Colorado University Athletics
Swanson was a par machine with 47, with 18 birdies and just seven bogeys through the week.
Photo by: Ka'anapali Golf Course
Swanson Ties For Third In Southwestern Amateur
June 15, 2024 | Men's Golf
The third-best finish by a Buffalo in prestigious event
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — University of Colorado junior-to-be Hunter Swanson battled to the end and tied for third here Saturday as the 109th Annual Southwestern Amateur came to a conclusion.
Swanson closed with a 3-under par 69, which gave him an 11-under 277 overall total on the 7,107-yard, par-72 Desert Mountain Golf Club. In the lead early, he spent much of the day either tied or one back. Eventual champion Kristoffer Kuvaas, a sophomore at Pepperdine, won on the second hole of a playoff, as he fired a 9-under 63 to finish at 12-under 276; he had a stretch of six birdies over seven holes to propel him into the lead.
Kuvaas' 63 was the best round in the event, while Swanson's 65 in the second round was the second-best; his overall scorecard read 73-65-70-69—287. He entered the final round in a three-way tie for the lead on a jam-packed leaderboard as just four strokes separated the top 16 players, 10 of whom shot in the 60's Saturday, five others under par and one with an even-round proving the competitiveness of the tournament. In the end, 11 players finished within four strokes of the top.
It was the third-best finish by a Buffalo in the prestigious event; Scott Petersen was the 1992 champion at Rio Rancho Country Club in Albuquerque with a 7-under 281, and Derek Tolan tied for second in 2006 at the Badlands Golf Course in Las Vegas (289, +1).
"I felt I played pretty good, I led at some point real early in the round but (Kuvaas) was on fire; a 63 today was very impressive," Swanson said. "After the first round, which wasn't great since the longest putt I made all day was a three-footer, but then from the second round on I played much better and more consistent golf."
Swanson's effort was also the best by a Buffalo since a pair sixth-place ties, by Patrick Grady in 2008 (at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.) and by Michael Baird, also at Desert Mountain in 2006.
His finish in the highly competitive event marked a return to his former self after a tough time down the stretch in the spring. After recording a 71.1 stroke average for 15 rounds in the fall, the 11th-best in school history, it rose to 73.8 in the spring (19 rounds), including 75.1 over the last four events.
"I kept the same usual work ethic, obviously understanding that I needed to improve because those scores are just simply unacceptable for how hard I work at my game," Swanson said about how the spring season ended. "But I would say the only thing I really worked toward was using my failures as motivation to be better and be back where I know I can be, which is competing with some of the best amateur golfers in the world. That's playing each round trying to make a bunch of birdies, and not worrying about hitting bad shots, only focusing on where I want to hit the ball and just doing it."
For the week, Swanson recorded 18 total birdies, eight in the second round, with 47 pars and just seven bogeys; four of the latter came in his opening round, otherwise he had just one in each of the final three rounds.
NOTES: Next up for Swanson will be the 124th Annual North & South Men's Amateur Championship in Pinehurst, N.C. (where the U.S. Open is being played this week); Swanson will be joined by CU senior-to-be Dylan McDermott in the tourney which begins June 23; the format is similar to the U.S. Amateur with two rounds of the stroke play ahead of the match play. The 120-player field will compete over two days on both Pinehurst No. 2 and Pinehurst No. 8 and will be cut to a 32-player match play bracket (all match play rounds will be contested on Pinehurst No. 2) … McDermott and another CU senior-to-be, Justin Biwer, will be competing in the 58th Annual Northeast Amateur beginning this Wednesday, June 19, at Wannamoisett Country Club in East Providence, R.I. Past-winners in the Northeast include Ben Crenshaw (1973), Scott Hoch (1977), Hal Sutton (1980), David Duval (1992), Dustin Johnson (2007) and Collin Morikawa (2017).
Swanson closed with a 3-under par 69, which gave him an 11-under 277 overall total on the 7,107-yard, par-72 Desert Mountain Golf Club. In the lead early, he spent much of the day either tied or one back. Eventual champion Kristoffer Kuvaas, a sophomore at Pepperdine, won on the second hole of a playoff, as he fired a 9-under 63 to finish at 12-under 276; he had a stretch of six birdies over seven holes to propel him into the lead.
Kuvaas' 63 was the best round in the event, while Swanson's 65 in the second round was the second-best; his overall scorecard read 73-65-70-69—287. He entered the final round in a three-way tie for the lead on a jam-packed leaderboard as just four strokes separated the top 16 players, 10 of whom shot in the 60's Saturday, five others under par and one with an even-round proving the competitiveness of the tournament. In the end, 11 players finished within four strokes of the top.
It was the third-best finish by a Buffalo in the prestigious event; Scott Petersen was the 1992 champion at Rio Rancho Country Club in Albuquerque with a 7-under 281, and Derek Tolan tied for second in 2006 at the Badlands Golf Course in Las Vegas (289, +1).
"I felt I played pretty good, I led at some point real early in the round but (Kuvaas) was on fire; a 63 today was very impressive," Swanson said. "After the first round, which wasn't great since the longest putt I made all day was a three-footer, but then from the second round on I played much better and more consistent golf."
Swanson's effort was also the best by a Buffalo since a pair sixth-place ties, by Patrick Grady in 2008 (at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.) and by Michael Baird, also at Desert Mountain in 2006.
His finish in the highly competitive event marked a return to his former self after a tough time down the stretch in the spring. After recording a 71.1 stroke average for 15 rounds in the fall, the 11th-best in school history, it rose to 73.8 in the spring (19 rounds), including 75.1 over the last four events.
"I kept the same usual work ethic, obviously understanding that I needed to improve because those scores are just simply unacceptable for how hard I work at my game," Swanson said about how the spring season ended. "But I would say the only thing I really worked toward was using my failures as motivation to be better and be back where I know I can be, which is competing with some of the best amateur golfers in the world. That's playing each round trying to make a bunch of birdies, and not worrying about hitting bad shots, only focusing on where I want to hit the ball and just doing it."
For the week, Swanson recorded 18 total birdies, eight in the second round, with 47 pars and just seven bogeys; four of the latter came in his opening round, otherwise he had just one in each of the final three rounds.
NOTES: Next up for Swanson will be the 124th Annual North & South Men's Amateur Championship in Pinehurst, N.C. (where the U.S. Open is being played this week); Swanson will be joined by CU senior-to-be Dylan McDermott in the tourney which begins June 23; the format is similar to the U.S. Amateur with two rounds of the stroke play ahead of the match play. The 120-player field will compete over two days on both Pinehurst No. 2 and Pinehurst No. 8 and will be cut to a 32-player match play bracket (all match play rounds will be contested on Pinehurst No. 2) … McDermott and another CU senior-to-be, Justin Biwer, will be competing in the 58th Annual Northeast Amateur beginning this Wednesday, June 19, at Wannamoisett Country Club in East Providence, R.I. Past-winners in the Northeast include Ben Crenshaw (1973), Scott Hoch (1977), Hal Sutton (1980), David Duval (1992), Dustin Johnson (2007) and Collin Morikawa (2017).
Players Mentioned
Thursday, March 26
Tuesday, August 12
Tuesday, February 06
Tuesday, February 06