GOLFERS TIE FOR FIFTH AT THE PRESTIGE

LaQUINTA, Calif. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team wrapped up the fall portion of its schedule here Tuesday as the Buffaloes tied for fifth in The Prestige at PGA West.

No. 4 UCLA rallied to win the team title by a stroke over No. 6 TCU in the tournament, which brings together 15 of the top academic golf-playing institutions in the NCAA. The Bruins closed with a 7-under 281 in the final round to finish at 859, with TCU one back and No. 24 BYU two off the pace. Pepperdine (No. 34) was four out, with the Buffs and No. 31 Northwestern tying for fifth with 4-over-par 868 totals, just nine back of UCLA.

Colorado, ranked No. 44 in the latest Golfweek rankings, should move up a bit after defeating three teams ranked ahead of it, including conference rivals Kansas and Oklahoma by a combined 36 shots.

Senior Kane Webber recorded his best round of the fall, scoring a 4-under par 68 to finish with a 212 total that tied him for sixth individually. It was his best finish and his fourth top 20 effort in as many meets for the fall. CU's other senior captain, Jeff Hanson, had a 73 Tuesday to finish with a 217 total that tied for 14th, and sophomore Kenny Coakley cracked the top 20, as his final round 75 gave him a 219 total to tie for 20th position. All three players came into the day tied for 11th with 144 scores on the 6,841-yard, par-72 LaQuinta Resort Mountain Course.

Another highlight here was a hole-in-one by Hanson, as he recorded the first one in the tournament's four-year history when he aced the 172-yard, par-3 16th hole in Monday's first round. That hole wound up playing the second toughest for the entire meet, making it that much more of an accomplishment. It was the fifth hole-in-one in CU's golf history.

TCU's Colby Beckstrom, who trailed by five shots entering the final round, put the day's best score in the books as his 67 gave him a 10-under 206 for the tournament. That was two shots better than first and second round leader Zack Miller (Stanford). Webber's final round 68 tied for the round's fourth best effort Tuesday.

“There were some quality teams here the guys played well,” CU head coach Mark Simpson said. “I think if you compare our scores here from last year, we beat ourselves by 30 or 35 shots (actually 36, as CU scored a 904 in the '02 meet). Stanford (“The Nelson,” where CU finished third) was a turnaround for us, and getting Jeff and Kenny going was a huge asset. So I really believe we're on track to have a successful year.

“As far as the fall went, I was a little discouraged at the onset, mainly because of Jeff,” CU's 27th year coach continued. “I don't mean to single him out, but he knows that as a senior leader, he had to gut it up and get things turned around. He did just that, which is what you expect your seniors to do and I'm proud of him for hanging in there and playing the way he knows he is capable of. The young kids are progressing nicely, and Kenny's been a quality addition. And Kane is close to really breaking through. He had a 73 the first day with four penalty shots, and he's been in contention all fall. He's steady, his game is coming around and he's getting his putting going. I expect him to be one of the top 10 players in the country by the time things are done.”

“I feel confident heading into the spring,” Simpson concluded. “Now is the time we shut things down, get through the holidays, take some time away from golf, concentrate on finals, and then come back in January and get things going again.” CU will return to practice in January and resume the season slate Feb. 2-3 at the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson.

Buffalo Individuals

T 6. Kane Webber......... 73-71-68?-212

T14. Jeff Hanson......... 70-74-73?-217

T20. Kenny Coakley....... 70-74-75?-219

T40. Derek O'Neill....... 76-74-73?-223

T49. Edward McGlasson.... 73-76-78?-227

Team Scores

1. UCLA.............. 283-295-281?-859

2. TCU............... 293-280-287?-860

3. BYU............... 286-289-286?-861

4. Pepperdine........ 284-294-285?-863

5. COLORADO.......... 286-293-289?-868

5. Northwestern...... 286-292-290?-868

7. Kansas............ 284-303-289?-876

8. UC-Davis.......... 290-300-287?-877

9. Washington........ 301-290-295?-886

10. Stanford.......... 283-302-303?-888

11. Oklahoma.......... 301-295-300?-896

12. UC-Irvine......... 303-302-299?-904

13. Pacific........... 301-301-304?-906

14. Oregon............ 297-302-309?-908

15. Yale.............. 303-311-308?-922

Final Fall Averages

Player Rd Strokes Avg. SCIRP--Avg. Lo Hi

KANE WEBBER.......... 12 862 71.83 + 1 +0.08 68 76

KENNY COAKLEY........ 9 658 73.11 +13 +1.44 69 77

EDWARD McGLASSON..... 12 884 73.67 +23 +1.91 67 78

DEREK O'NEILL........ 9 665 73.89 +20 +2.22 69 77

JEFF HANSON.......... 12 898 74.83 +37 +3.08 69 81

BLAKE MOORE.......... 3 233 77.67 +17 +5.67 74 84

MIKE BRENNEMAN....... 3 235 78.33 +19 +6.33 78 79

TEAM TOTALS.......... 60 4435 73.92 +130 2.17 67 84

(SCIRP?Stroke Count In Relation To Par.)

Top 10 Finishes (3)?Webber 2, McGlasson 1.

Top 20 Finishes (9)?Webber 4, Coakley 2, Hanson 2, McGlasson 1.

Rounds In The 60s (5)?Coakley 1, Hanson 1, McGlasson 1, O'Neill 1, Webber 1.

Subpar Rounds (13)?Webber 5, Coakley 3, McGlasson 2, Hanson 2, O'Neill 1.

Even-Par Rounds (5)?Webber 3, Hanson 1, McGlasson 1.

Rounds Counting Toward Team Scoring (50/60, 83.3%)?Webber 1.000 (12/12); Coakley 1.000 (9/9); McGlasson .750 (9/12); Hanson .833 (10/12), Brenneman .667 (2/3); Moore .667 (2/3), O'Neill .667 (6/9).

Differential/Average Strokes-Per-Round Behind Tournament Medalist (4.50; 270/60)? Webber 2.42 (29/12); McGlasson 4.25 (51/12); Coakley 4.44 (40/9); O'Neill 4.78 (43/9); Hanson 5.42 (65/12); Moore 6.00 (18/3); Brenneman 8.00 (24/3).