Biwer Advances At U.S. Amateur
PARAMUS, N.J. — University of Colorado sophomore Justin Biwer advanced into the match play portion of the 122nd annual U.S. Amateur here Tuesday, one of two Buffaloes who qualified for the most prestigious amateur event in the world.
The top 64 players advance into match play; Biwer tied for 21st with a 70-73—143 effort, which was 2-over par combined on the par-71 Ridgewood Country Club and par-70 on the Arcola Country Club courses here in the shadow of New York City.
Biwer was one of just eight players under par Monday on the Ridgewood course, with a steady round of four birdies and 11 pars and three bogeys. Tuesday on Arcola, he had a little bit of a rollercoaster ride to start off, opening bogey-par-birdie-bogey-double-bogey to stand at 4-over through six. He then gathered himself to finish the front nine with two pars and a birdies, and then played the back side even (one birdie, one bogey and seven pars).
The last Buffalo to advance was David Oraee in 2015, as he finished second in stroke play after a pair of 67s and reached the round of 16.
CU's other entrant, sophomore Dylan McDermott, turned in a 74-78—152 scorecard (11-over), and tied for 151st overall. He was 1-over through five on Tuesday but then hit a stretch where he was 6-over for the next six holes (one par, four bogeys and a double). He settled down to finish even over his last seven holes (five pars, one birdie and one bogey). The cut to advance was 5-over par.
"Just really steady golf from Justin," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "He got off to a bit of a rough start at Arcola but righted the ship and played well coming in. He has the opportunity to be a big factor in match play. Dylan had a nice round on Monday at Ridgewood but struggled through the middle portion of his round today.
Typical of most USGA events, the greens were fast with challenging pin placements and second cuts of rough that are higher and thicker than usual. There was a four-way tie for medalist honors at just 3-under par, and of the 312 players in the field, only eight players were under par with five others finishing even.
"The U.S. Amateur is punishing if you are even slightly off your game," Edwards added. "A great experience for both, and a lot to build on for Dylan."
Biwer's opponent in the match play's round of 64 will be Khavish Varadan, a native of Malaysia who will be a junior this fall on the golf team at Alabama-Birmingham. Their match starts at 10:20 a.m. MDT; all competition hence forth will take place at Ridgewood. The round of 32 will be Thursday, round of 16 and quarterfinals on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and the 36-hole championship match Sunday.