For the first time since 2019, the Colorado men’s golf team has won a tournament.
Following a second and third-place finish to start the season, the third time was the charm as the black and gold won the Tucker Intercollegiate with two Buffs finishing within the top five.
One of the roots of this success stems from senior Justin Biwer, who recently set the school record for most career tournaments under par at 23.
“I've been able to put up a lot of better scores, just with more consistent and better play, and kinda in turn we've been able to have a really good core set of guys to just keep chipping away at tournaments and finally paid off at the last one to get a win,” Biwer said, reflecting on his recent performance.
This group of players is being recognized as one of the best in recent years, from breaking into a preseason poll for the first time in 44 years to winning a tournament for the first time in five years.
“[It’s] the best start through three tournaments we've had in any years so as long as we keep doing what we’re doing, just stay disciplined, on top of our stuff… we’ll find our way back there [NCAA Nationals],” Biwer said.
Records have been broken left and right, as the school-best opening 36-hole score, 18-hole score, and individual opening round score were all broken at the Palouse Collegiate. Not only a week later, Biwer tied the school record for a single-round score at the CSU Ram’s Master Invitational.
Senior Dylan McDermott has only seen his success improving every year after ending his freshman year at Buffs’ the No. 2 spot. He scored a third-place finish last week at the Tucker Intercollegiate.
“The competition that college golf has, there are so many good players and it helps to have Justin [Biwer] on the team, it's like a consistent benchmark to try to compare yourself to,” McDermott said of what pushes his success.
For the remainder of the season, the Buffs have their eyes set on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, a feat they haven’t accomplished since the 2022-23 season.
“Playing well all year, it’s easier said than done,” Biwer said. “For the team as well, just to make it back to nationals, we did that my sophomore year and it was a super fun experience. We've got the best team this year that we had by far, we've got high expectations.”
The team is being tested yet again this Monday as they host the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, a tournament that the Buffs only see themselves winning.
Cover photo by Pac-12 Conference/CUBuffs.com
Comments