CU Buffs’ Dylan McDermott repeats as US Amateur qualifier – Boulder …

Once again, Dylan McDermott will represent the Colorado Buffaloes at the U.S. Amateur.

The sophomore standout from CU’s men’s golf team advanced to the U.S. Amateur for the second year in row on Monday, earning medalist honors in the final qualifying stage.

McDermott finished with a scorecard of 71-64 — 135 at the Granite Bay Golf Club in California, placing first with a four-stroke win over three players at 3-under 139. Only nine players finished under par and none at even in the 74-player field.

Entering the competition ranked as the No. 163 amateur in the world, McDermott was tied for 11th after opening with an even-par 71 in the morning round. He caught fire the second time around, firing a 7-under 64 starting on No. 10 and making birdies on Nos. 13 and 15. McDermott then opened the front side with birdies on 1, 2 and 4 to take the lead. He led all players with 11 birdies while recording 22 pars with just three holes over than par.

“It’s really awesome,” McDermott said in a release from CU. “I have to admit that last year, I didn’t quite feel like I fully deserved it, the guy I was playing didn’t finish strong and I wasn’t playing my best. Today, things really came together after that early double. I didn’t feel any pressure at that point, because I knew that I definitely had what it took to make it, I just needed to be patient. My swing coach (and caddy Phil Dawson) told me to be patient and the putts would start falling. This was a really good way to cap my sophomore year.”

McDermott will compete in the U.S. Amateur in Colorado, beginning Aug. 14 at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club.

He will be one of 312 golfers competing in the 123rd U.S. Amateur, which returns to Colorado for the fifth time overall, the first since 2012. Two days of stroke play will take place August 14-15, followed by five days of match play leading up to a 36-hole championship match on Aug. 20. Cherry Hills also hosted the event in 1990 and 2012, with the Broadmoor doing so in 1959 and 1967.

A first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and PING All-West Region member who earned honorable mention All-American honors this past season, McDermott posted one of the most prolific years in CU golf history. He set 10 school records and led the team in a record-breaking 36 statistical categories, including school-record marks of stroke average (70.12), most consecutive rounds under par (10), most consecutive rounds of par or better (13), most tournaments under par (10), most consecutive tournaments under par (7), most tournaments of par or better (11), most consecutive tournaments of par or better (7).