Colorado men’s golf season concludes in heartbreaking fashion

Dylan McDermott launching a drive in the second round. The senior shot 7 over in the final round to slip in the leaderboard. (Photo via CUBuffs.com)

CARLSBAD, Calif. - The Colorado Buffaloes golf team is done for the season after failing to make the first cut (+13) at the 2025 National Championship on Sunday. The Buffs scored 32-over after three rounds, missing the cut by a staggering 19 strokes. 

The defending national champions and No. 1-ranked Auburn Tigers led the tournament with a score of 10-under through three rounds. On Monday, the Arizona State Sun Devils shot 8-under, propelling the team to sole possession of first place.

Another seven teams were cut on Monday, leaving eight teams to compete in match play until a national champion is crowned on Tuesday. 

Despite finishing far below the cut line, the black and gold were tied in eighth (+1) after the first round. The Buffs entered the second round with a four-stroke cushion above the cut line, yet a 10-over day dropped the squad down to a tie for No. 12. 

The team’s real collapse occurred in the third round, as the Buffs shot 21-over and tied with the San Diego Toreros for the worst score on the day. Strong starts and weak finishes have been a common theme for this year’s Buffaloes, and the biggest tournament of the year was no exception. 

Hunter Swanson and Dylan McDermott were the lowest scoring Buffaloes at 8-over, finishing tied at No. 77. McDermott was playing lights out through the first two rounds, leaving him at 1-over and among the top 35 individuals heading into the third round.

The senior fell apart in his final round of the season, shooting 7-over and dropping over 20 spots on the leaderboard. 

Swanson’s 6-over first round was left off the team score, but the junior put the first round jitters in his rear-view mirror and fought to live another day. Despite bouncing back with 1-over rounds on Saturday and Sunday, Swanson’s late heroics were lost in the shuffle of a miserable team performance over the weekend. 

Brandon Knight was one stroke away from his upperclassmen teammates, finishing at 9-over. The sophomore posted an even 72 in his first round, the first of only two even-par rounds by the Buffaloes in California.

Knight was 8-over through 14 holes in the second round but miraculously birdied three of the last four holes. He finished his final collegiate round of the year with a score of 4-over, good for a tie at No. 87. 

Colorado’s highest nationally ranked golfer (No. 70), Justin Biwer, progressively got worse throughout the tournament. The senior outplayed many of the best college golfers in the first round, shooting 4-under and sitting in a tie at fourth.

The nerves of being at the top proved too much for Biwer, as he reversed his first-round magic with a 4-over in the second, plummeting him 19 spots on the leaderboard. Biwer was unable to escape the quicksand and found himself chest-deep by the end of the third round. The veteran golfer shot 10-over in the third, landing him at No. 96 individually. 

Ty Holbrook’s inexperience showed as he struggled throughout the tournament. The Granbury, Texas native shot 24-over in Carlsbad and placed in the bottom 30 golfers out of 175.

Holbrook shot a modest 4-over in the first round, low enough to contribute to the team score. The sophomore shot a combined 20-over in the second and third rounds, failing to help the black and gold move up the leaderboard. 

Heading into the off-season and next fall, the Buffs need to work on finishing strong. The team should hold its heads high and celebrate nine top-3 finishes and a win on the season, but must understand there are leaps and bounds to be made before making a national title run. 

Colorado will lose many talented golfers and leaders next season, but will maintain a bright future with rising juniors and seniors. The culmination of veteran players and young stars should bode well for the Buffaloes in the years to come.