Saturday, March 24
Palm Desert, CA
All Day
Colorado
vs
Third Round
Photo by: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.
Buff Golfers Finish Third At K-State's Bighorn Invitational
March 24, 2018 | Men's Golf
Three Buffs Place In The Top Six For Third Time In Program History
PALM DESERT, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team had its best single round this weekend here Saturday, and thus was able to move up two spots into a third place finish as the inaugural Kansas State Bighorn Invitational came to a close.
No. 15 Illinois broke open a tightly contested logjam at the top of the standing, running away from the field with a team score of 40-under par 824 after firing a sizzling final round score of 20-under 268. The Fighting Illini entered the day with a four-shot lead with five teams separated by a total of eight shots, including the Buffaloes in fifth. No. 76 Mississippi State played its best event of the year in finishing second, 10 shots back at 30-under 834, with the No. 47 Buffaloes in at 21-under 843 to take the bronze spot in the standings. No. 30 Brigham Young and No. 35 Kansas tied for fourth at 13-under 851.
The Buffaloes got off to a great start on Saturday, scoring four birdies on the No. 1 hole, which played as the third toughest in the second round (+0.21 over par). The four players who would score on the day for CU made the turn at a combined 11-under par, scoring 15 birdies and just four bogeys with the rest pars. That thrusted the team from fifth place and eight strokes back of the lead at the start of the day into second and four shots out.
Colorado had it as low as 13-under early on the back nine, but some late bogey troubles, including one double, reduced the day's effort to a 9-over 279, still CU's fifth-best single round team score of the season.
"It was good to see a really hot start out of four of the guys," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "They all hit it really close and made good putts. We just tapered off a little bit in the end, but that didn't hurt us in the standings.
"We beat some good teams, Illinois just ran away with it and Mississippi State had a good week," he added. "Going in, I thought we had a chance if we could turn in a round of 15-under or so, but Illinois shot lights out. Kansas and BYU have had good years, so we picked up some quality wins here and did it on a course where you had to manage your game or you could be all over the place."
CU was flirting with three finishers in the top five of a major tourney for just the third time in its history, but things shook out to the third time with three in the top six (and the sixth time with three in the top seven); the other two occasions with three Buffs in the top six were in the 1999 Colorado State Intercollegiate (the medalist and two tied-thirds) and in the 2015 CU-Mark Simpson Invitational (a third and two tied-fifths).
Sophomore Daniel O'Loughlin spent much of the day in the lead after opening with five birdies on his first eight holes, making the turn at 5-under on the 7,000-yard, par-72 The Canyons course at Bighorn Golf Club. But some late trouble with a bogey and a double in three-hole span ended his run at medalist honors, though he did birdie No. 18 to finish with a 3-under 69 for an 8-under 208 total. That tied him for second, his highest collegiate finish along with post his best collegiate 54-hole score (he had a pair of fifth place efforts previously).
"Daniel said he didn't hit it great all day, and that was a really hard par-3 (his double bogey on No. 17). He pulled his drive into a hazard, had to take a penalty stroke and then two-putted. But he came back with a really good birdie on 18 and that did get him into the clubhouse lead. He's been playing well, so we all saw this coming. He just hasn't been scoring like he did today."
O'Loughlin tied for the second-most birdies among all players with 17, tied for fourth in par-4 scoring (4-under) and tied for seventh in par-5 scoring (7-under); he played 4's and 5's combined the best in the field at 11-under.
Illinois' Bryan Baumgarten literally stole the win from O'Loughlin and the three others who tied for runner-up honors. Making the turn at 1-over on the day, he caught fire and birdied six holes on the back nine to shoot a final round 67 and pull away for a three-stroke win. He teed off some 48 minutes after O'Loughlin in Saturday's second wave.
Senior Yannik Paul fashioned a 1-under 71 to close things out, as he tied for sixth overall with a 7-under 209 score. He had a solid performance here, opening with his collegiate-best score of 65 in the first round, and his 19 total birdies leading the field comprised of 66 players (also the most this season by a Buffalo in any event). It was his 18th career tournament (out of 43) under par.
Senior Spencer Painton also tied for sixth after finishing up with a 4-under 68, which enabled him to get to 7-under 209. It was his third-best effort in his two seasons as a Buffalo, and his fifth tournament under par this season (with a sixth at even par). He had six birdies and 10 pars in his third loop around the Canyons. He played the par-4 holes over the three rounds at 5-under, tied with two others for the best in the field.
"Those three guys had a really good week," Edwards said. "I think Spencer and Yannik really hit the ball well, if either had had their putter going, either could have won the tournament."
Senior John Souza scored a 1-under 71 to close with a 4-over 220, which tied him for 39th. He had three birdies and 13 pars, the latter the most in a single round a Buff in this event. He had 11 birdies and 30 pars overall this weekend, and was one of the 23 golfers who played the par-4 holes under or even part (even).
"John had a really nice round for us today as well, which was big," cited Edwards. "A solid comeback for him."
Sophomore Victor Bjorlow couldn't get things going for the second time in the three rounds here, as he wrapped up with a 10-over 82 for an 18-over 234 total and finished 65th. Similar to his first round 80, he had three holes worse than bogey that accounted for six extra strokes (all doubles). He started Saturday with four straight bogeys and couldn't recover.
The Buffaloes will return back to California on Tuesday for its next competition, Stanford's "The Goodwin," slated for next Thursday through Saturday (March 29-31) in Palo Alto. CU is paired with Northwestern and San Francisco in the first round and will tee off at 1:25 p.m. MDT.
NOTES: Colorado's 21-under 843 team score tied its second best of the '17-18 season, matching the opening effort at Air Force last September; its best is a 22-under 942 in its own Simpson Invite later that same month … This marked the 14th time in the Edwards' Era at Colorado (12 seasons) that the Buffaloes had three players finish in the top 10 of a major 54-hole tournament, the fourth time outside of the state of Colorado's borders (twice in Palm Desert, once in Scottsdale and once in Lafayette, La.) … CU added to its season record rounds of under par and par or better (19 of 24 rounds, all under) … The average score Friday was 72.74, with the lowest round Saturday's final 18 (72.33) … The toughest holes Saturday were Nos. 17 and 18; the four Buff scorers played those at 3-over. Mississippi State was the only team to play them in the red (-1), Illinois and Indiana were next best at 1-over; the other teams in the top half of the standings were worse off than CU (BYU +4, KU +6 and Notre Dame +7) … The Buffs were 9-2 against Division I teams here, improving their season mark to 92-37-4 … Out of 270 holes, the five Buffaloes combined for 137 pars and 133 non-pars (including 68 birdies – third most in the field – and three eagles) ... Painton and Paul now have had five tournaments this year under par; the school record is seven, set by Jeremy Paul in 2015-16 and matched by Yannik Paul last year … Painton continues to lead CU in stroke average 70.92 (for 24 rounds), with Paul on his heels at 70.95 (21 rounds) and O'Loughlin at 71.73 (22 rounds, he led the team in the fall at 71.0).
COLORADO MINES WRITZ INVITATIONAL: Four Buffaloes are participating in the Colorado Mines Bob Writz Invitational this weekend at 7,276-yard, par-72 Bear Creek Golf Club in southwest Denver; it is a 36-hole event. Sophomore Ross Macdonald had CU's best performance, carding an even-par 72. He opened play with a double bogey on the par-5 No. 1 hole and was 3-over through seven, but rallied to get back down to even and is third. Senior Kade Crossland and freshman Cole Krantz both carded 80s, while frosh Trevor Olkowski turned in an 81.
No. 15 Illinois broke open a tightly contested logjam at the top of the standing, running away from the field with a team score of 40-under par 824 after firing a sizzling final round score of 20-under 268. The Fighting Illini entered the day with a four-shot lead with five teams separated by a total of eight shots, including the Buffaloes in fifth. No. 76 Mississippi State played its best event of the year in finishing second, 10 shots back at 30-under 834, with the No. 47 Buffaloes in at 21-under 843 to take the bronze spot in the standings. No. 30 Brigham Young and No. 35 Kansas tied for fourth at 13-under 851.
The Buffaloes got off to a great start on Saturday, scoring four birdies on the No. 1 hole, which played as the third toughest in the second round (+0.21 over par). The four players who would score on the day for CU made the turn at a combined 11-under par, scoring 15 birdies and just four bogeys with the rest pars. That thrusted the team from fifth place and eight strokes back of the lead at the start of the day into second and four shots out.
Colorado had it as low as 13-under early on the back nine, but some late bogey troubles, including one double, reduced the day's effort to a 9-over 279, still CU's fifth-best single round team score of the season.
"It was good to see a really hot start out of four of the guys," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "They all hit it really close and made good putts. We just tapered off a little bit in the end, but that didn't hurt us in the standings.
"We beat some good teams, Illinois just ran away with it and Mississippi State had a good week," he added. "Going in, I thought we had a chance if we could turn in a round of 15-under or so, but Illinois shot lights out. Kansas and BYU have had good years, so we picked up some quality wins here and did it on a course where you had to manage your game or you could be all over the place."
CU was flirting with three finishers in the top five of a major tourney for just the third time in its history, but things shook out to the third time with three in the top six (and the sixth time with three in the top seven); the other two occasions with three Buffs in the top six were in the 1999 Colorado State Intercollegiate (the medalist and two tied-thirds) and in the 2015 CU-Mark Simpson Invitational (a third and two tied-fifths).
Sophomore Daniel O'Loughlin spent much of the day in the lead after opening with five birdies on his first eight holes, making the turn at 5-under on the 7,000-yard, par-72 The Canyons course at Bighorn Golf Club. But some late trouble with a bogey and a double in three-hole span ended his run at medalist honors, though he did birdie No. 18 to finish with a 3-under 69 for an 8-under 208 total. That tied him for second, his highest collegiate finish along with post his best collegiate 54-hole score (he had a pair of fifth place efforts previously).
"Daniel said he didn't hit it great all day, and that was a really hard par-3 (his double bogey on No. 17). He pulled his drive into a hazard, had to take a penalty stroke and then two-putted. But he came back with a really good birdie on 18 and that did get him into the clubhouse lead. He's been playing well, so we all saw this coming. He just hasn't been scoring like he did today."
O'Loughlin tied for the second-most birdies among all players with 17, tied for fourth in par-4 scoring (4-under) and tied for seventh in par-5 scoring (7-under); he played 4's and 5's combined the best in the field at 11-under.
Illinois' Bryan Baumgarten literally stole the win from O'Loughlin and the three others who tied for runner-up honors. Making the turn at 1-over on the day, he caught fire and birdied six holes on the back nine to shoot a final round 67 and pull away for a three-stroke win. He teed off some 48 minutes after O'Loughlin in Saturday's second wave.
Senior Yannik Paul fashioned a 1-under 71 to close things out, as he tied for sixth overall with a 7-under 209 score. He had a solid performance here, opening with his collegiate-best score of 65 in the first round, and his 19 total birdies leading the field comprised of 66 players (also the most this season by a Buffalo in any event). It was his 18th career tournament (out of 43) under par.
Senior Spencer Painton also tied for sixth after finishing up with a 4-under 68, which enabled him to get to 7-under 209. It was his third-best effort in his two seasons as a Buffalo, and his fifth tournament under par this season (with a sixth at even par). He had six birdies and 10 pars in his third loop around the Canyons. He played the par-4 holes over the three rounds at 5-under, tied with two others for the best in the field.
"Those three guys had a really good week," Edwards said. "I think Spencer and Yannik really hit the ball well, if either had had their putter going, either could have won the tournament."
Senior John Souza scored a 1-under 71 to close with a 4-over 220, which tied him for 39th. He had three birdies and 13 pars, the latter the most in a single round a Buff in this event. He had 11 birdies and 30 pars overall this weekend, and was one of the 23 golfers who played the par-4 holes under or even part (even).
"John had a really nice round for us today as well, which was big," cited Edwards. "A solid comeback for him."
Sophomore Victor Bjorlow couldn't get things going for the second time in the three rounds here, as he wrapped up with a 10-over 82 for an 18-over 234 total and finished 65th. Similar to his first round 80, he had three holes worse than bogey that accounted for six extra strokes (all doubles). He started Saturday with four straight bogeys and couldn't recover.
The Buffaloes will return back to California on Tuesday for its next competition, Stanford's "The Goodwin," slated for next Thursday through Saturday (March 29-31) in Palo Alto. CU is paired with Northwestern and San Francisco in the first round and will tee off at 1:25 p.m. MDT.
NOTES: Colorado's 21-under 843 team score tied its second best of the '17-18 season, matching the opening effort at Air Force last September; its best is a 22-under 942 in its own Simpson Invite later that same month … This marked the 14th time in the Edwards' Era at Colorado (12 seasons) that the Buffaloes had three players finish in the top 10 of a major 54-hole tournament, the fourth time outside of the state of Colorado's borders (twice in Palm Desert, once in Scottsdale and once in Lafayette, La.) … CU added to its season record rounds of under par and par or better (19 of 24 rounds, all under) … The average score Friday was 72.74, with the lowest round Saturday's final 18 (72.33) … The toughest holes Saturday were Nos. 17 and 18; the four Buff scorers played those at 3-over. Mississippi State was the only team to play them in the red (-1), Illinois and Indiana were next best at 1-over; the other teams in the top half of the standings were worse off than CU (BYU +4, KU +6 and Notre Dame +7) … The Buffs were 9-2 against Division I teams here, improving their season mark to 92-37-4 … Out of 270 holes, the five Buffaloes combined for 137 pars and 133 non-pars (including 68 birdies – third most in the field – and three eagles) ... Painton and Paul now have had five tournaments this year under par; the school record is seven, set by Jeremy Paul in 2015-16 and matched by Yannik Paul last year … Painton continues to lead CU in stroke average 70.92 (for 24 rounds), with Paul on his heels at 70.95 (21 rounds) and O'Loughlin at 71.73 (22 rounds, he led the team in the fall at 71.0).
COLORADO MINES WRITZ INVITATIONAL: Four Buffaloes are participating in the Colorado Mines Bob Writz Invitational this weekend at 7,276-yard, par-72 Bear Creek Golf Club in southwest Denver; it is a 36-hole event. Sophomore Ross Macdonald had CU's best performance, carding an even-par 72. He opened play with a double bogey on the par-5 No. 1 hole and was 3-over through seven, but rallied to get back down to even and is third. Senior Kade Crossland and freshman Cole Krantz both carded 80s, while frosh Trevor Olkowski turned in an 81.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T2. | Daniel O'Loughlin | 72-67-69—208 |
| T6. | Yannik Paul | 65-73-71—209 |
| T6. | Spencer Painton | 72-69-68—209 |
| T39. | John Souza | 74-75-71—220 |
| 65. | Victor Bjorlow | 80-72-82—234 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Bryan Baumgarten, Illinois | 70-68-67—205 |
| T2. | Brock Oschsenreiter, Indiana | 72-67-69—208 |
| T2. | Dylan Meyer, Illinois | 67-71-70—208 |
| T2. | Daniel O'Loughlin, Colorado | 72-67-69—208 |
| T2. | Giovanni Tadiotto, Illinois | 72-71-65—208 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1. | Illinois | 279-277-268—824 |
| 2. | Mississippi State | 279-281-274—834 |
| 3. | COLORADO | 283-281-279—843 |
| 4. | Kansas | 286-284-281—851 |
| 4. | Brigham Young | 284-279-288—851 |
| 6. | Notre Dame | 281-282-289—852 |
| 7. | Indiana | 291-291-278—860 |
| 8. | San Diego State | 294-283-287—864 |
| 9. | Washington State | 290-293-285—868 |
| 10. | Kansas State | 292-292-288—872 |
| 11. | South Alabama | 286-296-294—876 |
| 12. | Nebraska | 298-290-301—889 |
| CU INDIVIDUALS / CSM Writz Invitational |
| 3. | Ross Macdonald | 38-34—72 |
| T28. | Kade Crossland | 40-40—80 |
| T28. | Cole Krantz | 36-44—80 |
| T35. | Trevor Olkowski | 37-44—81 |
Players Mentioned
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