Saturday, May 24
Carlsbad, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Second Round
Dylan McDermott carded an even-par 72 to lead the Buffaloes in the second round.
Photo by: Simon Broan
Golfers End Rollercoaster Day In Tie For 12th At NCAA Finals
May 24, 2025 | Men's Golf
Late Flurry Vaults Buffaloes Back Up In Standings
CARLSBAD, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team had a roller coaster type day here Saturday, as the Buffaloes were anywhere from sixth to 20th until settling into a tie for 12th place at the halfway point of the 127th Annual NCAA Championship Finals.
No. 5 ranked as well as seeded Arizona State turned in the best round of the tournament – an 11-under 277 – to zoom into the lead at the midway point, as the Sun Devils have a 13-under par total score of 563. No.8 and first round leader Oklahoma dropped into second (10-under 566), with top-ranked Auburn third (8-under 568). No. 7 Florida (5-under 571), No. 8 Florida State (1-under 575) and No. 4 Texas (576) round out the top six and are the only other teams at or under par.
Colorado, ranked 29th but is the 22nd seed, started the day in a tie for eighth, and was tied for seventh after the morning round was completed by half the field. CU rose as high as a sixth at one point, but between course conditions and the wind picking up, dipped as low as 20th two-thirds of the way through the round. Colorado went eight holes with no birdies (Nos. 7 through 14), with the four players who scored Saturday recording 23 pars, six bogeys and three doubles. But the quartet closed with seven birdies, six pars and three bogeys on the last four holes to rise back into a tie for 12th.
CU turned in a 10-over 298 score Saturday for an 11-over 587 total; playing in the afternoon as Colorado did Saturday made a difference: the morning average team score was 289.5, in the afternoon, it rose to 301, a significant difference when considering the nation's best 30 teams made it here. The main reason? The wind picked up averaging around 10 miles per hour but gusting at times double that.
The Buffaloes need to finish in the top 15 in the standings after Sunday's third round to advance to Monday's final round. Just seven strokes separate ninth through 19th at this juncture, CU one up on three teams tied for the last spot (should there be a tie, there will be a playoff immediately following the round).
Senior Justin Biwer, after a spectacular bogey-free round to open play here, struggled to high score of the year – a 4-over 76 on the 7,480-yard, par-72 North Course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. He is tied for 25th with an even-par 144 total entering the pivotal third round. He was just 1-over at the turn, bogeying No. 5 after starting here with 22 holes of par or better, but a bogey on No. 10 and a double on No. 12 (just his ninth of the season out of 702 holes) shot him to 4-over. After three pars, he bogeyed No. 16, but came back to score his lone birdie, conquering No. 17 (491-yard, par-4) – one of only 18 Saturday by the 156-man field – to aid CU's late rally. He otherwise had 13 pars and did play the par-4's even.
His 76 is still tied for the lowest "high" score in the Big 12 Conference with a handful of others, including teammate senior Dylan McDermott, who turned in a even-par 72 Saturday in one of the best scores in the afternoon (tied for fifth best of the 78 who teed it up around lunchtime).
McDermott is tied for 33rd with a 1-over 145 scorecard; he had a team-high 14 pars with two birdies – on No. 2 and one of the trio on No. 18 – with two bogeys. He played the par-5's at 2-under (same total for both rounds), the best by a Buffalo thus far. His play remained steady, especially on holes 10 through 14, when he scored all pars while the other four Buffs were a combined 16-over.
"I would say it was definitely one of the better even-par rounds I've ever had," McDermott said. "The first nine holes weren't hard, but the back nine was very tough with the wind. Everyone seemed to be battling out there. I just made sure to really focus on every shot and my putting inside of 10 feet was good."
Sophomore Brandon Knight closed with his three birdies in the round on the last four holes to record a 5-over 77, which has him tied for 80th with a 5-over 149 total through two rounds. Up until that point he was hanging in, with eight pars, four bogeys and two doubles. Prior to his birdie run, he had played Nos. 12 through 14 at 4-over, but gathered himself to make those key birdies down the stretch for the team. In fact, he was just one of four players to birdie both No. 15 (371-yard, par-4) and No. 16 (162-yard, par-3) on Saturday.
Junior Hunter Swanson is tied for 97th, improving 33 spots in the standings after fashioning a 1-over 73, in with a 7-over 151 overall total score. He made the turn a 1-under, birdying the 427-yard, par-4 5th hole (one of only 19 to do it on the day), before going bogey-double on Nos. 13 and 14 to drop back to the unhappy side of par, but two birdies down the stretch, including one of the team's three on No. 18, helped him back to 1-over. He had the three birdies all told, with 12 pars, two bogeys and the double.
Sophomore Ty Holbrook is tied for 146th after logging an 11-over 83, his high score of the year, which has him in at 15-over 159 through 36 holes. He started strong, opening with a birdie on No. 1 and was 1-under through six and made the turn at even. After scoring par on No. 10, the struggles hit him hard, finishing with one par, two bogeys, two doubles and a triple on No. 18. The par-3's were his worst enemy, as after playing them even on Friday, he was 5-over on them Saturday.
"Well, it was an interesting day to say the least," head coach Roy Edwards said. "A very challenging golf course, but I am really proud of the we battled back after a tough stretch. That was important as we found a way to get into the morning wave tomorrow. You could say we got our doubles out of the way for the entire week, so we don't need any more of those.
"The team should take a lot of confidence out of how they were able to persevere and rally late in the round, and take that confidence into tomorrow."
There is a tie for medalist honors through 36 holes, as Arizona State's Connor Williams and Ole Miss' Michael La Sasso have identical 68-67—135 (9-under) scorecards, good for a four-stroke edge over two others.
The third round is set for Sunday, when after which the field will be cut to 15 teams and nine individuals not associated with those advancing. Colorado will be paired with Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt and will tee off on No. 1 in 11-minute intervals beginning at 9:20 a.m. MDT. The fourth and final round on Monday (Memorial Day) will have the top eight teams qualify for the match play competition of the championship (quarter- and semifinals Tuesday, finals Wednesday).
GCAA ALL-REGION TEAMS ANNOUNCED: Earlier on Saturday, the Golf Coaches Association of America released the PING-All-Region teams. Both Justin Biwer and Dylan McDermott were named to the 26-member All-West team, the second year in a row for McDermott and the first time – believe it or not – for Biwer. It's the third time CU has had multiple players named for the same year since its creation in 2002; in 2007-08, Michael Baird, Luke Symons and Derek Tolan were named to the team, and for 2008-09, Tolan and Patrick Grady made it.
"Congratulations to Justin and Dylan on being named All-Region by the GCAA," Edwards said. "They both have had tremendous seasons, two of the best in our long history, and this certainly recognizes that."
NOTES: The Buffaloes teed off at 12:45 p.m. local time under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 64 degrees, only reaching one degree warmer; winds gusting up to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon … The other three players to birdie both Nos. 15 and 16 were La Sasso, Pepperdine's Willy Walsh and Troy's Jake Springer … The tie for 12th is the fourth-best by a CU team through 36 holes in 17 NCAA Finals appearances … The average score for all 312 rounds so far is 74.51; it was 74.25 on Friday and 74.78 Saturday … There are just 24 players under par (down from 38 after the first round) and 8 others who are even … The eight toughest holes overall through 36 holes in order, are Nos. 14, 12, 13, 3, 7, 17, 16 and 8; the 517-yard, par-4 14th is by far the toughest (+0.58) a full quarter-stroke tougher than the next on the list (No. 12, +0.33): the four Buffs who have scored for the team thus far has played No. 14 at just 1-over (seven pars, one bogey), tied for the best in the field with Texas … Colorado is playing the par-3's at 13-over (23rd-best; Florida State is first, playing them even), the par-4's at 15-over (12th, Auburn leads at 4-under) and the par-5's at even (tied for 16th; Arizona State is the best at 15-under) … The Buffs are 15th in birdies (25; ASU and Oklahoma State have 36), are ninth in pars (114; Auburn has 122), has the sixth-fewest bogeys (27; Auburn has 22, South Florida the most with 50); and is tied with five others for the most holes worse than bogey (13; Arizona State has just two) … The "northern" school standings through two rounds: Illinois (9th), Virginia (11th), Colorado (tie-12th), BYU (18th) and Purdue (26th); the top four separated by six strokes … Senior Jack Holland is the sixth Buffalo on the trip as the NCAA approved "sixth man," and can be activated to substitute prior to any round, which is allowed for injury, illness or to replace a struggling player. He was the same for the NCAA Northwest Regional and while not seeing action there and not yet here, he essentially has served a third member of the coaching staff.
No. 5 ranked as well as seeded Arizona State turned in the best round of the tournament – an 11-under 277 – to zoom into the lead at the midway point, as the Sun Devils have a 13-under par total score of 563. No.8 and first round leader Oklahoma dropped into second (10-under 566), with top-ranked Auburn third (8-under 568). No. 7 Florida (5-under 571), No. 8 Florida State (1-under 575) and No. 4 Texas (576) round out the top six and are the only other teams at or under par.
Colorado, ranked 29th but is the 22nd seed, started the day in a tie for eighth, and was tied for seventh after the morning round was completed by half the field. CU rose as high as a sixth at one point, but between course conditions and the wind picking up, dipped as low as 20th two-thirds of the way through the round. Colorado went eight holes with no birdies (Nos. 7 through 14), with the four players who scored Saturday recording 23 pars, six bogeys and three doubles. But the quartet closed with seven birdies, six pars and three bogeys on the last four holes to rise back into a tie for 12th.
CU turned in a 10-over 298 score Saturday for an 11-over 587 total; playing in the afternoon as Colorado did Saturday made a difference: the morning average team score was 289.5, in the afternoon, it rose to 301, a significant difference when considering the nation's best 30 teams made it here. The main reason? The wind picked up averaging around 10 miles per hour but gusting at times double that.
The Buffaloes need to finish in the top 15 in the standings after Sunday's third round to advance to Monday's final round. Just seven strokes separate ninth through 19th at this juncture, CU one up on three teams tied for the last spot (should there be a tie, there will be a playoff immediately following the round).
Senior Justin Biwer, after a spectacular bogey-free round to open play here, struggled to high score of the year – a 4-over 76 on the 7,480-yard, par-72 North Course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. He is tied for 25th with an even-par 144 total entering the pivotal third round. He was just 1-over at the turn, bogeying No. 5 after starting here with 22 holes of par or better, but a bogey on No. 10 and a double on No. 12 (just his ninth of the season out of 702 holes) shot him to 4-over. After three pars, he bogeyed No. 16, but came back to score his lone birdie, conquering No. 17 (491-yard, par-4) – one of only 18 Saturday by the 156-man field – to aid CU's late rally. He otherwise had 13 pars and did play the par-4's even.
His 76 is still tied for the lowest "high" score in the Big 12 Conference with a handful of others, including teammate senior Dylan McDermott, who turned in a even-par 72 Saturday in one of the best scores in the afternoon (tied for fifth best of the 78 who teed it up around lunchtime).
McDermott is tied for 33rd with a 1-over 145 scorecard; he had a team-high 14 pars with two birdies – on No. 2 and one of the trio on No. 18 – with two bogeys. He played the par-5's at 2-under (same total for both rounds), the best by a Buffalo thus far. His play remained steady, especially on holes 10 through 14, when he scored all pars while the other four Buffs were a combined 16-over.
"I would say it was definitely one of the better even-par rounds I've ever had," McDermott said. "The first nine holes weren't hard, but the back nine was very tough with the wind. Everyone seemed to be battling out there. I just made sure to really focus on every shot and my putting inside of 10 feet was good."
Sophomore Brandon Knight closed with his three birdies in the round on the last four holes to record a 5-over 77, which has him tied for 80th with a 5-over 149 total through two rounds. Up until that point he was hanging in, with eight pars, four bogeys and two doubles. Prior to his birdie run, he had played Nos. 12 through 14 at 4-over, but gathered himself to make those key birdies down the stretch for the team. In fact, he was just one of four players to birdie both No. 15 (371-yard, par-4) and No. 16 (162-yard, par-3) on Saturday.
Junior Hunter Swanson is tied for 97th, improving 33 spots in the standings after fashioning a 1-over 73, in with a 7-over 151 overall total score. He made the turn a 1-under, birdying the 427-yard, par-4 5th hole (one of only 19 to do it on the day), before going bogey-double on Nos. 13 and 14 to drop back to the unhappy side of par, but two birdies down the stretch, including one of the team's three on No. 18, helped him back to 1-over. He had the three birdies all told, with 12 pars, two bogeys and the double.
Sophomore Ty Holbrook is tied for 146th after logging an 11-over 83, his high score of the year, which has him in at 15-over 159 through 36 holes. He started strong, opening with a birdie on No. 1 and was 1-under through six and made the turn at even. After scoring par on No. 10, the struggles hit him hard, finishing with one par, two bogeys, two doubles and a triple on No. 18. The par-3's were his worst enemy, as after playing them even on Friday, he was 5-over on them Saturday.
"Well, it was an interesting day to say the least," head coach Roy Edwards said. "A very challenging golf course, but I am really proud of the we battled back after a tough stretch. That was important as we found a way to get into the morning wave tomorrow. You could say we got our doubles out of the way for the entire week, so we don't need any more of those.
"The team should take a lot of confidence out of how they were able to persevere and rally late in the round, and take that confidence into tomorrow."
There is a tie for medalist honors through 36 holes, as Arizona State's Connor Williams and Ole Miss' Michael La Sasso have identical 68-67—135 (9-under) scorecards, good for a four-stroke edge over two others.
The third round is set for Sunday, when after which the field will be cut to 15 teams and nine individuals not associated with those advancing. Colorado will be paired with Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt and will tee off on No. 1 in 11-minute intervals beginning at 9:20 a.m. MDT. The fourth and final round on Monday (Memorial Day) will have the top eight teams qualify for the match play competition of the championship (quarter- and semifinals Tuesday, finals Wednesday).
GCAA ALL-REGION TEAMS ANNOUNCED: Earlier on Saturday, the Golf Coaches Association of America released the PING-All-Region teams. Both Justin Biwer and Dylan McDermott were named to the 26-member All-West team, the second year in a row for McDermott and the first time – believe it or not – for Biwer. It's the third time CU has had multiple players named for the same year since its creation in 2002; in 2007-08, Michael Baird, Luke Symons and Derek Tolan were named to the team, and for 2008-09, Tolan and Patrick Grady made it.
"Congratulations to Justin and Dylan on being named All-Region by the GCAA," Edwards said. "They both have had tremendous seasons, two of the best in our long history, and this certainly recognizes that."
NOTES: The Buffaloes teed off at 12:45 p.m. local time under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 64 degrees, only reaching one degree warmer; winds gusting up to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon … The other three players to birdie both Nos. 15 and 16 were La Sasso, Pepperdine's Willy Walsh and Troy's Jake Springer … The tie for 12th is the fourth-best by a CU team through 36 holes in 17 NCAA Finals appearances … The average score for all 312 rounds so far is 74.51; it was 74.25 on Friday and 74.78 Saturday … There are just 24 players under par (down from 38 after the first round) and 8 others who are even … The eight toughest holes overall through 36 holes in order, are Nos. 14, 12, 13, 3, 7, 17, 16 and 8; the 517-yard, par-4 14th is by far the toughest (+0.58) a full quarter-stroke tougher than the next on the list (No. 12, +0.33): the four Buffs who have scored for the team thus far has played No. 14 at just 1-over (seven pars, one bogey), tied for the best in the field with Texas … Colorado is playing the par-3's at 13-over (23rd-best; Florida State is first, playing them even), the par-4's at 15-over (12th, Auburn leads at 4-under) and the par-5's at even (tied for 16th; Arizona State is the best at 15-under) … The Buffs are 15th in birdies (25; ASU and Oklahoma State have 36), are ninth in pars (114; Auburn has 122), has the sixth-fewest bogeys (27; Auburn has 22, South Florida the most with 50); and is tied with five others for the most holes worse than bogey (13; Arizona State has just two) … The "northern" school standings through two rounds: Illinois (9th), Virginia (11th), Colorado (tie-12th), BYU (18th) and Purdue (26th); the top four separated by six strokes … Senior Jack Holland is the sixth Buffalo on the trip as the NCAA approved "sixth man," and can be activated to substitute prior to any round, which is allowed for injury, illness or to replace a struggling player. He was the same for the NCAA Northwest Regional and while not seeing action there and not yet here, he essentially has served a third member of the coaching staff.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T25. | Justin Biwer | 68-76—144 |
| T33. | Dylan McDermott | 73-72—145 |
| T80. | Brandon Knight | 72-77—149 |
| T97. | Hunter Swanson | 78-73—151 |
| T146. | Ty Holbrook | 76-83—159 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| T1. | Connor Williams, Arizona State | 68-67—135 |
| T1. | Michael La Sasso, Mississippi | 68-67—135 |
| T3. | Phichaksn Maichon, Texas A&M | 66-73—139 |
| T3. | Brian Valdes, Auburn | 69-70—139 |
| T5. | Josele Ballestar, Arizona State | 70-70—140 |
| T5. | Luke Poulter, Florida | 70-70—140 |
| T5. | Clark Van Gaalen, Oklahoma | 68-72—140 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Arizona State | 286-277—563 |
| 2. | Oklahoma | 280-286—566 |
| 3. | Auburn | 286-282—568 |
| 4. | Florida | 285-286—571 |
| 5. | Florida State | 285-290—575 |
| 6. | Texas | 285-291—576 |
| 7. | Oklahoma State | 293-285—578 |
| 8. | Mississippi | 293-287—580 |
| 9. | Illinois | 286-297—583 |
| 10. | California | 289-295—584 |
| 11. | Virginia | 299-287—586 |
| T12. | COLORADO | 289-298—587 |
| T12. | Georgia Tech | 293-294—587 |
| T12. | Pepperdine | 293-294—587 |
| T15. | Wake Forest | 296-292—588 |
| T15. | Texas A&M | 297-291—588 |
| T15. | Vanderbilt | 294-294—588 |
| 18. | BYU | 289-300—589 |
| 19. | Texas Tech | 292-298—590 |
| 20. | South Carolina | 302-293—595 |
| 21. | Georgia | 291-306—597 |
| 22. | UCLA | 301-297—598 |
| 23. | Nevada-Las Vegas | 299-300—599 |
| T24. | Troy | 292-308—600 |
| T24. | Tennessee | 304-296—600 |
| 26. | Purdue | 307-294—601 |
| T27. | New Mexico | 297-305—602 |
| T27. | South Florida | 293-309—602 |
| 29. | Augusta | 295-310—605 |
| 30. | San Diego | 294-316—610 |
Players Mentioned
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