With third-place finish at NCAA Regional, CU men punch ticket to Div. I golf nationals for 2nd time in last 3 years after previous long drought; CU’s Hunter Swanson and CSU’s Christoph Bleier post top-10s
By Gary Baines – 5/14/2025
Just once in the last 30 years has a University of Colorado men’s golfer competed twice or more in the NCAA national championships.
But this spring, anywhere from three to five Buffs will join Matt Zions (1999 and 2002) as members of that elite club.
On Wednesday, CU extended one of the best seasons in program history by qualifying for the NCAA Division I national championships for the second time in three years. That means that Coloradan Hunter Swanson of Superior, senior mainstays Justin Biwer and Dylan McDermott, and possibly Jack Holland and Tucker Clark could tee it up at nationals for a second time. Those five comprised the Buff team that finished 21st at nationals in 2023.
CU, coached by Roy Edwards and Derek Tolan, advanced a full team to nationals for just the second time since 2002, but also for the second time in the last three years.
Hunter Swanson continued on a May roll with his top-10 showing on Wednesday. (Photo CU men’s golf on X)
The Buffs made the grade on Wednesday by placing third out of 14 teams in the NCAA Bremerton (Wash.) Regional. The top five finishers — plus the top individual not on one of those teams — advance to the NCAA DI nationals, set for May 23-28 in Carlsbad, Calif.
It marked the fourth top-3 finish for CU at NCAA regionals since they debuted in 1989. The Buffs were runners-up in 1989 and finished third in 2025, ’23 and 1989.
“Everyone is obviously incredibly excited to punch our ticket to the NCAA Finals,” Edwards said. “It can be hard to even make the NCAA regionals nowadays, and to make the Finals is a special accomplishment. We go into the Finals leading the nation in wins (vs. Division I opponents). There is no doubt we expect to go there and be highly competitive.”
At Gold Mountain Golf Course — where Justin Spieth won the second of his two U.S. Junior Amateur titles — CU posted a strong final round (5 under par) to finish at 4 under for three days. Florida, ranked eighth in the nation, won the regional team title at 28 under, while No. 5 Arizona State was runner-up at 25 under. Also advancing full teams to nationals from the site were South Florida (2 under) and South Carolina (even par).
Colorado State, ranked 54th in the country, saw its season end as it finished ninth in the team standings. Senior Christoph Bleier (72-70-68) led the way for the Rams by placing sixth individually.
As for CU, Denver native Swanson led the way for the Buffs by ending up seventh individually on Wednesday. The Northfield High School grad carded scores of 73-68-70 for a 5-under-par total. It was the second time this season Swanson has been low individual in a tournament for CU. It’s been quite a run recently for Swanson, who this month won the CGA Four-Ball with former CU teammate Wes Erling, then earned medalist honors in a local qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open.
Wednesday marked the ninth top-3 team finish for CU this season as the Buffs own one victory, six runner-ups and two third places.
For all the scores from the Bremerton Regional, 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