FORT COLLINS – Following a dominant performance last week at the Palouse Invitational, the Colorado men's golf team had high hopes of punching out their rivals and tournament hosts, the Colorado State Rams.
Head coach Roy Edwards made two changes to the lineup before heading to Fort Collins. Ty Holbrook along with Freddy Eisenbeis flew to Tuscon to compete in the Papago Individual making room for Tucker Clark and Parker Paxton to compete with Paxton competing as an individual.
The Buffs saw their best play on the first 18 holes where they had their only sub-par total, shooting a 12-under 268, the fourth consecutive sub-280 score to open the season. Senior Justin Biwer tied the CU record for a single-round score with a 7-under 63, shooting seven birdies and 11 pars. Senior Dylan McDermott, junior Hunter Swanson and senior Tucker Clark were the last of the four buffs to finish under par with McDermott shooting a 1-under 69, Swanson 3-under 67 and Clark 1-under 69.
Sophomore Brandon Knight fought through his struggles in the opening round, being left out of the scorecard with the only over-par card, shooting a 3-over 73. Freshman Parker Paxton's first round marked his first collegiate tournament, playing as an individual where he put up an impressive even-par 70, tying him for the fifth-best collegiate opening score by a Buff.
Later that day second-round play started and it would only go downhill for the Buffs, putting up a 3-over 283 team score, dropping them from first to a tie for second. Not a single Buff finished under par, but Swanson, McDermott and Knight were all able to pull through with an even-par 70. Biwer’s success from round one was nowhere to be found later as he shot a 3-over 73, giving him a 4-under 136 on the day tying him for third individually.
Clark had a second round to forget, shooting 8-over 79, including seven holes where he shot worse than par. Paxton’s effort lacked anything significant as he went from an even-par 70 first round to a 4-over 74 in the second, tying him for 56th with a 4-over 144.
Come the second and final day, the black and gold held a tie for second but were taken over by the hosts and heated rival Colorado State. Biwer and Swanson sat alone under par, a slight improvement from the second round. Biwer’s 2-under 69 gave him a tie for fourth place in the final individual standings with a final 6-under 204 card. Swanson’s 1-under 69 sought him in reaching range of Biwers as he sat in a tie for ninth with a final 4-under 206 card.
McDermott gave the only other under-par score to the final card, shooting an even-70 in round three giving him a total score of 1-under 209. Knight’s 6-over 216 didn’t help the Buffs’ chance at winning the invitational, but it would’ve taken a perfect day from everyone to beat Colorado State’s 13-under 267 round three cards.
Clark’s disappointing play was only upheld on the final day as he shot an 8-over 78, giving him a 16-over 226 final card and 84th place. Paxton ended his first collegiate tournament with glimpses of hope but ultimately struggled in the long run, finishing with a 6-over 76 and 10-over 220 final card for 72nd place.
Although losing to a rival doesn’t feel great, a third-place finish is still something to be proud of and only shows room for improvement. This upcoming weekend, the Buffs will travel to Albuquerque to compete in the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate with hopes of bringing home their first trophy of the season.
Cover photo Roy Edwards/CUBuffs.com
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