DU golfer Zander Grant wins The Thunderbolt Invite, while CU’s Justin Biwer places 7th in prestigious Patriot All-America Invitational
By Gary Baines – 12/31/2024
In two of the nation’s premier amateur golf competitions of the early winter, a couple of guys who play their college golf at Colorado-based schools came up with some hot performances to end the calendar year.
University of Denver sophomore Zander Grant birdied the 16th hole on Tuesday en route to a one-stroke victory in a 72-player field at The Thunderbolt Invitational at Sterling Grove Golf & Country Club in Surprise, Ariz.
And University of Colorado senior Justin Biwer tied for seventh place in the prestigious 84-man Patriot All-America Invitational at The Wigwam Golf Resort,in nearby Litchfield Park.
The Patriot and The Thunderbolt are affiliated events, with the latter created two years ago to host top college players who couldn’t get into the Patriot field.
Both Grant and Biwer hail from Southern California.
Grant used a hot stretch in the middle of his final round — going 5 under par from holes 6 through 11, capped by an eagle — to close with a 2-under-par 70. He ended up at 10 under overall, a stroke better than runner-up Seth Bearden of Midwestern State.
Grant, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., posted his best finish of DU’s fall college season at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club, where he placed 21st.
CU’s Justin Biwer. (file photo)
Biwer, who sits No. 79 in the nation’s NCAA Div. I ranks according to the National Collegiate Golf Rankings and No. 138 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, was in the hunt for the Patriot title until bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 on Tuesday. With rounds of 66-67-71, he ended up at 6 under par, leaving him four strokes behind champion Cameron Tankersley of Ole Miss and one stroke out of second place.
Biwer is coming off a fall season at CU in which he finished in the top 8 in each of his last four stroke-play tournaments, including a playoff loss and two fourth-place showings.
Here are the scores of the players with strong Colorado ties at The Patriot All-America Invitational and The Thunderbolt Invitational in Litchfield Park and Surprise, Ariz., respectively:
PATRIOT ALL-AMERICA
7. CU golfer Justin Biwer 66-67-71–204
17. Former CSU golfer, currently at Kansas, Gunnar Broin 68-66-73—207
22. Colin Prater of Colorado Springs 72-71-65—208
41. Colorado Christian University golfer Adam Duncan 75-70-66—211
46. CU golfer Dylan McDermott 72-69-71–212
46. Colorado Christian University golfer Xavier Bighaus 69-69-74–212
71. Jackson Klutznick of Denver 74-72-72–218
THUNDERBOLT INVITATIONAL
1. DU golfer Zander Grant 69-67-70—206
19. DU golfer Jack Dozer 71-71-73–215
27. CU golfer Hunter Swanson of Denver 71-69-76–216
54. CU golfer Brandon Knight 80-71-71—222
70. Air Force Academy golfer Brooks Morrell 83-73-82–238
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