Two years ago, the Colorado men’s golf team ended a 21-year NCAA championship drought with a young core poised to make postseason runs a matter of habit.

It didn’t quite pan out that way a year ago for the Buffaloes, but the program’s return to the Big 12 Conference has coincided with one of the best regular seasons in recent memory.

CU is set for its return to the Big 12 championship, as the tournament begins with the first two rounds on Tuesday at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. The third round is scheduled for Wednesday with the final round set for Thursday.

“It’s just been a really consistent effort and attitude and mindset,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “Everybody on the roster has really contributed to that. It’s resulted in a lot of steady improvement throughout the season.”

The Buffs enter the Big 12 final with the league’s top two leaders in stroke average in seniors Justin Biwer (69.20) and Dylan McDermott (69.33). CU also boasts four of the top 20, with junior Hunter Swanson ranking at No. 11 (70.63) and sophomore Brandon Knight at No. 20 (71.04). Although Utah has three players ranked in the league’s top 10 going into the conference final, the Buffs are the only team with five in the top 30, as sophomore Ty Holbrook ranks 26th (71.33).

Biwer, McDermott and Swanson all played key roles in CU’s run to the national final two years ago, but Edwards said the group struggled to maintain that momentum the following fall. However, Edwards also said the mental fortitude required to bounce back from that disappointment has been one of the driving forces behind a run that has the Buffs poised for another strong postseason.

“We had some growth last year. Because for whatever reason we played really poorly in the fall of 2023,” Edwards said. “But since then it’s been really good for the most part. Really, I think it represented to all of our players they have to have a consistent mindset, consistent confidence, consistent work ethic. And then that all adds up and it builds in a natural way where you’re doing it one brick at a time. Over a period of time, that really shows some strong results. We look forward to continuing to do that, as well.”

After falling short of a return engagement at last year’s NCAA championship, the Buffs have put together a consistent run of excellence in 2024-25, posting one championship and six runner-up finishes. CU recorded two other top-five finishes and shared the Big 12 lead with nine top-10 finishes.

“Those two guys (Biwer and McDermott) are great players, but it’s not just them. It’s all six guys that we’re going to the tournament with that we’re going to be drawing on their experience,” Edwards said. “(Experience) helps when things aren’t going well, when you’ve got to display extra patience, you’ve got to be your own best friend and realize that on championship golf courses, par is a great score.

“That experience helps understand that in the moment, and that will be something this team will really do a good job at the rest of the way.”