CU men (seeded 6th) and CSU (9th) both sending full teams to NCAA regionals in Bremerton, Wash.; Colorado Christian’s Adam Duncan named to U.S. Arnold Palmer Cup team
By Gary Baines – 4/30/2025
There are times in college golf — as well as in other sports — when it’s particularly important to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.
The reason is that there might be a confluence of particularly talented players on a team’s roster, and they’ll soon be moving on from college. So it’s important to capitalize on the moment by seeing that talent translate into strong finishes at NCAA regional and national tournaments.
In the case of the University of Colorado men’s golf team, some examples on that confluence of talent from the past were Bill Musselman, Allen Hoos and Jim English in the late 1960s; Steve Jones, Rick Cramer and Terry Kahl in the early 1980s; Jonathan Kaye, Scott Petersen and Bob Kalinowski in the 1990s; Derek Tolan and Pat Grady culminating in 2008-09; and Jeremy and Yannik Paul and David Oraee in the mid-2010s, among others.
This season is likely another one of those occasions as seniors Justin Biwer and Dylan McDermott are wrapping up their college careers complemented by a solid supporting cast, including Coloradan Hunter Swanson. The two Californians both own season-long stroke averages under 70 (Biwer at 69.5 and McDermott at 69.65) — which is no small feat for a team often playing very formidable golf courses. Both are ranked among the top 80 college players in the nation as Biwer is 69th and McDermott 79th.
On Wednesday on the Golf Channel, the Buffs found out where they’ll take the next step in this final postseason with Biwer and McDermott. CU, ranked 32nd nationally in NCAA Division I, will be headed to an NCAA regional tournament May 12-14 in Bremerton, Wash., where it will be seeded sixth out of 14 teams.
Colorado State, ranked 54th in the country, also will field a full team at the 54-hole Bremerton Regional as the Rams are seeded ninth there. No. 5 Arizona State is the top seed at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, where Jordan Spieth won the second of his two U.S. Junior Amateurs. CSU competed at Gold Mountain GC as recently as last season, as the Husky Invitational was there in September 2023.
At each of the six regional sites, the top five team finishers — and the top individual not on those teams — will advance to the NCAA DI national championships, set for May 23-28 in Carlsbad, Calif.
Justin Biwer (left) and Dylan McDermott will try to go out on a high note for CU. (Photo: CU men’s golf on X)
Speaking of which, two years ago both CU and CSU ended long droughts as far as NCAA national championship appearances go. The Buffs landed a full team berth at nationals for the first time since 2002, with the Rams doing so for the first time since 2011. CU finished 21st, the program’s second-best showing in that event in more than 40 years. (CU placed 14th in ’02.) And CSU’s 28th-place showing in 2023 was its best at nationals since 1999.
This marks the fourth straight year that CSU has sent a full team to NCAA regionals, while CU has made the grade twice in the last three seasons.
CU has been remarkably consistent in putting together one of the best seasons in program history. The Buffs won the William Tucker Intercollegiate in September and have been runners-up six times and third once.
CSU, meanwhile, claimed team titles in its first three tournaments of the season, and since then has added a runner-up and a third place. Among the Rams’ mainstays is Coloradan Matthew Wilkinson, winner of one college tournament this season and of the 2024 CGA Match Play title.
For the complete fields for men’s DI NCAA regional tournaments, CLICK HERE.
— Meanwhile, senior Adam Duncan of Colorado Christian University was the lone non-NCAA Division I golfer selected for the U.S. team that will face the Internationals at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup, set for June 5-7 in Ridgeland, S.C.
The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition between American and International college players — both men and women. The U.S. leads the series 15-12-1. The 2009 Palmer Cup was held at Cherry Hills Country Club south of Denver.
Duncan is the nation’s top-ranked player in NCAA Division II and he competes for the top-ranked DII team, CCU, which won the DII national title in 2024. Duncan, from Bakersfield, Calif., has claimed or shared four individual victories this season. He’s only finished outside the top 10 once during the 2024-25 campaign.
For the full Arnold Palmer Cup teams, 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