WEBBER WINS MAXWELL INTERCOLLEGIATE

Saturday, May 15

Ardmore, Okla.

TBA

Colorado

All Rounds

Photo by: Jamie Wells - Brooks Institute of Photography

May 16, 2004 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

ARDMORE, Okla. ? Senior captain Kane Webber won his third tournament since mid-March, winning a playoff on the first hole, leading the University of Colorado men's golf team to a fifth-place tie here Sunday in the 13th Annual Perry Maxwell Intercollegiate.

No. 8 Oklahoma State, this year's host, won with a 7-under par 833 score, topping No. 14 Augusta State by six shots (839). No. 17 Oklahoma finished third at 843, followed by Tulsa (851) and then Colorado and North Florida, as they tied for fifth with 853 totals. It was CU's first top five finish in eight trips to this tournament, though the Buffs had hoped to contend for the win Sunday .

It was also the fifth straight top five finish for the Buffaloes, the first time in the program's history that feat has been accomplished in a single season. But Sunday's storyline belonged to Webber.

He won his third collegiate tournament, all coming in the last 54 days, but this one came down to the wire and then some as he won it on the first playoff hole. Tulsa senior David Inglis shot a 67 to catch Webber, the second round co-leader, to force the extra play as both tied at 5-under 205 (Webber recorded a final round 71) on the 6,453-yard, par-70 Dornick Hills Country Club course layout.

The playoff took place on the 382-yard, par-4 18th hole, and both golfers hit their drive into the rough. Webber knocked his second shot to within 15 feet, while Inglis, hit what CU head coach Mark Simpson called “one of the most remarkable shots” he'd ever seen from an even worse lie than Webber's to get it on the green, about 30 feet from the pin. He then hit putt to within two feet, likely guaranteeing a second playoff hole until Webber calmly drained his birdie putt to win the hole in front of a crowd of about 200 that had gathered to watch.

“It was a bit of relief; it's good to know I could make a putt under that kind of pressure because I wasn't putting that well,” Webber said. “I had the line, it was in all the way and just felt fantastic when it dropped in the center.”

Webber broke through for the first time at the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., on March 22, and then won the Purdue Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind., the site of this week's NCAA Regional, on April 11. Three wins in a single season tie the school record set by Hale Irwin in 1966-67 when he won the New Mexico State Intercollegiate, the Big Eight Championships and the NCAA Championships. Webber won all three outright, while Irwin shared the Big Eight crown with Oklahoma State's Grier Jones.

Webber had his struggles at the Big 12 Championships as he was fending off illness, but is back to 100 percent health-wise. “I got well, got some quality practice in before I got here and really got back to how I was playing before the Big 12's,” Webber said. “I hit the ball a lot better off the tee this week, and gave myself a lot more chances for birdies. I hit a lot of fairways and greens and was able to capitalize.”

“This was an exciting win for him,” Simpson said. “He had the motivation and the game to win, and finally broke through. So he learned how to win, then went out to prove the first one wasn't a fluke and won again. Now he's learned how to win at the college level, and that's beneficial to him as well as the four (CU) sophomores who have watched him do it first hand.”

Sophomore Blake Moore closed with a 72 to finish with a 211 total to tie for 15th individually, while soph Derek O'Neill, who competed here as an individual and this his scores did not count toward CU's team total, closed with his collegiate career best, a 3-under 67, to tie for 25th with a 214 score.

CU's other senior, Jeff Hanson, and sophomore Kenny Coakley tied for 56th with 221 totals, as Coakley put up a final round 74 and Hanson a 77. Sophomore Edward McGlasson uncharacteristically struggled in finishing with a 79, giving him a 224 total in tying for 68th place.

“It was somewhat a disappointing day, when you have to count a 77 and 79, that is always going to hurt,” Simpson said. “But there a couple of weird holes here. Jeff, for example, took back-to-back double bogeys and didn't hit a bad shot. We basically just started slow, with everyone three or four over par pretty quick before we stabilized and got some birdies on the first six holes on the back nine. It obviously was not the kind of round we had hoped for, but I'm proud of the guys. They hung in there when things weren't going well.”

“The whole purpose for this tournament is to get ourselves ready for the NCAA,” Simpson continued. “I feel like this will help us eliminate some if not all of our mistakes when we get there. This year, we don't have to play our best to advance out of the regional, we just have to play smart and solid and we'll be fine. We'd really have to play poorly in my estimation not to make it to the NCAA Finals. In short, to advance, we don't have to rush out and do something we're not capable of.”

This tournament is unique in that the teams play together in fivesomes, affording coaches the opportunity to study the games of all their players at once, an extreme advantage heading into the NCAA Championships. Ten of the 15 teams that competed here have advanced to NCAA regionals, including eight to the NCAA Central Regional, where Colorado will play. The Buffs beat five Top 40 teams in the nation here, including four they will see again in the regional.

The Buffs return home for local U.S. Open qualifying Monday before leaving Tuesday for West Lafayette, Ind., and the NCAA Central Regional that runs from Thursday through Saturday.

Buffalo Individuals

1. Kane Webber........... 68-66-71--205

T15. Blake Moore........... 72-67-72--211

T25. *Derek O'Neill........ 75-72-67--214

T56. Jeff Hanson........... 70-74-77--221

T56. Kenny Coakley......... 71-76-74--221

T68. Edward McGlasson...... 74-71-79--224

(*?competed as an individual, score did not count toward CU team total.)

Team Scores

1. Oklahoma State...... 284-265-284--833

2. Augusta State....... 283-278-278--839

3. Oklahoma............ 282-274-287--843