Buffs Finish Eighth In Final Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship

        CAREFREE, Ariz. — The University of Colorado men's golf team played its best by far Sunday in the final round, but it was only enough to propel the Buffaloes up one notch into an eighth place finish in the 64th Annual (and) final Pac-12 Championship.
 
        Host and No. 3 Arizona State pulled away in the final round to claim the title, as the Sun Devils finished with a 27-over par team total of 1,447 strokes.  That bested No. 21 California by 16 shots (1,463), as ASU recorded the best single round Sunday (a 3-under 355), picking up 13 shots on the Golden Bears.  No. 29 Stanford, the defending champion, finished third (1,464), with No. 10 Washington and No. 24 Oregon tying for fourth (1,468).
 
        The No. 66 Buffaloes had a 2-over team score of 357 Sunday, tied by UCLA for the second-best of the round (and the third-best overall); CU moved from ninth into eighth with a final stroke count of 72-over par 1,492.  A poor second round (35-over 390) was likely its downfall, as over the final two rounds, the Buffs' 732 total was fourth, behind only the top three, ASU (714), Cal (725) and Stanford (727).
 
        "A much better round today," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.  "We saw a lot of good golf from everyone, and with the second low round today, we beat some good teams – only the No. 3 team in the country (ASU) had a better score in the final round.  And the win over Arizona overall was a big one, as it is another top 10 win on the year, our fourth of the season.
 
        "Our guys deserve a lot of credit because they didn't play well the first three rounds, but they really fought and competed and that kept us in it," he added.  "This is the team we have been all spring and they showed it today – very proud of these guys."
 
        Junior Justin Biwer tied for 15th after fashioning a closing 3-under par 68 on the 7,203-yard, par-71 Desert Forest Golf Club course design, as had an 11-over 295 total.  He was actually 6-under par at one point after he birdied No. 2, but he finished with bogeys on Nos. 3, 5 and 8 that kept him from matching the low score in the tournament. After recording his career high collegiate score – 79 – in the second round, he bounced back to play the last 36 holes even, with an eagle, six birdies and 23 pars in that run.  He played the par-4's at 7-over, which was 10th-best in the 72-man field.  Overall, he had 10 birdies and 44 pars, the latter tied for the team-high.
 
        Junior Dylan McDermott carded a 2-over 73 to wrap things with a 14-over 298 score, tying him for 29th.  He was 1-under through 10 after making back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 after he had double bogeyed 14 – but triple bogey on No. 2 r returned him to the unhappy side of par.  After finishing up each of the first three rounds with some frustration (quadruple bogey-bogey-bogey), on Sunday he birdied the 9th hole to end his day on a much better note.  He was one of just eight players in the final round to make birdie on the 435-yard, par-4 15th hole.   His 13 birdies tied for 12th-most in the field (he had a team-high seven in the final round), and he also recorded 39 pars.
 
        Sophomore Hunter Swanson had his best round of the tournament, closing with an even-par 71 that had him end with a 16-over 300 count, which placed him 38th.  His most steady round here had him record three birdies and 12 pars with just three bogeys, the latter his low for the event.  He spent the entire round within one stroke of even par, and he was able to finish in that fashion when he made a birdie on the 533-yard, par-5 9th.  He also had one of just five birdies Sunday on the 435-yard, par-4 15th hole, and had 10 birdies and 41 pars overall.
 
        Freshman Brandon Knight rebounded after a rough start Friday, when he was 16-over par, to record a second-straight 1-over 72, which gave him a final scorecard of 18-over 302, tying him for 41st.  Over the last two rounds he recorded six birdies, 23 pars and six bogeys with one double.  He also had one of just five birdies with Swanson Sunday on No. 15, as well as one of only five on the 171-yard, par-3 3rd hole (he played the par-3's at 2-over, as did McDermott, the best by the Buffs here).  He finished seventh in the freshman "standings" here, as 15 competed overall.
 
        Biwer played the last two rounds even at 142, tied for fifth in Saturday and Sunday play, while Knight at 2-over 144 tied for the 10th best score over the last 36 holes.
 
        "Justin had a really nice round and tournament overall, and both he and Brandon worked hard and really battled the last two days," Edwards said.  "They were really impressive and managed their games very well those 36 holes."
 
        Junior Tucker Clark turned in his best score of the four attempts here, a 2-over 73 that enabled him to tie for 44th with a 19-over par 303.  He had his steadiest round of the four as well, with nine birdies, 42 pars three double bogeys that accounted for his strokes over par, otherwise had two birdies, 12 pars and four bogeys with no holes worse (he had five doubles and a triple the first three trips around the DFGC loop); overall, he had nine birdies and 42 pars.  He joined McDermott as one of the eight players to birdie No. 15 Sunday, one of his two birds in the final round along with matching Swanson's 12 pars.
 
        Freshman Ty Holbrook closed things out with a 6-over 77, his second-best round here, as he tied for 59th with a 24-over 308 overall total.  He made his third eagle of the season, coming on the 535-yard, par-5 16th hole, with a birdie and nine pars Sunday.  He had 10 birdies overall, tied for third-most by a Buff, though eight of those came in the opening round when he led the entire field.  He played the par-5 holes tied for the sixth-best over the three days at 6-under, including 3-under Sunday. He tied for 11th among the 15 freshmen in his first event as a designated scorer for the Buffs after playing 17 rounds individually.
 
        Stanford's Karl Vilips claimed medalist honors, jumping from third into first after a final round 3-under 68 gave him a 2-under 282 for 72 holes.  That bested Arizona State's Ryggs Johnston, who was one back at 283 after a 69 Sunday.  They were the lone players under par for the tournament.
 
        Edwards entertained his thoughts on the demise of the Pac-12 Conference.

    "It was genuinely bittersweet for this to be the last Pac-12 Championship," he said.  "It's a special league with incredible schools and golf programs.  While we understand the situation, decades of history are now over.  Many of the greatest players in the history of golf competed in this conference.  And this year it goes out with a bang with an amazing championship at Desert Forest.  Arizona State put an amazing foot forward in this championship.  They are the gold standard for hosting golf tournaments.  This year 11 of the 12 Pac-12 teams are inside the NCAA at large number and it was one of the best conferences in college golf once again this season."
 
        Colorado finished with a 4-7 record here, and dropped to 83-93-4 versus Division I competition, and thus does not meet the initial criteria to qualify for the NCAA Championship – teams must have a record of .500 or better.  Depending on how the field shakes out, Biwer has a chance to qualify as an individual like he did as a freshman; the NCAA will announce all who qualify on Wednesday (Noon MDT, Golf Channel).
 
ALUMNI THANK YOUS: Edwards wanted to thank CU alum and '96 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones for spending Sunday watching the team as he heals a sore knee in preparation to return to the Champions Tour, as well as twins Jeremy and Yannik Paul, who are members at Desert Forest, but both were competing on their respective tours and thus weren't in town.  "I need to thank Jeremy and Yannik – they helped us tremendously in preparing us for the golf course this week.  Their input was invaluable us."  Yannik was one out of the lead entering the final round in the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan (DP World Tour), but finished with a 76 and placed 36th (274, -6); Jeremy was in Arlington, Texas for the Veritex Bank Championship (Korn Ferry Tour); he tied for 55th (271, -13).

NOTES: Sunny skies ruled the roost over the weekend, and the gusting winds that plagued Friday's afternoon play and to a degree on Saturday were non-existent; temperatures were comfortable all three days as well (mid-60s into the mid-70s) … The average score for all 285 rounds that were completed was 75.16; the low round was Sunday's final 18 when it was 73.58 for 71 rounds, down from Friday afternoon's high of 76.93 when the wind played a factor … Just two players finished under par with none matching it; 58 players were 10-over par or higher (18 at 20-plus and five 30-over or more) … There were just 20 rounds scored in the 60's (a high of nine Sunday) … The Buffs finished seventh in birdies (61; ASU led the way  82) and in pars (243, Arizona had the most with 264), eighth in double bogeys (24, Oregon had 14, USC was last with 33) and eighth in jumbo holes (double-bogey or worse, 31; Oregon had only 18, USC had the most, 49) … Colorado played the par-5's the fifth-best at 3-under (ASU was 15-under), the par-4's tied for fourth (80-over, Cal was plus-49) and the par-3's seventh-best  (25-over, UW was just 6-over, nine better than anyone else) … With the dismantling of the Pac-12 Conference as the Buffs return to the Big 12, where they were an inaugural member in 1996 through 2011 – CU's 12 finishes in the Pac-12 were: 10th (three times), eighth (twice) and second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth and 11th (all once).
  
NOTES II: The Buffaloes had some shining moments here: Biwer had one of just 14 birdies (out of 285 tries) on the 551-yard, par-4 7th, which played the second-toughest at +0.55 over par, while Clark and Holbrook accounted for two of the 16 scored all weekend on the 231-yard, par-3 8th hole, the fourth-toughest at +0.42 (those are out of 286 attempts) … The 18th hole played the toughest in the final round (+0.62), with no birdies and just 40 pars: CU was one of just three teams to have as many as five players par the hole, the highlight coming when Holbrook sank a 45-foot putt to save par … There were 27 international players in the event; Biwer tied for the seventh-low American … Cal's Ethan Fang was the freshman "medalist" with a 2-over 286 score … Biwer's final round 68 increased his career total of rounds of par or better to 73; that ties Yannik Paul for the second-most at CU, and is just one back of Jeremy Pau, who set the mark of 74 between 2013-17 … His 32nd round in the 60s, he's fifth on that chart; McDermott is fourth with 34, with Jeremy Paul atop that list as well (41) … Biwer led the team in stroke average for the second time in his career with a 71.38 mark, followed by McDermott (71.94), Swanson (72.62) and Clark (72.90); all were inflated due to the tough course and conditions in Arizona (as was every player in the conference) … Career-wise, as both have over the minimum 75 rounds played, Biwer and McDermott rank 1-2 all-time in scoring average for the Buffaloes (71.09 for Biwer in 108 rounds, 71.41 for McDermott in 106) … Knight played 34 rounds, tied for the 13th most by freshman at CU, with his 73.85 scoring average the 12th best by a frosh … Holbrook played 21 rounds and finished with a 74.04 mark, the 14th freshman best.