Buff Golfers Open In Sixth Place Tie In Palm Desert

PALM DESERT, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team is tied for sixth after the first round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, the first stroke play tournament of the spring season for the Buffaloes.
 
Charlotte and Long Beach State are tied for the lead with modest 3-under par 285 totals, with Seattle one back (286) and Nevada and Texas-Arlington tied for fourth (287).  The Buffs and host Wyoming are tied for sixth, both with even par 288 totals through one round.
 
CU hovered between first and second much of the day, but with its five scorers playing the last five holes at 7-over par, the Buffs dipped a bit in the first day standings but remain very much in the thick of things for its first tournament win of the 2021-22 season.
 
Freshman Justin Biwer, CU's stroke average leader in the fall with a 70.1 mark, pretty much landed on that number with a 2-under 70 here Monday, which has him tied for eighth place overall.  Standing at 1-over through six, he scored birdies on Nos. 7, 8 and 9 to get back into the red and went on to finish his round with a team-best five birdies (tied for the fifth-most in the field), with 10 pars and three bogeys on the 7,305-yard, par-72 Classic Club course design. 
 
Freshman Dylan McDermott opened with 14 holes of par or better (three birdies), extending his streak to 16 dating back to last fall, before bogeying No. 15.  He finished with a 1-under par 71 score, which has him tied for 13th.  It was his ninth subpar round out of 16 this season, and right on his fall average as well (71.3).  He ended with four birdies and 12 pars with one bogey and one double on his day.   
 
Junior Kristoffer Max fashioned a 1-over 73, tying him for 30th.  He had four birdies and nine pars against five bogeys.  He was even though 14 before bogeying Nos. 15 and 16, but did rally to close his round with a birdie on No. 18. He played the par-3's at 2-under, which tied for the best in the field.
 
Frosh Jack Holland is tied for 46th after carding a 2-over 74, with matching 37s on both nines.  Through 15 holes, he was 1-over, the only blip from par being a bogey on No. 5; he birdied No. 16 to get back to even, but closed his day with a double on the par-5 18th.  His 15 pars led the Buffs and tied for the most with three others in the 113-player field.
 
Freshman Frederik Eisenbeis is tied for 80th after firing a 5-over 77; he opened with six holes of par or better (two birdies, four pars) to extend his streak to 24 dating to the last round in Hawai'i last fall, tied for third longest streak on the team this year.  He then struggled over the last two-thirds of his round, playing those seven over par as he had one more birdie but scored six bogeys and a double to go with eight pars for the round.
 
Three Buffaloes are participating here as individuals; their scores do not count toward CU's team total.  Junior John Paterson carded a 1-over 73 (tied for 30th), sophomore Adam Matteson a 2-over 74 (tied for 46th) and redshirt frosh Jack Hughes a 6-over 78 (tied for 86th).  Each had two birdies, with Paterson scored 13 pars and three bogeys and Matteson 12 and four, respectively.  Hughes had a few more struggles, with 11 pars, three doubles and a triple, but despite those troubles, he played the par-4 holes at 1-under, fourth-best in the field.
 
"Overall we are in a good position, just three off the lead considering we didn't finish very well," head coach Roy Edwards said.  "We were in a good spot through 12, 13 holes, in position to shoot a low one, but just made too many mistakes coming down the stretch.  We had nice rounds from Justin and Dylan, picking up where they left off in the fall."
 

Three players are tied for the individual lead with 4-under par 68 scores; through 18 holes, over half the field – 58 golfers – are within six strokes of the top spot.
 
The second round is scheduled for Thursday, with the Buffaloes to tee off at 8:50 a.m. MST off the No. 1 tee; CU will be paired with UT-San Antonio, Boise State and Wyoming.  The third and final round is set for Friday.
 
NOTES: CU opened the spring season two weeks ago in Wyoming's Match Play Championship, finishing fifth … CU enters the month of March ranked 82nd by GolfStat and 83rd by Golfweek … The average score was 74.68 for 113 players in the first round… The eight Buffaloes participating (which is the entire team), only have five holes worse than bogey Monday (out of 144); just seven players shot in the 60s, with 22 under par and another seven even through one round … Colorado played the par-3s the best in the field Monday (3-under overall), and played the par-4s 11th-best at 11-over and the par-5s also at 3-under, 13th-best (scorers only) …  Colorado is tied for the lead in birdies, which were few and far between Monday with 17, and is tied for 11th with 54 pars.

 
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