Colorado University Athletics
Saturday, April 13
Phoenix, Ariz.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Third Round
Biwer recorded his 21st career subpar tournament.
Photo by: Mike Rasay
Golfers Finish 13th In ASU's Thunderbird Collegiate
April 13, 2024 | Men's Golf
Biwer Ties For 11th After A Final Round 68
PHOENIX — The University of Colorado men's golf team posted its best score of three rounds here but it wasn't enough to elevate the Buffaloes in the standings, as CU finished 13th here Saturday in Arizona State's Thunderbird Collegiate.
Host and No. 4 Arizona State blitzed the field, as the Sun Devils played like the nation's fourth-ranked team finishing with a team score of 38-under par 814, closing with tournament's best single round, a 15-under 269. No. 27 Oklahoma State and No. 33 UCLA tied for second, 28 strokes bac at 10-under 842. No. 9 Arizona (843) and No. 62 Houston (844) rounded out the top five.
The No. 66 Buffaloes had 11 holes to complete first thing Saturday after the second round on Friday was suspended due to darkness. The players responded with three birdies and eight pars, and CU's final team score of 2-over par 286 was the eighth-best for the second round, and moved the Buffs into 12th place after standing in 15th after 18 holes.
But a quick start in the final round avoided CU, as it fluctuated between being even and 2-over par for the first eight holes. For a brief time, the Buffs were a stroke or two under par, but could never make much headway in finishing 13th with a 6-over par 858 score. Their final round, a 1-over 285, was the best round of the three here
Junior Justin Biwer led the Buffaloes over the two days, closing with a 3-under 68 which gave him a 4-under 209 overall, tying him for 11th place, his highest finish this spring and second-best for the season. After scoring a double bogey on his second hole of the day, the par-3 11th, he played the rest of the round at 5-under par, as he recorded six birdies and 10 pars with just a single bogey and the double.
Biwer led the Buffs with 14 birdies on the 7,551-yard, par-71 Papago Golf Club course layout, which also tied for the third-most in the 96-man field, and also had CU's second-most pars with 32.
Junior Tucker Clark fashioned an even-par 71 that maintained an even performance overall (213), tying him for 27th. He wrapped the event with his second eagle of the season, to go with three birdies and 10 pars opposite three bogeys and a double. He had a team-high 34 pars for the weekend, and played the par-3 holes the best of the Buffs at 2-over for the 12 combined.
Junior Dylan McDermott tied for 52nd, as he carded a 1-over 72 in the final round for a 3-over 216 total. He was 2-under through 14, but struggled down the stretch, bogeying three of his last four holes. He had three birdies and 11 pars with four bogeys Saturday, and his 12 birdies overall also tied for the 13th-most in the field, and he also had 28 pars.
Biwer, Clark and McDermott all played the nine-combined par-5 holes at 5-under, which tied for ninth among all who competed here.
Freshman Brandon Knight tied for 86th after wrapping things with a 3-over 74; he posted a 10-over 223 scorecard overall. After making the turn at 5-over, he rallied on the front nine, starting with his fourth eagle of the year on the par-5 1st. He went on to close his day with his third birdie. He had seven birds overall with 29 pars and played the par-5's well at 4-under.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson couldn't get much going, closing with a 7-over 78 for a 14-over 227 that placed him 93rd. He had one birdie and eight pars with nine bogeys; after four of those came in the last five on the back nine and making the turn at 5-over, he birdied the 561-yard, par-5 1st hole to briefly right the ship. He had six birdies and 30 pars overall.
Arizona State's Preston Summerhays claimed medalist honors, a third straight score in the 60s (a 3-under 68) giving him a 12-under 201 total; that bested teammate Ryggs Johnson's 10-under 203.
"We did a nice job finishing our second round this morning," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "However, we got off to a tough start in the final round. Justin really had a good round as he was 5-under the last 16 holes. This was a really strong and deep field, so we knew we would have to play well to finish high and were just short of that."
This was the most competitive tournament the Buffaloes have played in to date, as of the 17 schools here, six were in the top 20, 10 in the top 43 and 16 in the top 67 in Scoreboard's April 10th rankings.
"There were a lot of positives from the tournament, though," Edwards added. "We hit a lot of great shots and putts and as soon as we eliminate the unforced errors, we will be right at the top. I'm looking forward to a great 10 days of preparation for the Pac-12 Championship. It looks like we need to finish third or better to make regionals."
This was the final tune-up for the traveling squad ahead of the 13th annual (and final) Pac-12 Championships, which are in two weeks back here in Arizona (Carefree). The five players competing here are likely on that event's roster, with a sixth player to be added into the mix after next week's Southern Colorado Masters in Pueblo, where four Buffs will compete individually (Freddy Eisenbeis, Jack Holland, Ty Holbrook and Robby Keilch).
NOTES: Sunny skies prevailed both days, Saturday's temperature reached the mid-80s and the wind refrained from gusting as it did in Friday's second round … In the "mini-preview" of the Pac-12 Championships (with nine conference teams participating here), CU beat three, two ranked higher than the Buffs (No. 8 Washington and No.56 WSU) and lost to five (Only Cal, Oregon and Stanford were not here) …The average score for all 288 rounds was 71.80, but was the lowest on Saturday (71.23, as compared to 71.58 for round one and 72.56 for round two) … Overall, 26 players finished under par with seven others matching it … There were 62 rounds scored in the 60's (26 Saturday, and 21 by the Arizona schools with the most by ASU with 14), and none in the 80's (three 79's were the highest) … The Buffs tied for third in eagles (2, Arizona State had 4 and Houston 3), were ninth in birdies (48; ASU led with 64), but were last in pars (154, Oklahoma State had the most with 177); UCLA's Pablo Ereno had the rarest of stats, an albatross 2 (on the par-5 1st hole) … Colorado played the par-5's the second-best here at 19-under (behind only minus-25 by ASU), the par-3's tied for 14th (20-over) and the par-4's 15th (22-over) … McDermott became the 40th player in CU history to play 100 career rounds, finishing this meet with 102; Biwer hit the mark last tournament and has played in 104 … With all three rounds here of par or better, Biwer increased his career total to 72; that is third all-time at CU and is nipping on the heels of the leaders, Jeremy and Yannik Paul (who had 74 and 73, respectively) … It was also Biwer's 21st subpar tournament, which also only trails the Paul brothers, both of whom had 22; he tied Yannik for second with his 22nd event of par or better, which Jeremy leads that list with 26 … Biwer set a school record with his 31st tournament with a score of 220 or better, breaking a tie with Daniel O'Loughlin (2017-21) … Biwer continues to lead the team in stroke average with a 71.07 mark, with McDermott (71.60), Swanson (72.30) and Clark (72.48) next in order; Knight is seventh (73.63, which currently is the ninth-best mark by a CU freshman) … The Buffaloes posted a 4-12 mark here, and are now 79-86-4 against Division I opponents (.479); a team must finish .500 or above to qualify for the NCAA postseason: for the Buffaloes to qualify for the NCAA regionals, CU must finish third or higher in the Pac-12 Championships.
Host and No. 4 Arizona State blitzed the field, as the Sun Devils played like the nation's fourth-ranked team finishing with a team score of 38-under par 814, closing with tournament's best single round, a 15-under 269. No. 27 Oklahoma State and No. 33 UCLA tied for second, 28 strokes bac at 10-under 842. No. 9 Arizona (843) and No. 62 Houston (844) rounded out the top five.
The No. 66 Buffaloes had 11 holes to complete first thing Saturday after the second round on Friday was suspended due to darkness. The players responded with three birdies and eight pars, and CU's final team score of 2-over par 286 was the eighth-best for the second round, and moved the Buffs into 12th place after standing in 15th after 18 holes.
But a quick start in the final round avoided CU, as it fluctuated between being even and 2-over par for the first eight holes. For a brief time, the Buffs were a stroke or two under par, but could never make much headway in finishing 13th with a 6-over par 858 score. Their final round, a 1-over 285, was the best round of the three here
Junior Justin Biwer led the Buffaloes over the two days, closing with a 3-under 68 which gave him a 4-under 209 overall, tying him for 11th place, his highest finish this spring and second-best for the season. After scoring a double bogey on his second hole of the day, the par-3 11th, he played the rest of the round at 5-under par, as he recorded six birdies and 10 pars with just a single bogey and the double.
Biwer led the Buffs with 14 birdies on the 7,551-yard, par-71 Papago Golf Club course layout, which also tied for the third-most in the 96-man field, and also had CU's second-most pars with 32.
Junior Tucker Clark fashioned an even-par 71 that maintained an even performance overall (213), tying him for 27th. He wrapped the event with his second eagle of the season, to go with three birdies and 10 pars opposite three bogeys and a double. He had a team-high 34 pars for the weekend, and played the par-3 holes the best of the Buffs at 2-over for the 12 combined.
Junior Dylan McDermott tied for 52nd, as he carded a 1-over 72 in the final round for a 3-over 216 total. He was 2-under through 14, but struggled down the stretch, bogeying three of his last four holes. He had three birdies and 11 pars with four bogeys Saturday, and his 12 birdies overall also tied for the 13th-most in the field, and he also had 28 pars.
Biwer, Clark and McDermott all played the nine-combined par-5 holes at 5-under, which tied for ninth among all who competed here.
Freshman Brandon Knight tied for 86th after wrapping things with a 3-over 74; he posted a 10-over 223 scorecard overall. After making the turn at 5-over, he rallied on the front nine, starting with his fourth eagle of the year on the par-5 1st. He went on to close his day with his third birdie. He had seven birds overall with 29 pars and played the par-5's well at 4-under.
Sophomore Hunter Swanson couldn't get much going, closing with a 7-over 78 for a 14-over 227 that placed him 93rd. He had one birdie and eight pars with nine bogeys; after four of those came in the last five on the back nine and making the turn at 5-over, he birdied the 561-yard, par-5 1st hole to briefly right the ship. He had six birdies and 30 pars overall.
Arizona State's Preston Summerhays claimed medalist honors, a third straight score in the 60s (a 3-under 68) giving him a 12-under 201 total; that bested teammate Ryggs Johnson's 10-under 203.
"We did a nice job finishing our second round this morning," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "However, we got off to a tough start in the final round. Justin really had a good round as he was 5-under the last 16 holes. This was a really strong and deep field, so we knew we would have to play well to finish high and were just short of that."
This was the most competitive tournament the Buffaloes have played in to date, as of the 17 schools here, six were in the top 20, 10 in the top 43 and 16 in the top 67 in Scoreboard's April 10th rankings.
"There were a lot of positives from the tournament, though," Edwards added. "We hit a lot of great shots and putts and as soon as we eliminate the unforced errors, we will be right at the top. I'm looking forward to a great 10 days of preparation for the Pac-12 Championship. It looks like we need to finish third or better to make regionals."
This was the final tune-up for the traveling squad ahead of the 13th annual (and final) Pac-12 Championships, which are in two weeks back here in Arizona (Carefree). The five players competing here are likely on that event's roster, with a sixth player to be added into the mix after next week's Southern Colorado Masters in Pueblo, where four Buffs will compete individually (Freddy Eisenbeis, Jack Holland, Ty Holbrook and Robby Keilch).
NOTES: Sunny skies prevailed both days, Saturday's temperature reached the mid-80s and the wind refrained from gusting as it did in Friday's second round … In the "mini-preview" of the Pac-12 Championships (with nine conference teams participating here), CU beat three, two ranked higher than the Buffs (No. 8 Washington and No.56 WSU) and lost to five (Only Cal, Oregon and Stanford were not here) …The average score for all 288 rounds was 71.80, but was the lowest on Saturday (71.23, as compared to 71.58 for round one and 72.56 for round two) … Overall, 26 players finished under par with seven others matching it … There were 62 rounds scored in the 60's (26 Saturday, and 21 by the Arizona schools with the most by ASU with 14), and none in the 80's (three 79's were the highest) … The Buffs tied for third in eagles (2, Arizona State had 4 and Houston 3), were ninth in birdies (48; ASU led with 64), but were last in pars (154, Oklahoma State had the most with 177); UCLA's Pablo Ereno had the rarest of stats, an albatross 2 (on the par-5 1st hole) … Colorado played the par-5's the second-best here at 19-under (behind only minus-25 by ASU), the par-3's tied for 14th (20-over) and the par-4's 15th (22-over) … McDermott became the 40th player in CU history to play 100 career rounds, finishing this meet with 102; Biwer hit the mark last tournament and has played in 104 … With all three rounds here of par or better, Biwer increased his career total to 72; that is third all-time at CU and is nipping on the heels of the leaders, Jeremy and Yannik Paul (who had 74 and 73, respectively) … It was also Biwer's 21st subpar tournament, which also only trails the Paul brothers, both of whom had 22; he tied Yannik for second with his 22nd event of par or better, which Jeremy leads that list with 26 … Biwer set a school record with his 31st tournament with a score of 220 or better, breaking a tie with Daniel O'Loughlin (2017-21) … Biwer continues to lead the team in stroke average with a 71.07 mark, with McDermott (71.60), Swanson (72.30) and Clark (72.48) next in order; Knight is seventh (73.63, which currently is the ninth-best mark by a CU freshman) … The Buffaloes posted a 4-12 mark here, and are now 79-86-4 against Division I opponents (.479); a team must finish .500 or above to qualify for the NCAA postseason: for the Buffaloes to qualify for the NCAA regionals, CU must finish third or higher in the Pac-12 Championships.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T11. | Justin Biwer | 70-71-68—209 |
| T27. | Tucker Clark | 70-72-71—213 |
| T52. | Dylan McDermott | 73-71-72—216 |
| T86. | Brandon Knight | 74-75-74—223 |
| 93. | Hunter Swanson | 77-72-78—227 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Preston Summerhays, Arizona State | 67-66-68—201 |
| 2. | Ryggs Johnson, Arizona State | 68-69-66—203 |
| T3. | Pablo Erono, UCLA | 70-67-67—204 |
| T3. | Wenyi Ding, Arizona State | 69-67-68—204 |
| T5. | Bastien Amat, New Mexico | 66-72-67—205 |
| T5. | Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State | 67-69-69—205 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Arizona State | 274-271-269—814 |
| 2. | UCLA | 283-279-280—842 |
| 3. | Oklahoma State | 282-285-275—842 |
| 4. | Arizona | 271-287-285—843 |
| 5. | Houston | 279-283-282—844 |
| 6. | Utah | 282-285-278—845 |
| 6. | New Mexico | 279-290-276—845 |
| 8. | SMU | 281-290-278—849 |
| 9. | Texas Tech | 284-283-283—850 |
| 10. | Baylor | 280-296-275—851 |
| 11. | Oklahoma | 286-280-286—852 |
| 12. | Oregon State | 279-290-288—857 |
| 13. | COLORADO | 287-286-285—858 |
| 14. | Washington State | 282-290-289—862 |
| 15. | Washington | 284-298-282—864 |
| 16. | San Francisco | 290-295-289—874 |
| 17. | Southern California | 292-290-295—877 |
Players Mentioned
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