Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
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GOLFERS 13TH AT THE PRESTIGE
November 01, 2004 | Men's Golf
PALM DESERT, Calif. - The University of Colorado men's golf team, after frustrating day for almost every golfer here Monday, stands in a 13th place tie after two rounds of the The Prestige At PGA West.
Host UC-Davis owns the first day lead with a 609 score, which is some 33 strokes over par, believed to be one of the highest scores to lead a meet after 36 holes in at least three decades. That's good for a one-stroke lead over No. 22 UCLA and a three-stroke edge over UC-Irvine.
Colorado, ranked No. 44, shot a 636, or 60-over par, and is tied for 13th with Pacific. However, the Buffs are just eight strokes out of the top 10 and only 15 out of the top five in a tournament that has upset almost all of the participants. The 16 teams here are collectively 834 strokes over par, and that doesn't include the non-scorer for each school, as the course set-up was likened to that of a U.S. Open.
Colorado was in 14th place after the morning round, as the Buffs struggled to a 318 but were only seven strokes out of fourth. Three CU players scored 80 or higher, the first time that occurred in over a decade, but between the tough pin placements and windy conditions, CU was not alone in posting high numbers as just two players bettered par and three others matched in the morning round. Over half the field (45 of 84 golfers) shot 80 or higher, with the average 79.9; all 16 teams had at least one golfer shoot in the 80s, with 13 having two or more record scores that high.
The Buffs were having one of the top two rounds in afternoon, but disaster collectively hit over the last five holes, as CU combined for seven bogeys, four doubles one triple and two quadruples against one single birdie on the positive side. It all amounted to a 25-stroke slide for the Buffaloes, recording a second straight 318 team round on the day. Only one even-par round and just three of 1-over were scored in the entire field in the afternoon, which saw 42 scores top 80 or above.
Junior Edward McGlasson managed to battle through gusting winds and the layout of the 7,156-yard, par-72 Greg Norman Course At PGA West, as his 77-74--151 scorecard has him tied for eighth. That's five strokes behind the leader, Notre Dame's Cole Isban, who owns a two shot lead after a 72-74--146. They were two of just 26 golfers who did not record at least one 80 Monday.
Freshman Shea Sena posted CU's next best score (83-77--160), with juniors Blake Moore (79-84--163) and Kenny Coakley (80-84--164) and redshirt frosh Jim Grady (82-83--165) rounding out the action. Sena was 2-under with five holes to play in the second round before finishing with a 5-over 77; Moore had the morning's wildest ride en route to a 7-over par 79, as he had four birdies, one more than his teammates combined, but also had five bogeys and three double bogeys.
"They tried to set it up like Tour qualifying, but they forgot that these kids play 36 holes in a day and it's mentally draining," CU head coach Mark Simpson said. "I can tell you that none of the coaches were pleased with the way the course was set up, and there was no reason for it to mimic what you could see at a U.S. Open. The greens are tough anyway, but they were exceptionally fast as well. Players were hitting the greens 10 feet from the pin all day and the end result often was a lost ball because it would bounce away and then roll out somewhere into the desert. And aside from all that, it's a penal golf course, one that extenuates mistakes."
The course was in fact used for a Tour School qualifier just last week, and it was left in practically the same set-up.
"We're not that far out of 10th," Simpson said, "so our focus will be to get in there so we could have an entire fall of top 10 finishes. We need to put today behind us, and attack it mentally like it's a par 78 if it's set the same way tomorrow. You can't let a bogey or a double get to you."
The final round of the tournament is set for Tuesday morning, with the Buffs to break for three months before resuming action in the spring at the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate.
Buffalo Individuals
T 8. Edward McGlasson..... 77-74--151
T45. Shea Sena............ 83-77--160
T59. Blake Moore.......... 79-84--163
T62. Kenny Coakley........ 80-84--164
T64. Jim Grady............ 82-83--165
Team Scores
1. UC-Davis............ 306-303---609
2. UCLA................ 302-308---610
3. UC-Irvine........... 305-307---612
4. Kansas.............. 313-305---618
5. TCU................. 315-306---621
6. Texas Tech.......... 311-311---622
7. Oklahoma............ 315-308---623
8. Oregon.............. 312-314---626
9. Pepperdine.......... 314-313---627
10. Stanford............ 313-315---628
11. BYU................. 315-314---629
12. Notre Dame.......... 311-322---633
13. COLORADO............ 318-318---636
13. Pacific............. 317-319---636
15. Northern Colorado... 320-335---655
16. Yale................ 336-329---665
Players Mentioned
