CU’s Ty Holbrook and DU’s Willis Panzarello post runner-up finishes as Buffs and Pioneers record strong team showings in separate tournaments
By Gary Baines – 2/19/2025
The spring portion of the college golf schedule is gearing up, and some Colorado-based NCAA Division I teams and individuals shined in tournament action this week.
— The University of Denver men posted their best team finish in coach Gary Bissell’s two-years at the helm by placing fourth out of 18 schools on Tuesday at the Wexford Intercollegiate in Hilton Head Island, S.C. And DU junior Willis Panzarello had by far his best individual showing as a Pioneer as he placed second out of 90 players. He went 69-75-69 for a 3-under-par total, which left him two strokes behind champion Ray Filter of Xavier. SCORES
— The University of Colorado men, ranked 34th in the nation, finished in the top quarter of the field for the sixth time in seven tournaments this season as the Buffs placed fifth out of 24 teams against a solid group of teams at The Prestige in La Quinta, Calif., on Wednesday. The Buffs finished 7 under par, 22 strokes behind champion San Diego. CU senior Dylan McDermott, one of the top-100-ranked players in Division I, notched the 15th top-10 individual finish of his college career. This time, he placed seventh out of 120 players, carding scores of 72-66-69 to check in at 6 under par. Fellow CU senior Justin Biwer, also a top-100 DI collegian nationally, rallied in the final round as he recorded five straight birdies and seven overall in a round of 65 that moved him up to 27th place. Meanwhile, Colorado State placed 13thin the team standings. SCORES
— And, competing in the separate The Prestige Individual, CU sophomore Ty Holbrook tied for second place out of a field of 39. After rounds of 68-73-75, his even-par total left him seven strokes behind winner Sihan Sandhu of North Carolina. That’s Holbrook’s second runner-up as a college player, but first in a DI tournament. Overall as a collegian, he’s notched four top-5 showings. Holbrook also tied for third in last year’s CGA Amateur at Eisenhower Golf Club. SCORES
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