Biwer In Hunt At British Amateur
LANCASHIRE, England — University of Colorado sophomore-to-be Justin Biwer is in the hunt to qualify for match play later this week as the first of two stroke play rounds of the 132nd Annual British Amateur were completed here Monday.
Only 49 players in the 288-man field are under par with another 13 even through 18 holes. Following Tuesday's final round of stroke play, the top 64 players advance to match play with the championship match a 36-hole affair on Saturday. There are 27 players currently tied for 63rd at 1-over par.
Biwer is currently tied for 118th in the standings after shooting a 3-over 75 on the St. Annes Old Links course Monday morning. He opened with three pars but then had his two worst holes of the round, scoring a double bogey on No. 4 and a triple on No. 5. But he gathered himself in to finish up with 11 pars and two birdies, which he scored on Nos. 10 and 16 as he recorded a 34 on the back nine. He's in seventh out of the 15 Americans competing here.
"I was kind of scared off the tee, I couldn't find fairways but was lucky enough to have decent looks into the greens when I was in the fescue," Biwer said. "Got a little back toward the end of the round but not a good feeling when you need to have driver in your hand and have to put it in the right spot.
"I was just trying to get through the round with no more issues and limit the damage," he added. "I didn't want to head into Tuesday completely out of it." He's just two strokes back of the potential cutline at the midway point.
May CU graduate John Paterson wasn't as fortunate, as after opening with two pars, he then hit a rough road and never recovered in turning in a 13-over 83 on the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club course. He had four bogeys, a double and his only birdie on the front nine in making the turn with a 5-over 39, but after a par on No. 10, scored quadruple and triple bogeys back-to-back as he is tied for 284th heading into the final round.
The two switch courses, as Biwer will play Royal Lytham on Tuesday (5:18 a.m. MDT) while Paterson tees it up on St. Annes (4:34 a.m. MDT). All players tee off on No. 1.
The British Amateur Championship is one of the biggest and most prestigious amateur events in the world. The winner secures exemptions into The British Open Championship, The U.S. Open, and by tradition, an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament. Coverage of the event will be available on both Sky Sports and YouTube Live with live scoring available at https://www.randa.org.
NOTES: Biwer came in as the No. 743rd ranked player in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings of June 8 while Paterson was ranked 753rd … Biwer is seeded 155th and Paterson 160th after qualifying late last week … Two of CU's incoming recruits will tee it up on Wednesday in the 107th Southwestern Amateur. Robby Keilch and Hunter Swanson are set to compete in the prestigious event at the Desert Mountain Club (Geronimo Course) in Scottsdale, Ariz.