Colorado University Athletics
TOLAN SIGNS LETTER TO PLAY GOLF AT CU
November 19, 2003 | Men's Golf
BOULDER - The University of Colorado men's golf team has landed one of the top recruits in both the state and nation as ThunderRidge High School's Derek Tolan has signed a letter-of-intent to attend the University of Colorado.
The No. 33 ranked junior golfer in the world (the 23rd ranked U.S. high school senior), Tolan made history in June 2002 when he played in the U.S. Open at Beth Page on Long Island, N.Y. He committed to CU last month, on October 20, a day before his 18th birthday.
Tolan is the first and only golfer in United States Golf Association history to have played in the U.S. Open, the U.S. Public Links Championship, the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the same year, doing so between June and August, 2002. He missed the cut at the Open, turning in a 78-88?166 scorecard on a tough Beth Page Black course; tied for third in the qualifying of the Publinx before losing in the first round; lost in the first round of the Junior Am; and missed match play by three strokes at the U.S. Amateur.
He tied for fourth in October's Colorado state 5A high school championship, with his 73-69?142 five strokes behind his teammate Ryan Husted's winning score as ThunderRidge easily captured a third straight team title. He owned a stroke average of 70.0 his senior season. As a junior, he was the 5A state champ, carding a pair of 69s for a 138 score and a 6-stroke victory at Englewood's Inverness Golf Club, as ThunderRidge won the championship on the first playoff hole over Cherry Creek. He placed 11th as a sophomore (69-75?144) at Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs.
On the American Junior Golf Association circuit, he posted six top five finishes over the last two years, including wins in both the 2002 and 2003 Southwestern Junior Classic in Albuquerque. This past June, he added a 19th place finish in the prestigious Southwestern Amateur, turning in an 8-under performance (72-72-69-67?280) on Arizona State's Karsten Golf Course.
"Derek is by far the most experienced player I have ever recruited in my time here," said Mark Simpson, who has completed 27 seasons as CU head coach. "He's head and shoulders above anyone I've ever signed from the standpoint that he has played in not only national tournaments, but national amateur championships and the U.S. Open as a junior golfer. He's tournament-tested already at the college level, and beyond, and he's just 17.
"I anticipate that because of his extensive experience, Derek will step right in and be a stellar player for us," Simpson continued. "He battled it out head-to-head with Kane (Webber, CU's No. 1 player) three times this past summer, and it went to the wire each time. For a high school senior to stay toe-to-toe with a fifth-year college senior showed me just how valuable that experience is."
One of those battles came in the Colorado State Publinks at Fox Hollow in Lakewood, where Tolan and Webber were tied at 10-under par after 54 holes before Webber won on the first playoff hole. Later in the summer, Tolan owned a seven-shot lead over Webber at the State Stroke Play Championships, only to see the CU senior-to-be close strong to win a second straight title, with Tolan tying for second.
The 6-0, 155-pound Highlands Ranch (Colo.) resident scored his best career round in competition, 63, as a 15-year old in the second round of U.S. Amateur qualifying at Murphy Creek in Aurora.
He qualified for the U.S. Open by tying for second in the local qualifying (68) and placing second in the sectional qualifying (70-69?139). In the Open, he was the celebrity of his group, as he was paired with Charles Raulerson and Andy Sanders; however, he played practice rounds with former Buff and '96 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones, another former CU golfer Ben Portie, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn, Tom Byrum, Scott Verplank and Bob Tway.
"The biggest reason (he chose CU) is that I feel really comfortable in Colorado," Tolan said. "There's some merit in going out of state, but when you think about it, I'll probably wind up hitting more golf balls here in the winter than I would have out of state. I'm definitely comfortable with everything about CU, the school, the coaches, the team. I like the schedule they play, and the Big 12 is one of the top collegiate conferences going. It just feels right." Tolan's father, John, is the director of golf at the South Suburban Family Sports Golf Center, the younger Tolan's home course.
Tolan selected Colorado over Colorado State and New Mexico, his final three schools he looked hard at attending after being actively recruited by some 20 colleges, while receiving recruiting inquiries from over three dozen in all.
