In the long history of the University of Colorado golf program, a certain title had evaded it.

The Buffs had played in all 69 editions of New Mexico’s William H. Tucker Intercollegiate and never won the tournament. They’d finished second four times but never broken through.

Until last Saturday. 

Colorado rallied from 11 shots behind in the final round to claim the title. It was the Buffs’ first individual tournament win since 2019. The Buffs made three birdies on No. 18 and four on the first hole to make up seven shots to eventually overtake host New Mexico.

“This win is for every CU golf team member we have ever had. It is dedicated to all of our incredible golf alumni. It took 69 years to come here and win,” CU coach Roy Edwards told CUBuffs.com “In that time, Colorado has brought a lot of really good teams here and had never been able to get the job done, so it is very special to finally do it. The team could not be more excited, both in our long history of competing here but also in the way we were able to do it. It’s special to see a group that truly enjoys team success more than their own individual ones and this is that type of group.”

New Mexico’s 7,546-yard, par-72 Championship Course in Albuquerque played tough on Saturday with gusty winds. The Buffs battled to shoot a score of 2-under in the final round and finished the tournament at 12-under as a team. Saturday’s scoring average was 76.24.

“What an incredible day by the guys,” Edwards said. “They competed so hard and so well. The conditions were more ‘Tucker-like’ than (Friday) and the team responded wonderfully to the difficulty. There is no doubt experience helped today.”

The contributions from the Buffs’ three seniors were key to the victory. Dylan McDermott (third), Justin Biwer (tie for fourth) and Freddy Eisenbeis (tie for ninth) all placed in the top 10. 

McDermott, who advanced to match play in the last two U.S. Amateurs, fired a 2-under on the final day to finish third. He had 11 birdies and 37 pars overall with a team-low six bogeys.

“We met as a team last night and we looked at what was expected with the wind, and Roy mentioned how, when that course gets windy, if we can keep it around even par, we can jump up spots,” McDermott said. “If we could do that, it would be possible to make up an 11-shot deficit, even on the home team, and he was 100% right.” 

Biwer has had success in New Mexico before with two other top-10 finishes. His final tournament score of 4-under broke a tie with the Paul twins, Yannik and Jeremy, for most career tournaments under par. 

“From a team perspective, this has been a long time coming, we’ve been so close numerous times before,” Biwer said about the win. “Based on our previous tournaments, qualifying rounds and practice in general, I’ve been able to tell how much better this team is and how much more prepared we are.  We didn’t have a good finish last year (11th) and we were upset.

“Roy actually told us a year ago, ‘We’re going to come back here and win this tournament.’  And we did exactly that. Every one contributed.”

Eisenbeis tied for the best round in the field on Saturday with a 69. That score helped him move up 27 spots on the final day to finish in a tie for ninth. The senior has struggled at the tournament in the past with a scoring average 76.1.

The Buffs will be back on the course for their home tournament on Monday-Tuesday. The Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational is played at Colorado National Golf Club and the field will include Air Force, CSU, Colorado School of Mines, Northern Colorado and Wyoming. 

CSU is coming off a win as well. The Rams took the title at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational. The Rams’ Matthew Wilkinson also won the individual title. 

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Clark set to make more Colorado history at Presidents Cup

Denver native Wyndham Clark has made a lot of history in the last 18 months. 

When he won the Wells Fargo Championship last year, he became the first Coloradan to win on the PGA Tour since Jonathan Kaye in 2001. 

Clark then became the first Colorado-born player to win the U.S. Open later in the year at Los Angeles Country Club. 

Now, after representing his country at the Ryder Cup and Olympics, Clark will be the first Colorado-raised player to play in the Presidents Cup since Hale Irwin in 1994. Irwin was the captain of the United States and played on the team. It was also the first year of the event.

Clark will be paired with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley for Thursday’s session. They will match up with the International team’s Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

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Prater has another strong showing at USGA event

Colorado Springs’ Colin Prater continues to make a name for himself on the amateur circuit. 

The Cheyenne Mountain science teacher and assistant golf coach played in the U.S. Mid-Amateur this week and once again made in to match play. After winning in the Round of 64 as the No. 53 seed beat the No. 12 seed Andrew Von Lossow, Prater lost 1-up in the next round to Ireland’s Hugh Foley.

Prater qualified for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst after shooting a 68-73 at a sectional qualifier at Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Ore., on “Golf’s Longest Day.” He missed the cut at the U.S. Open but loved the experience.

While he missed the cut at the 2024 U.S. Amateur during his busy summer, the previous year at Cherry Hills Country Club, Prater made the Round of 64.

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What they’re saying

“The greatest thing for me about these events — there’s so many wonderful things about the Presidents Cup, the Ryder Cups, but it just brings together so many different generations.”

—U.S. captain Jim Furyk on the history of the Presidents Cup

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Skins game

Odds to win the Presidents Cup

USA -230

International +250

Tie +1400

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This week in golf

PGA Tour

THE PRESIDENTS CUP

Site: Montreal.

Course: Royal Montreal GC (Blue). Yardage: 7,279. Par: 70.

Television: Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Golf); Saturday, 5-6 a.m. (Golf), 6 a.m.-4 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: United States.

Captains: Jim Furyk (U.S.), Mike Weir (International).

Last time: Jordan Spieth went 5-0, the Americans led 8-2 after two sessions and went on to a 17 1/2-12 1/2 victory at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina.

European Tour

ACCIONA SPANISH OPEN

Site: Madrid.

Course: Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Yardage: 7,154. Par: 71.

Prize money: $3.25 million. Winner’s share: $541,667.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-9:30 a.m. (Golf), 9:30-11 a.m. (NBC Sports app); Saturday, 5:30-8 a.m. (NBC Sports app), 6-10 a.m. (Golf); Sunday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf).

Defending champion: Matthieu Pavon.

LPGA Tour

WALMART NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Rogers, Ark.

Course: Pinnacle CC. Yardage: 6,438. Par: 71.

Prize money: $3 million. Winner’s share: $450,000.

Television: Friday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 6-8 p.m. (Golf-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, Noon-3 p.m. (Golf).

Defending champion: Haeran Ryu.