Edwards Releases 2021-22 Men's Golf Schedule

                BOULDER — University of Colorado men's head golf coach Roy Edwards announced the team's 2021-22 schedule Thursday, and it once again features many familiar annual tournaments along with a couple of first-time affairs.
 
                With the COVID-19 pandemic hopefully in the rear view window, the Buffaloes and all college programs are looking forward to a return to normalcy.  That's what Edwards is looking forward to as Colorado embarks on the 102nd season of varsity golf in its history.
 
                "Last year was almost like a blur, with the fall season canceled and then resuming in the spring but with the pandemic still hanging over our heads," Edwards said.  "But I was always proud of how the guys handled themselves, and balanced golf with the rigors of dealing with their academics and all of the other moving parts that came along with managing protocols and staying healthy.   We had over a 3.0 grade point average as a team, six made the Pac-12 Spring Honor Roll and four were All-American Scholars. 
 
                "We had some really good moments during the spring and with some consistency in our play would have been right where we wanted to be in May," he continued.  "We have four players returning who played last year, several players coming off redshirt years who have an opportunity to step up and a really strong class of freshmen coming in who I expect will play a lot.  We are really excited to get going."
 
                The month of September starts the season off with three tournaments the Buffaloes have competed in well over 100 times combined.  Colorado opens the season as always south down Interstate 25 in the Gene Miranda Air Force Falcon Invitational, Sept. 10-12.  The Buffs are the two-time defending champions in the event (eight wins in all), having won in 2018 and 2019 before the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 tourney.  This will be 17th time the Buffaloes open the fall season in AFA's annual tournament and their 39th appearance overall.
 
                Two weeks later, CU will participate in the New Mexico Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque (Sept. 24-25), as the Buffaloes, host New Mexico and New Mexico State are the only schools to have played in the previous 64 Tuckers.  The Buffaloes will turn right around and two days later host the 11th annual Mark Simpson-CU Invitational at their home course, Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, on Sept. 27-28.  The event honors Simpson, who coached the team for 29 years, from 1977 until his death in 2005.  CU will be gunning for its eighth straight win in its own tourney. 
 
                Two October tournaments will see CU return to play in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic (Oct. 4-5) for the first time since 2009 and for the third time overall.  The fall schedule will conclude with CU's first appearance in the Kaanapali Classic, hosted on the island of Maui Oct.29-31 by the University of Hawai'i.
 
                Colorado will open the spring season in a new event, the Wyoming World Match Play Championship in Palm Desert, Calif., which CU will co-host on Feb. 11-12.  One player will then immediately head west to Los Angeles to play in the Genesis Collegiate Showcase at the famous Riviera Country Club on Feb. 14; the host is none other than Tiger Woods. 
 
                Three familiar March tournaments are set, beginning with Wyoming's (Palm) Desert Intercollegiate (March 2-4), the Lamkin San Diego Classic (March 7-8) and Stanford's "The Goodwin" in Palo Alto (Mar. 24-26).  The Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Chandler, Ariz. (April 4-5) will be the final tune-up ahead of the 10th annual Pac-12 Championships, which will take place at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash., April 25-27.
 
                The NCAA regionals are set for May 16-18 at six different sites: College Station, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; New Haven, Conn.; Palm Beach, Fla.; Stockton, Calif. and Tuscaloosa, Ala.  Those six regionals will each send five teams on to the NCAA Championship Finals, which are set for May 27-June 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz., where Arizona State will host the meet at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 
                Individuals who are not on the travel squad or who rotate in-and-out will also play in some select other tournaments as long as they are within their competition day maximums to do so.