Summer Update No. 1

               BOULDER – Summer is in full swing and here is the first of three monthly updates on happenings with the University of Colorado men's golf team:

ACADEMIC HONORS

               Jack Holland, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (and a grade point average in excess of 3.7) was named to Academic All-District Team … All five seniors graduated on time in four years, maintaining coach Roy Edwards's perfect 1.000 average for every senior exhausting their eligibility … The numbers are in for the spring semester, and the 10 team members combined for a 3.182 semester grade point average (its 19th out of the last 20 over 3.0) and a 3.283 cumulative GPA … The GCAA All-America Scholars will be announced around the first of August.

GRADUATE UPDATES

               CU had five seniors on its roster, just the third known time in program history with that many who played regularly, the previous times occurring in 1990-91 and 1947-48. What their current future plans are:

Justin Biwer earned an exemption into the U.S. Amateur and likely won't turn professional until Q-School. He will play as an amateur in the Colorado Open (July 25-28). For the Korn Ferry at TPC Colorado (The Ascendant presented by Blue, July 10-13), he will attempt to qualify on Monday, July 7.
Tucker Clark is turning professional in the next few weeks, with his first event as one the Colorado Open qualifier on July 21; he'll play in it if he qualifies (July 24-27), then hustle home to play in the Arizona Open (July 28-30). Before he plans to play in the DP World Tour Qualifying in Bristol, England (Aug. 26-29), his final tune-up will be an Asher Tour event at Dove Canyon (Aug. 18-19).
Freddy Eisenbeis, back home in Germany, won the Oliver Barras Memorial in Switzerland in a playoff on June 26 that featured both amateurs and professionals (69-65-71—205, -8; he finished 10th last summer). With the win, he earned an exemption into the DP World Tour's Omega European Masters (August 28-31), also in Switzerland. He will be playing in the Tillman Trophy in England in July. He'll decide about Q-school later this summer.
Jack "Dutchy" Holland is looking at turning pro around October or November; back home in Australia, he noted there aren't a lot of tournaments to play in other than one- or two-day events. He will be in DP World Tour Q-School Sept. 16-19.
Dylan McDermott at present is planning to turn pro at the end of the summer. Next up on his schedule is the pre-qualifier on July 9 for the PGA Tour's Barracuda Championship (set for July 17-20 in Truckee, Calif.).

SOUTHWESTERN AMATEUR

               Three Buffaloes finished in the top 20 at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale: junior-to-be Brandon Knight led the way with a third-place effort (68-73-69-66—276, -12), tying the third-best performance ever by a Buffalo in the event, matching teammate Hunter Swanson's in 2024; Scott Petersen claimed the title in Albuquerque in 1993, while current associate head coach Derek Tolan finished second in Las Vegas in 2006. Incoming USC transfer Jackson Rivera finished sixth (72-70-67-70—279, -9), while senior-to-be Swanson tied for 20th (74-65-77-67—283, -5; both his rounds in the 60's were bogey free).

               Sophomore-to-be Parker Paxton had been in a tie for second through three rounds (72-66-69—207, -9) but withdrew to return home to Riverton, Wyo., to attend his grandfather's funeral.   Junior-to-be Ty Holbrook tied for 49th with a 73-75—148 (4-over) effort, but missed the cut by four strokes.

OTHER RESULTS OF NOTE

Parker Paxton won the Wyoming State Amateur on June 29, held on his home course (Riverton Country Club), he won by three strokes with a 67-71-68—206 (-10) scorecard and earned an exemption into August's U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club (Ocean Course) in San Francisco, August 11-17. He also finished 13th in the Sizzler Amateur (part of the Saguaro Series in the American Southwest co-founded and administered by Edwards); he turned in 5-under scorecard of 68-70-73—211.
Incoming freshman Tyler Long (Evergreen) won the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic at Bethpage Black on Long Island; he won five of six matches and winning 44 holes and tying just five without losing one in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals combined … He shot a 2-over par 72 at Flatirons Golf Course in the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier on June 13; the top four advanced (4-under or better); Long tied for 29th in the 91-man field. He came back and tied for fifth in the Western Junior (71-72-71—214, -2) at The Harvester Club in Rhodes, Iowa on June 19. In U.S. Amateur qualifying at Harmony Golf Club in Timnath on June 30, h shot a 1-under 71, missing by three shots to advance to the next stage.
Southern California transfer Jackson Rivera advanced to final qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, tying for ninth (1-under 71) on the University of New Mexico's Championship Course on June 24. The week before, he placed fourth in the amateur portion of the BO Tour at Eldorado with a 72-70—142 (-2) score.
Brandon Knight and Hunter Swanson competed in the 125th annual North-South Amateur at Pinehurst, N.C.; the cut was at 1-over as both missed it: Knight shot 75-73—148, Swanson 75-76—151. The first round was on Pinehurst No. 2, the second on No. 7; only the top 32 advanced to match play.

LATEST WORLD AMATEUR RANKINGS

Here's where the Buffaloes ranked in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) as of June 25: Justin Biwer (#90), Dylan McDermott (#117), Hunter Swanson (#411), Zeqian "Michael" Fang (#493); Ty Holbrook (#608), Brandon Knight (#718), Tucker Clark (#1057), Freddy Eisenbeis (#1111), Jack Holland (#1691), Parker Paxton (#1729) and Tyler Long (#2362); incoming freshman Casey Kosney is not yet ranked.

ALUMNI NOTES

Mike Brenneman ('04) the fifth-ranked mid-amateur in Arizona and on May 31, he tied for sixth Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship in Chandler (69-66-70—205, -8). On June 30, he advanced to the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, tying for third with a 3-under 69 on the Sterling Grove Golf & Country Club in Surprise, Ariz.
Pat Grady ('09) was the only Buff – former or current – to play in the CGA's 125th Annual Match Play at CommonGround Golf Club in Aurora. After falling behind by two after three holes, he rallied to win his first pod match 3-up after 16 holes and then won his next two matches to reach the Round of 16. He won his match decisively (6 & 5), but lost in the quarterfinals. In U.S. Amateur qualifying at Harmony Golf Club in Timnath on June 30, he shot a 3-under 69, missing by one stroke to advance to the next stage.
Michael Hogberg ('84) attempted to qualify for the Senior Open in Wallace, N.C. (River Landing); he shot a 3-over 75 and missed by four strokes.
Steve Jones ('81). He's fishing in Montana but plans to return to action in the Boeing Classic (Aug. 8-10) in Snoqualmie, Wash.; that's the same event he made his '24 return with (he stood at 76-74—150 through 36 holes, but withdrew during the third round).
Jeremy Paul ('17) is in his first year on the PGA Tour, and to date has made the cut in eight of 15 tournaments; he has one top 5 finish and has earned $628,851 thus far. He is 109th in the FedEx Cup Standings with 251 points.
Yannik Paul ('18) tied for 33rd last Sunday in the Italian Open (70-69-67-72—286, -2) … he is ranked 92nd in the race to Dubai and has won over 200,000 Euros in 14 tournaments thus far this season.

AND …

Matt Schalk (head professional at Colorado National Golf Club) was the medalist in U.S. Senior Open qualifying on June 10, firing a 3-under 68 at the Country Club of Colorado; in the event at the Broadmoor, he shot 76-79—155 (+15), missing the cut by 10 strokes (low 60 plus ties; he tied for 130th in the 156-man field (and still beat several name players). In the qualifying, Jonathan Kaye ('93) carded a 1-over 72 and missed qualifying by a stroke; Scott Petersen ('93) posted a 2-over 73.

16TH ANNUAL COLORADO GOLF DAY MONDAY

The 16th annual Colorado Golf Day, the team's major fundraiser that annually has brought together coaches, current and former players and supporters of the program, is set once against at Boulder Country Club for Monday, August 25. Details on how to register will be forthcoming.

Players Mentioned

Justin Biwer

Tucker Clark

Freddy Eisenbeis

Ty Holbrook

Jack Holland

Brandon Knight

Dylan McDermott

Parker Paxton

Hunter Swanson

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