Colorado University Athletics
Buffs In Eighth At Big 12 Title Meet
April 27, 2003 | Men's Golf
Assistant AD/Media Relations
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Colorado men's golf team is in eighth place after two rounds of the 7th Annual Big 12 Conference Championships, as the Buffs had their struggles as did most players Monday on a tough golf course that hosted the 2001 U.S. Open.
No. 22 Oklahoma was the leader through 36 holes, as the Sooner closed the day with a 595 score, or 35-over par. No. 3 Texas and No. 7 Oklahoma State are tied for second two strokes back at 597. Colorado is in the midst of a tight group in the second pack, as the Buffs held down eighth with a 623 score.
The Buffs, with a 312 tally, stood in a four-way tie for seventh after the first round, which took some five-and-a-half hours to play. Texas was the only school to break 300 in the morning, but still came in with a 16-over team score of 296 that led OU by six shots.
The Buffs were paced Monday by junior Jeff Hanson, who was the only CU player to not record a round in the 80s. His 79-77-156 effort on the 6,988-yard, par-70 Southern Hills Country Club course had the Longmont High School product tied for 28th individually.
Senior captain Stephen Carroll and freshman Edward McGlasson were next for the Buffs, both in with identical 76-81-157 scorecards (tying for 34th), while the two other freshmen on the trip, Blake Moore and Derek O'Neill, both experienced rounds in the 80s in the morning but bounced with solid comebacks their second 18. Moore is in at 81-77-158, while O'Neill closed at 88-76-164,
The No. 2 golfer in the nation, Oklahoma State's Hunter Mahan, is running away with individual honors through two rounds, as he's the only player not over par. His 73-67-140 scorecard featured the only under par round of the tournament and is good for a seven shot lead over Kansas State's Matt VanCleave, who would be further back had it not been for a hole-in-one on No. 11 in the morning round.
"Southern Hills showed its teeth today, the greens were fast and hard and jumped up and bit most people," CU head coach Mark Simpson said. "The fairways are thin and though the rough wasn't heavy, with such treacherous greens and the fairways being so thin, it's really tough to hit the shot you want. Most of the players in the field hardly ever see these kinds of greens, and they were definitely set up for U.S. Open conditions. It was challenging, and there were teams and players more over par today than they were for the entire school year coming in."
Making things even more interesting from CU's perspective is that Simpson took three true freshmen to the league championship for the first time in his nearly three decade career.
"We made a spectacular comeback on our last nine (of the day)," Simpson said. "Edward shot 47-34, Derek 42-34 and Blake 42-35, and the back side was playing just a tough as the front, and they really gutted it up. We obviously got off to a horrendous start, but the four guys counting were just 1-over for the back, which really says something."
McGlasson had one of the most impressive comebacks within a round that Simpson has seen in his 27 years as CU head coach. His 47 on the first nine in the afternoon featured a quick quadruple bogey, followed by two triples, but he rebounded to shoot 34 on the back nine, scoring two birdies to go with six pars and a bogey. "He kept his cool, kept his composure, and I was really proud of him," Simpson said. "Derek and Blake did so as well, but that was our aim coming in. Keep your composure no matter what happens. To see three freshmen do just that tells me a lot about how they approached things mentally today, because it's easy to give up when things are going that badly."
"Steve's putter's not working, which is why he struggled; because if anyone can handle these conditions, he can," Simpson said of his lone senior and No. 1 man. "Obviously, we need him to step it up tomorrow, and I'm confident he can do that. If he does, and we get Jeff and just one of the freshmen to do so as well, I think will be fine."
The Buffs came into the Big 12's on the bubble for a berth in the NCAA Championships, and need to post some key district wins to give the selection committee more to think about when it comes time to discuss Colorado.
"If we can beat Kansas, Missouri and Iowa State, I think we have a real chance to be invited to the NCAA's," Simpson noted. "But our first goal is to be finish in the upper division, because if we do that, I think we'll beat those other teams and put ourselves in much better shape for an NCAA invitation.
The final round will be commence at 7 a.m. (MDT) Tuesday morning off both the first and 10th tees.
NOTE--Carroll was named to the Academic All-Big 12 team, the fourth time in his career he has earned first-team honors. He becomes the first played in CU golf history to accomplish that feat, as he was honored two weeks ago as CU's outstanding male senior student-athlete with a 3.63 grade point in Finance.
Buffalo Individuals
T28. Jeff Hanson........... 79-77--156 T34. Stephen Carroll....... 76-81--157 T34. Edward McGlasson...... 76-81--157 T41. Blake Moore........... 81-77--158 T54. Derek O'Neill......... 88-76--164
Team Scores
1. Oklahoma............. 302-293--595
2. Oklahoma State....... 303-294--597
2. Texas................ 296-301--597
4. Kansas State......... 305-302--607
5. Texas A&M............ 312-299--611
6. Texas Tech........... 312-300--612
7. Kansas............... 316-304--620
8. COLORADO............. 312-311--623
9. Missouri............. 318-306--624
10. Nebraska............. 311-314--625
11. Baylor............... 310-317--627
12. Iowa State........... 312-319--631
