Thursday, April 24
Tulsa, Okla.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Fourth Round
"The Tulsa Six" for CU: Biwer, Knight, Swanson, McDermott, Holbrook and Clark.
Photo by: Jimmy McDermott
Golfers Finish Sixth At Big 12 Championship
April 24, 2025 | Men's Golf
Buffaloes Finish Up With Their Best Round Of The Week
TULSA — The University of Colorado men's golf team enjoyed its best round of four here Thursday, but it just came up short to propel the Buffaloes into a top five finish as CU claimed sixth place in its return to the Big 12 Conference Championships for the first time since 2011.
In the end, No. 4 Oklahoma State pulled away from the pack and won its 12th Big 12 title – its first since 2021 – with a 2-under par team score of 1,118; the Cowboys were the only team in the red. No. 5 Arizona State finished second, sort of in a "no man's land", 11 behind the 'Pokes but 19 strokes ahead of third place and No. 33 Texas Tech; the Sun Devils had 1,129 total strokes, with the Red Raiders finishing with 1,148. No. 41 Houston claimed fourth (1,149) while TCU edged out Colorado for fifth by two shots (1,154).
The No. 34 Buffaloes thus finished sixth with a stroke count of 1,156, rising briefly as high as fourth as well as dropping back into eighth depending on how scores were rolling it. That was expected since 14 strokes separated third and 10th place heading into the final round, with teams spurting up and down all day. CU's 3-over 283 was its best single round of the four here this week, and tied for the sixth-best in the final round.
Colorado defeated three teams ranked ahead of it, No. 14 Utah (by one stroke), No. 22 Arizona and No. 28 Brigham Young. This was CU's 16th time competing in the Big 12 Championships, the sixth-place finish tying for its seventh-best; second place in 2009 remains the school's best in the event, with two third place efforts in 1998 and 2000 the next best.
Senior Justin Biwer led the Buffaloes in an event for the fifth time this season, tying for 14th after closing with an even-par effort on the 7,556-yard, par-70 Southern Hills Country Club layout. He had another steady round with three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys which enabled him to finish with a 7-over 287 score. Opening with two pars, he did have a back-and-forth stretch of bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-par-bogey to stand at 1-over through eight; he then parred the next six holes before making birdie on No. 15, then closed with three more pars. He had a team-high 12 pars for the event, along with 43 pars while playing the par-5's at 2-under, the par-4's at 4-over and the par-3's at 5-over.
It was Biwer's career 28th top 20 finish, breaking a tie for the most all-time at Colorado with Kane Webber (1999-2004) and Jeremy Paul (2013-17).
Senior Dylan McDermott tied for 17th, also after wrapping with an even-par 70; that gave him an 8-over 288 total for 72 holes. He matched the team-high for birdies in the final round with four to go with 11 pars, two bogeys and a double, the latter of which got his day off to a slow start. He made the turn at 3-over after bogeying No. 9, but posted a 32 on the back nine with three birdies and six pars. He led the Buffs in pars with 45, along with 10 birdies against 14 bogeys and two doubles.
But it was his birdie on No. 18, the toughest hole all week (+0.53 over par), that was the difference between the Buffs edging long-time athletic rival Utah by one stroke or tying the Utes – and a double bogey would have dropped CU into eighth. On-lookers described it from impossible to incredible to a four-letter word ending with "ing-crazy." One of just 13 birdies out of 319 attempts on the 491-yard, par-4 finishing hole, McDermott's drive sailed over the trees lining 18 and came to rest on the fairway on 9. He was 147 yards from the pin and had to hoist an 8-iron over a tree, and not only did he clear it, it came to rest six feet below the pin and he sank the putt.
Junior Hunter Swanson closed with his best score here, a 1-over 71, which placed him in a tie for 34th with a 12-over 292 total. Steady for the most part Thursday with three birdies (including both par-5's), 11 pars and four bogeys, he had nine birds and 43 pars overall with 19 bogeys and one double. He bracketed his bogeys and birdies in the final round, as he bogeyed Nos. 1 and 3, came back with his birdies on Nos. 5, 12 and 13, and then bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15. He wound up playing the par-5's at 1-under, the par-3's at 4-over and the par-4's at 9-over.
Sophomore Ty Holbrook tied for 43rd after closing with a 4-over 74, giving him a 15-over 295 total for the week. The par-3's did him in Thursday, playing the four at 4-over, as he was even on the par-4's and par-5's; he had two birdies and 11 pars opposite four bogeys and a double. He opened his round with a birdie on No. 1 but closed it with a bogey on No. 18. He had nine birdies and 41 pars all told, with 20 bogeys and two doubles overall, playing the par-5's the best at 1-over, the par-4's at 5-over and the par-3's at 9-over.
Sophomore Brandon Knight remained in the lineup for the second straight day after being activated by the coaches for the fifth spot and final designated scoring position after he sat out on Tuesday. He carded a second straight 2-over 72 for a 4-over 144 total, but won't place in the standings; however, he performed the best of the nine substitutes that wound up competing. He was 3-over after 10 holes, but birdied Nos. 12, 15 and 16 to get back to even, but scored a double bogey on No. 18. He tied for the team-high with four birdies in the final round, with 10 pars, two bogeys and two doubles, with 26 total pars over his two rounds. He was even on the par-5's, 1-over on the par-3's and 3-over on the par-4's.
Senior Tucker Clark sat out again on Thursday, once again aiding his teammates wherever he could. He played both rounds on Tuesday, ending in 75th in the standings with a 19-over 80-79—159 score.
"We had a really good finish to the round today after a rough start," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Again, really impressed with the team's fight and competitiveness. Everyone did this really well but Dylan especially today. This week was an amazing opportunity to get better and learn about ourselves and there is no question we took full advantage of that.
"Both Southern Hills and Prairie Dunes (the site of the '26 Big 12's and where CU had two practice rounds en route to Tulsa) test absolutely every part of your game and we saw what we had all week, he added. "The team is in great position heading into the NCAA tournament and I anticipate a good few weeks of practice ahead.
"An upper division finish in a field with likely 13 teams that will make the NCAA regionals is a really strong event."
This was CU's eighth upper division finish in 16 Big 12 title meets, and dating back to when the Buffaloes joined the Big Seven in 1948, their 34th in 65 events (four of 10 in the Big 7, with two fourths in the middle, and 22 of 39 in the Big 8).
Oklahoma State sophomore Preston Stout used a final round 3-under 67 – tied for the low round of the day –vaulted him from fourth into medalist honors; he was co-medalist as a freshman in 2024. In doing so, he defeated by two strokes Arizona State sophomore Connor Williams, who had either led or owned the share of the lead after each of the first three rounds.
The Buffaloes qualified long ago for the NCAA Championships, ranked high enough where there are no concerns about not being selected. Six sites around the nation will host regionals from May 12-14; selections will be announced live on the Golf Channel next Wednesday, April 30, at 11:00 a.m. mountain time.
NOTES: Overcast skies took over, it was cooler in the 60s most of the round, and light rain was moving into the area as thunderstorms were headed Tulsa-way later in the day; thus tee times were moved up until just after the crack of dawn … Edwards noted the team had great support all week, giving a special shout out to a large group of donors traveled to Tulsa along with sport supervisor Ryan Gottlieb and Seth Pringle who handled social media and photography … The average score for all 319 rounds was 73.66; the course played the "easiest" in the final round with a 72.46 mark; yet, only two players finished under par and two others even, meaning the other 85 who competed, including subs, were on the unhappy side of par (37 who were plus-15 or worse, 16 20-over plus) … There were nine eagles all week, though six came on Thursday … Colorado played the par-3's at 26-over (14th; OSU was first at 1-over), but the par-4's third-best at 39-over (OSU topped the field at 24-over) and the par-5's at even (tied for 11th; OSU also led at just 9-under) … The Buffs were seventh in birdies with 44 (Okie State led with 56), were sixth with 219 pars (OSU had 235) and were eighth in bogeys with 85 (Baylor had the most – 99 -- OSU the fewest with 62); the Buffs had the seventh-fewest doubles or worse (12, but no triples or higher) … Seventeen of the 18 holes played over par on average for the week, the lone exception being the 632-yard, par-5 13th; the seven toughest remained constant through four rounds, but were joined by No. 11 in the end (in order, Nos. 18, 3, 8, 9, 10, 7, 11 and 15): CU's scorers played those at just 4-over in the final round (and second-best at 27-over in total; champion Oklahoma State's scorers played them the best at 21-over overall, and at plus-7 on Thursday while ASU was next at 30-over) … Overall, nine of the nation's top 50 (13 of the top 75) with 28 of the top 150 individuals competed here (14 of the top 50) … Had the 7,556-yard course layout played to a par-72, the stroke count in relation to par would have been 32 strokes lower for each team and eight lower for each individual who played 72 holes; the SEC has two schools tied at 26-under through two rounds playing a par-70 at 550 fewer yards (Southern Hills had nine holes of 450 yards or longer, the SEC's course just four, one of which was 452) … Colorado was 10-5 here against the field, the Buffaloes are now 162-26-2, an .858 winning percentage against Division I competition (24-11 vs. Big 12 foes and 61-38-9 in rounds); the 162 wins continue to lead the nation with the percentage still fourth-best … And in single rounds, CU was 32-22-6, with its season mark standing at 420-131-22 (.752) … The top 10 and any ties were named to the All-Tournament Team.
THE JB-DMAC FRIENDLY DUEL UPDATE: There remains barely any separation between the two most accomplished players since the Paul twins last decade and U.S. Open champions Hale Irwin and Steve Jones in CU golf history; Biwer and McDermott have the exact same stroke average for the spring for 19 rounds (70.32), and Biwer has five fewer strokes on the season, and thus still holds the slight edge in season stroke average (Biwer's average is 69.50 and McDermott's is 69.65 (which remain on pace to be the two best for a single-season in school history); they also rank 1-2 in the Big 12 (only Utah's Gabriel Palacios has the league's other sub-70 average at 69.97) … The two are 1-2 all-time in career stroke average, with Biwer having a bit more breathing room (70.85 to 70.98); third all-time but current leader in the clubhouse is Daniel O'Loughlin's 71.68 norm … Both have now led the team in an event five times this season, with Holbrook leading three times, Knight and Freddy Eisenbeis twice and Swanson once (includes the Big 12 Match Play) … The pair are also 1-2 in birdies, Justin with 527 and Dylan with 498 … McD is ahead in rounds in the 60's (50-47), but JB owns edges in subpar rounds (80-68) and in rounds of par or better (99-90) … Biwer and McDermott have become the 26th and 27th Buffaloes in history to compete in four conference championship events dating back to George Brown doing so from 1929 through 1932 … Biwer became the 15th member of CU's "10,000 Stroke Club" here, as he now has 10,273 total strokes' McDermott is poised to be the 16th, as he has 9,937 heading into regional play.
In the end, No. 4 Oklahoma State pulled away from the pack and won its 12th Big 12 title – its first since 2021 – with a 2-under par team score of 1,118; the Cowboys were the only team in the red. No. 5 Arizona State finished second, sort of in a "no man's land", 11 behind the 'Pokes but 19 strokes ahead of third place and No. 33 Texas Tech; the Sun Devils had 1,129 total strokes, with the Red Raiders finishing with 1,148. No. 41 Houston claimed fourth (1,149) while TCU edged out Colorado for fifth by two shots (1,154).
The No. 34 Buffaloes thus finished sixth with a stroke count of 1,156, rising briefly as high as fourth as well as dropping back into eighth depending on how scores were rolling it. That was expected since 14 strokes separated third and 10th place heading into the final round, with teams spurting up and down all day. CU's 3-over 283 was its best single round of the four here this week, and tied for the sixth-best in the final round.
Colorado defeated three teams ranked ahead of it, No. 14 Utah (by one stroke), No. 22 Arizona and No. 28 Brigham Young. This was CU's 16th time competing in the Big 12 Championships, the sixth-place finish tying for its seventh-best; second place in 2009 remains the school's best in the event, with two third place efforts in 1998 and 2000 the next best.
Senior Justin Biwer led the Buffaloes in an event for the fifth time this season, tying for 14th after closing with an even-par effort on the 7,556-yard, par-70 Southern Hills Country Club layout. He had another steady round with three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys which enabled him to finish with a 7-over 287 score. Opening with two pars, he did have a back-and-forth stretch of bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-par-bogey to stand at 1-over through eight; he then parred the next six holes before making birdie on No. 15, then closed with three more pars. He had a team-high 12 pars for the event, along with 43 pars while playing the par-5's at 2-under, the par-4's at 4-over and the par-3's at 5-over.
It was Biwer's career 28th top 20 finish, breaking a tie for the most all-time at Colorado with Kane Webber (1999-2004) and Jeremy Paul (2013-17).
Senior Dylan McDermott tied for 17th, also after wrapping with an even-par 70; that gave him an 8-over 288 total for 72 holes. He matched the team-high for birdies in the final round with four to go with 11 pars, two bogeys and a double, the latter of which got his day off to a slow start. He made the turn at 3-over after bogeying No. 9, but posted a 32 on the back nine with three birdies and six pars. He led the Buffs in pars with 45, along with 10 birdies against 14 bogeys and two doubles.
But it was his birdie on No. 18, the toughest hole all week (+0.53 over par), that was the difference between the Buffs edging long-time athletic rival Utah by one stroke or tying the Utes – and a double bogey would have dropped CU into eighth. On-lookers described it from impossible to incredible to a four-letter word ending with "ing-crazy." One of just 13 birdies out of 319 attempts on the 491-yard, par-4 finishing hole, McDermott's drive sailed over the trees lining 18 and came to rest on the fairway on 9. He was 147 yards from the pin and had to hoist an 8-iron over a tree, and not only did he clear it, it came to rest six feet below the pin and he sank the putt.
Junior Hunter Swanson closed with his best score here, a 1-over 71, which placed him in a tie for 34th with a 12-over 292 total. Steady for the most part Thursday with three birdies (including both par-5's), 11 pars and four bogeys, he had nine birds and 43 pars overall with 19 bogeys and one double. He bracketed his bogeys and birdies in the final round, as he bogeyed Nos. 1 and 3, came back with his birdies on Nos. 5, 12 and 13, and then bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15. He wound up playing the par-5's at 1-under, the par-3's at 4-over and the par-4's at 9-over.
Sophomore Ty Holbrook tied for 43rd after closing with a 4-over 74, giving him a 15-over 295 total for the week. The par-3's did him in Thursday, playing the four at 4-over, as he was even on the par-4's and par-5's; he had two birdies and 11 pars opposite four bogeys and a double. He opened his round with a birdie on No. 1 but closed it with a bogey on No. 18. He had nine birdies and 41 pars all told, with 20 bogeys and two doubles overall, playing the par-5's the best at 1-over, the par-4's at 5-over and the par-3's at 9-over.
Sophomore Brandon Knight remained in the lineup for the second straight day after being activated by the coaches for the fifth spot and final designated scoring position after he sat out on Tuesday. He carded a second straight 2-over 72 for a 4-over 144 total, but won't place in the standings; however, he performed the best of the nine substitutes that wound up competing. He was 3-over after 10 holes, but birdied Nos. 12, 15 and 16 to get back to even, but scored a double bogey on No. 18. He tied for the team-high with four birdies in the final round, with 10 pars, two bogeys and two doubles, with 26 total pars over his two rounds. He was even on the par-5's, 1-over on the par-3's and 3-over on the par-4's.
Senior Tucker Clark sat out again on Thursday, once again aiding his teammates wherever he could. He played both rounds on Tuesday, ending in 75th in the standings with a 19-over 80-79—159 score.
"We had a really good finish to the round today after a rough start," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Again, really impressed with the team's fight and competitiveness. Everyone did this really well but Dylan especially today. This week was an amazing opportunity to get better and learn about ourselves and there is no question we took full advantage of that.
"Both Southern Hills and Prairie Dunes (the site of the '26 Big 12's and where CU had two practice rounds en route to Tulsa) test absolutely every part of your game and we saw what we had all week, he added. "The team is in great position heading into the NCAA tournament and I anticipate a good few weeks of practice ahead.
"An upper division finish in a field with likely 13 teams that will make the NCAA regionals is a really strong event."
This was CU's eighth upper division finish in 16 Big 12 title meets, and dating back to when the Buffaloes joined the Big Seven in 1948, their 34th in 65 events (four of 10 in the Big 7, with two fourths in the middle, and 22 of 39 in the Big 8).
Oklahoma State sophomore Preston Stout used a final round 3-under 67 – tied for the low round of the day –vaulted him from fourth into medalist honors; he was co-medalist as a freshman in 2024. In doing so, he defeated by two strokes Arizona State sophomore Connor Williams, who had either led or owned the share of the lead after each of the first three rounds.
The Buffaloes qualified long ago for the NCAA Championships, ranked high enough where there are no concerns about not being selected. Six sites around the nation will host regionals from May 12-14; selections will be announced live on the Golf Channel next Wednesday, April 30, at 11:00 a.m. mountain time.
NOTES: Overcast skies took over, it was cooler in the 60s most of the round, and light rain was moving into the area as thunderstorms were headed Tulsa-way later in the day; thus tee times were moved up until just after the crack of dawn … Edwards noted the team had great support all week, giving a special shout out to a large group of donors traveled to Tulsa along with sport supervisor Ryan Gottlieb and Seth Pringle who handled social media and photography … The average score for all 319 rounds was 73.66; the course played the "easiest" in the final round with a 72.46 mark; yet, only two players finished under par and two others even, meaning the other 85 who competed, including subs, were on the unhappy side of par (37 who were plus-15 or worse, 16 20-over plus) … There were nine eagles all week, though six came on Thursday … Colorado played the par-3's at 26-over (14th; OSU was first at 1-over), but the par-4's third-best at 39-over (OSU topped the field at 24-over) and the par-5's at even (tied for 11th; OSU also led at just 9-under) … The Buffs were seventh in birdies with 44 (Okie State led with 56), were sixth with 219 pars (OSU had 235) and were eighth in bogeys with 85 (Baylor had the most – 99 -- OSU the fewest with 62); the Buffs had the seventh-fewest doubles or worse (12, but no triples or higher) … Seventeen of the 18 holes played over par on average for the week, the lone exception being the 632-yard, par-5 13th; the seven toughest remained constant through four rounds, but were joined by No. 11 in the end (in order, Nos. 18, 3, 8, 9, 10, 7, 11 and 15): CU's scorers played those at just 4-over in the final round (and second-best at 27-over in total; champion Oklahoma State's scorers played them the best at 21-over overall, and at plus-7 on Thursday while ASU was next at 30-over) … Overall, nine of the nation's top 50 (13 of the top 75) with 28 of the top 150 individuals competed here (14 of the top 50) … Had the 7,556-yard course layout played to a par-72, the stroke count in relation to par would have been 32 strokes lower for each team and eight lower for each individual who played 72 holes; the SEC has two schools tied at 26-under through two rounds playing a par-70 at 550 fewer yards (Southern Hills had nine holes of 450 yards or longer, the SEC's course just four, one of which was 452) … Colorado was 10-5 here against the field, the Buffaloes are now 162-26-2, an .858 winning percentage against Division I competition (24-11 vs. Big 12 foes and 61-38-9 in rounds); the 162 wins continue to lead the nation with the percentage still fourth-best … And in single rounds, CU was 32-22-6, with its season mark standing at 420-131-22 (.752) … The top 10 and any ties were named to the All-Tournament Team.
THE JB-DMAC FRIENDLY DUEL UPDATE: There remains barely any separation between the two most accomplished players since the Paul twins last decade and U.S. Open champions Hale Irwin and Steve Jones in CU golf history; Biwer and McDermott have the exact same stroke average for the spring for 19 rounds (70.32), and Biwer has five fewer strokes on the season, and thus still holds the slight edge in season stroke average (Biwer's average is 69.50 and McDermott's is 69.65 (which remain on pace to be the two best for a single-season in school history); they also rank 1-2 in the Big 12 (only Utah's Gabriel Palacios has the league's other sub-70 average at 69.97) … The two are 1-2 all-time in career stroke average, with Biwer having a bit more breathing room (70.85 to 70.98); third all-time but current leader in the clubhouse is Daniel O'Loughlin's 71.68 norm … Both have now led the team in an event five times this season, with Holbrook leading three times, Knight and Freddy Eisenbeis twice and Swanson once (includes the Big 12 Match Play) … The pair are also 1-2 in birdies, Justin with 527 and Dylan with 498 … McD is ahead in rounds in the 60's (50-47), but JB owns edges in subpar rounds (80-68) and in rounds of par or better (99-90) … Biwer and McDermott have become the 26th and 27th Buffaloes in history to compete in four conference championship events dating back to George Brown doing so from 1929 through 1932 … Biwer became the 15th member of CU's "10,000 Stroke Club" here, as he now has 10,273 total strokes' McDermott is poised to be the 16th, as he has 9,937 heading into regional play.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T14. | Justin Biwer | 72-74-71-70—287 |
| T17. | Dylan McDermott | 74-68-76-70—288 |
| T34. | Hunter Swanson | 76-72-73-71—292 |
| T43. | Ty Holbrook | 73-72-76-74—295 |
| --- | Brandon Knight | XX-XX-72-72—144 |
| --- | Tucker Clark | 80-79-XX-XX—159 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Preston Stout, Oklahoma State | 70-70-70-67—277 |
| 2. | Connor Williams, Arizona State | 70-66-73-70—279 |
| T3. | Wolfgang Glawe, Houston | 70-71-68-71—280 |
| T3. | Michael Mjaaseth, Arizona State | 69-72-70-69—280 |
| T5. | Jose Luis Ballester, Arizona State | 68-71-70-72—281 |
| T5. | Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State | 77-65-70-69—281 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Oklahoma State | 286-279-276-277—1118 |
| 2. | Arizona State | 277-284-286-282—1129 |
| 3. | Texas Tech | 299-288-287-274—1148 |
| 4. | Houston | 295-287-284-283—1149 |
| 5. | TCU | 297-283-287-287—1154 |
| 6. | COLORADO | 295-286-292-283—1156 |
| 7. | Utah | 295-299-286-277—1157 |
| 8. | Kansas State | 295-292-283-288—1158 |
| 9. | Brigham Young | 291-296-300-279—1166 |
| 10. | Kansas | 295-297-292-284—1168 |
| 11. | Cincinnati | 290-294-293-293—1170 |
| 12. | Arizona | 299-288-289-297—1173 |
| 13. | West Virginia | 302-300-290-286—1178 |
| T14. | Baylor | 300-301-297-291—1189 |
| T14. | Central Florida | 298-305-297-289—1189 |
| 16. | Iowa State | 306-297-298-292—1193 |
Players Mentioned
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