched Biwer with a team-high three birdies with 13 pars and just bogeys on Saturday, rebounding strong after having 14 holes worse than par in the first two rounds. In fact, he had it 3-under through 12 holes (nine pars, three birds) and scored his bogeys over the last six holes to bring him back to 1-under. He played the par-5's at 3-under, tied for 10th-best in the field, and like Biwer, Swanson also matched his career-best improvement – eight strokes – from one round to the next. He previously shook off an opening round 79 for a 71 in round two last October in the Fallen Oak Collegiate.
Utah's Braxton Watts claimed medalist honors, firing final round 68 to win with a 5-under 205 score. That bested Stanford's star player and the third-ranked amateur in the world, Michael Thorbjornsen, by one shot.
"We had a much better day today," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "As a group the guys really hit the ball well but it was a so-so day on the greens from being a really good round. I certainly saw a good battle from the guys, but we just need to let things happen a little more than force them. We are excited to get back to work for the next ten days or so and get ready for a great event at Arizona State."
The Buffaloes will return to action in two weeks in the Arizona State Thunderbird Intercollegiate, April 12-13 in Phoenix. That will be the final tune-up prior to the 13th annual – and last – Pac-12 Conference Championships the last week of April.
NOTES: For the first time in six rounds this week between Eugene and San Francisco, CU finally had perfect weather from start-to-finish for a full round – no rain, negligible wind and temps in the mid-to-upper 50's … Saturday marked CU's 11th subpar team round of the season (out of 27, with one other was even) … The average score for all 503 rounds was 72.86 (71.65 on Saturday, the lowest of the three rounds when the conditions improved) … Overall, only 10 players finished under par while eight others matched it …After 16 players scored rounds of 80 or higher in the first two rounds, there was just one on Saturday … The Buffs tied for fourth in pars (178; Georgia had the most, 185), while making tying for the 20th-most birdies (31, Utah has made the most with 32) … There were just seven eagles overall … Colorado played the par-4's tied for the 10th-best at 26-over (just 2-over in the final round), and played the par-3's at 15-over (tied for 14th) and the par-5s at 3-under (tied for 20th) … The Buffaloes posted a 13-16-1 mark here, but maintained a winning season record over Division I opponents to 75-74-4 record (.503); a team must finish above .500 to qualify for the NCAA postseason. Thus moving up five spots was a swing of 10 in the W-L column … Biwer's three rounds here pushed his career total at CU to 101, the 39th player in school history to hit the 100-round mark; McDermott will join him next as he's played 99 … Clark's first 14 rounds as a designated scorer counted toward CU's team score until today's 72; the fifth-man average for the season is 76.3, the coaches would take a 72 for fifth tally most every time … It was Biwer's 30th tournament with a score of 220 or better, tying the school record set by Daniel O'Loughlin (2017-21) … Biwer continues to lead the team in stroke average with a 71.22 mark, with McDermott (71.56) and Swanson (71.93) in line behind him; Clark is fourth (72.67) and Knight seventh (73.55) … This was one of the most competitive tournaments of golf's regular season; of the 31 schools here, 10 were ranked in Scoreboard's latest top 50, 18 in the top 75 and 22 in the top 100 (306 schools compete in Division I); CU defeated four ahead of it (Long Beach State, San Diego, Washington State and Oregon State).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T43. | Brandon Knight | 71-72-71—214 |
| T46. | Dylan McDermott | 74-71-70—215 |
| T60. | Justin Biwer | 72-76-69—217 |
| T92. | Tucker Clark | 76-72-72—220 |
| T118. | Hunter Swanson | 76-77-69—222 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Braxton Watts, Utah | 71-66-68—205 |
| 2. | Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford | 70-69-67—206 |
| T3. | Ben Van Wyk, Georgia | 69-67-71—207 |
| T3. | Jakob Melin, San Francisco | 69-70-68—207 |
| T3. | Jonathan Nilesen, Clemson | 68-74-67—207 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Georgia | 279-285-275—839 |
| 2. | Utah | 284-279-277—840 |
| 3. | Stanford | 279-287-278—844 |
| 4. | Tennessee | 279-286-280—845 |
| 5. | Georgia Tech | 283-284-279—846 |
| 6. | BYU | 280-288-280—848 |
| 7. | San Francisco | 289-286-284—849 |
| 8. | Pepperdine | 281-288-282—851 |
| 9. | UCLA | 287-286-279—852 |
| 10. | Oregon | 290-287-277—854 |
| 11. | Clemson | 285-288-282—855 |
| 12. | Lipscomb | 295-291-271—857 |
| 13. | San Jose State | 291-287-283—861 |
| 14. | San Diego State | 293-288-281—862 |
| 14. | California | 285-298-279—862 |
| 14. | Cal Poly | 292-290-280—862 |
| 17. | COLORADO | 293-291-279—863 |
| 17. | Arkansas-Little Rock | 292-292-279—863 |
| 19. | San Diego | 293-284-289—866 |
| 19. | Oregon State | 290-291-285—866 |
| 21. | Washington State | 294-291-282—867 |
| 22. | Santa Clara | 289-291-288—868 |
| 22. | Long Beach State | 293-290-285—868 |
| 22. | Nevada | 286-295-287—868 |
| 25. | UC Davis | 282-299-295—876 |
| 26. | Southern California | 295-299-285—879 |
| 27. | Utah Tech | 296-295-289—880 |
| 28. | TCU | 300-299-282—881 |
| 29. | California Baptist | 296-298-292—886 |
| 29. | Howard | 295-303-288—886 |
| 31. | Appalachian State | 297-303-295—895 |
Players Mentioned
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