Biwer Headed Back To NCAA Regional Golf

               BOULDER —University of Colorado junior Justin Biwer was invited to participate in the NCAA Men's Golf Austin Regional Wednesday, marking the third time he will compete in postseason play.
 
               He is coming off a tie for 15th in last weekend's Pac-12 Championships, as he had an 11-over par 295 total on what he said was one of the toughest golf courses (Desert Forest Golf Club) he has ever played in competition.  A 3-under 68 tied for the third-lowest score in the final round and moved him up 19 spots in the standing; his even-par 142 over the last two rounds was fifth-best in field as well.
 
               Biwer earned a berth as a freshman in 2022, where he tied for 40th in the Norman Regional; he recorded a 6-over par 72-73-77—222 score.  CU qualified as a team last year, and a sophomore he tied for 16th once again in Norman, with a 5-under 70-71-70--211 effort; the Buffs finished third and advanced to the NCAA Finals, where CU missed the cut; he had a 73-74-73—220 scorecard, 10-over par. 
 
               Biwer led the team in stroke average for the second time in his career with a 71.38 mark, along with team-best in several categories including rounds counting toward team scoring (33 of 34), rounds in the 60s (11), subpar rounds (18), rounds of par or better (22) and top 20 finishes (six).  He has played in 38 collegiate events, finishing under par in 20 of those (and even in one other), and for 108 rounds, owns a career stroke average of 71.09, the best in school history.
 
               In CU's history in the NCAA, Biwer owns the seventh-best average – 72.56 for nine rounds – the latter tied for the ninth-most by a Buffalo.  This marks the eighth time a Buffalo has been invited as a regional participant individually, and Biwer joins Daniel O'Loughlin earning the distinction twice (the NCAA created the regional format in 1989).
 
               "For me, the coolest thing about it is just says I've been fortunate enough to make it to regionals all three years," Biwer said.  "It might have just been the luck of the draw this time around, we thought my chances of being selected were 50-50.  My last round at the Pac-12's probably helped put me in this position, shooting a 68 and jumping from the middle of the field into the top 20 and doing it on that golf course and in the conditions we all faced.
 
               "I'm looking at this as sort of a redemption," he added.  "I felt I didn't play well at all as a freshman, and want to build off the success that I've had and do my best to represent the team."
 
               "Because we fell short of the .500 record requirement, at the conclusion of the Pac-12 Championship we knew we would not make the NCAA Tournament as a team, despite being ranked high enough and inside the at-large cutoff," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.  "Obviously, not meeting that criteria was very disappointing to all of us. 
 
               "However, Justin was selected once again as an individual and we are very happy for him.  He has had a really solid year despite fighting through some injuries this spring.  His game is as good as it ever has been and we look forward to the NCAA's being a tremendous springboard to his summer tournament schedule and into the fall."
 
               Eighty-one schools qualified for team competition, led by the SEC (12), followed by the ACC (10), Pac-12 (8), Big 12 (8), Big Ten (6) and Mountain West (5).  CU finished with an 83-93-4 record against Division I competition, thus fell short of the criteria to advance.
 
               The Austin Regional will be played May 13-15 at the University of Texas Golf Club, which will play to 7,399-yards and a par-71 configuration.  The top five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each of six regionals will advance to the NCAA Finals.  Those are set for May 24-29 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.