CU men rally to win William H. Tucker Invite, marking their first team victory in a major stroke-play tournament in almost 5 years
By Gary Baines – 9/21/2024
After team finishes of second and third place in the University of Colorado men’s golf squad’s first two tournaments of the season, perhaps it was only fitting for the next step to be a victory.
Of course, things often don’t turn out ideally, but they did on Saturday for the Buffs, who rallied from an 11-stroke deficit entering the final round to overtake host New Mexico and post a one-stroke victory at the 17-team William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque.
The Buffs placed three players in the top 10 individually — out of a field of 96 — and notched their first team victory in a major stroke-play tournament since October 2019. CU also won the Wyoming Match Play title in February.
The Buffs have competed in the Tucker Invite 69 times, with this being their first victory in the tournament.
CU, coached by Roy Edwards and assistant Derek Tolan, posted a 2-under-par total in the final round and ended up 12 under for 54 holes. That was one better than New Mexico and nine ahead of third-place Long Beach State.
CU’s Dylan McDermott placed third individually for his second top-10 of the young season. Justin Biwer, three days after finishing fourth at the Ram Masters Invitational, tied for fourth at the Tucker. Frederik Eisenbeis also notched his second top 10 of the week, ending up ninth after being third in Arizona State’s Papago Individual on Tuesday.
The Buffs’ four scoring players on Saturday made a strong final push to get over the top for the title. Eisenbeis played his final four holes in 3 under par, while McDermott and Swanson were each 1 under for the last three, and Biwer 2 over for his final three.
McDermott closed with a 2-under 70, leaving him at 5 under overall, three strokes back of two New Mexico players, Alvaro Portillo and Carson Herron. Eisenbeis shot 69 Saturday, while Biwer had a 73 and Swanson a 74 en route to 39th place overall. Rounding out CU’s team was Brandon Knight, who tied for 17th overall.
Saturday marked the 19th team victory for CU since Edwards became head coach in 2006.
For all the scores from the Tucker, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com