ERIE – The Mark Simpson Invitational has been dominated yearly by the hosts, the Colorado Buffaloes, who despite their phenomenal season to date couldn’t get past a late push from rivals Colorado State, who won first place by just four strokes.
Although the black and gold can’t call themselves champs, they excelled individually as a record eight Buffaloes finished under par with senior Justin Biwer’s 13-under 203 securing the first individual championship of his collegiate career.
On the first day of the two-day invitational, the Buffs impressed, shooting a 27-under team card, tying for the third-best in tournament history. Led by Biwer’s 5-under 67 and 4-under 68, seniors Dylan McDermott and Freddy Eisenbeis, junior Hunter Swanson and sophomore Brandon Knight all finished with under-par scores in both rounds of day one.
McDermott finished the first day tied for eighth after shooting consecutive 3-under 69s, marking his 10th and 11th rounds under par to start the season — just one shy of the school record he set as a sophomore. Eisenbeis ended day one with back-to-back 2-under 70s, only shooting two bogeys in each round to put him in a tie for 24th.
The two youngest competing as part of the quintet, Swanson and Knight, helped propel the Buffs to a first place standing after day one. Swanson had a day one scorecard of 5-under 139 with a team-high 13 birdies, sitting him in a tie for 12th. Knight’s 7-under 137 consisted of some of the best golf he has played in his collegiate career, recording only three holes over par out of the 36 played.
Come Tuesday, the final day, the Buffs sat atop the leaderboard with a comfortable six-stroke lead separating themselves from second place St. Mary’s (Calif.).
The final day started well with only three bogeys being recorded by the quintet in the first nine holes, two from Swanson and one from McDermott. It was the back nine where the black and gold were starting to see their struggles. Swanson recorded three more bogeys to finish with a 1-over 73 on the day, adding to a final card of 4-under 212, tying for 28th. Eisenbeis’s under-par success followed into the final day shooting a 1-under 72 to sit just in the top 20 at a tie for 18th.
Knight and McDermott couldn’t help improve the final team card as both finished even on the day. McDermott’s even par added to a 6-under 210, finishing him in a tie for 14th. Shortly in front was Knight with a 7-under 209, tying him for a top-ten finish. The Buffs’ 5-under on the day wasn’t enough to hold their position in first as Colorado State shot a stunning 18-under 270 to jump into and hold first place.
Despite the team’s struggles, Biwer’s success continued as he shot a 4-under 68 to end his Mark Simpson Invitational journey as a champ.
The Buffs got their first look at Big 12 competition early this week as they competed in Big 12 match play in Hockley, Texas.
Cover photo by Ethan Greer/Sko Buffs Sports
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