GOLFERS MISS OUT ON ADVANCING TO NCAA FINALS

Thursday, May 20

West Lafayette, Ind.

TBA

Colorado

All Rounds

May 22, 2004 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? The University of Colorado men's golf needed one of its best final rounds of the season but instead went in the other direction, as the Buffaloes missed qualifying for the national championships finals by tying for 18th place in the NCAA Central Regional completed here Saturday.

No. 21 Kentucky led by two strokes heading into the final round and wound up winning easily, as the Wildcats shot one of just three rounds Saturday under 300 (299) to close with an 882 score. No. 8 Oklahoma State held on to second, but the Cowboys had a 308 in the last round for an 893 total; No. 24 Oklahoma grabbed third (896), with No. 46 Texas A & M fourth (899) and No. 12 Texas tying for fifth (901) to give the Big 12 the second through fifth spots.

The top 10 teams advanced to the NCAA Finals in Hot Springs, Va., slated for June 1-4.

As for No. 29 Colorado, the Buffs recorded a final round 322 en route to a 933 total, as no one was immune from individual disaster. Collectively, the Buffs had just four birdies Saturday, but those weren't nearly enough to offset 30 bogeys, six double bogeys, two triple bogeys and two quadruple bogeys, the latter pair suffered back-to-back by sophomore Blake Moore late in the round.

CU head coach Mark Simpson had said after the second round that the Buffs needed to come out strong the first six holes or seven holes to give the team a chance at advancing. But Colorado was plus-15 at the turn, not including Kenny Coakley, who endured two triple-bogeys and was 11-over after the front side. Seniors Kane Webber and Jeff Hanson turned at 1- and 2-over, respectively, but the sophomores that were key to CU's success all season all struggled, the first time all year at least one did not supplement Webber with a good score.

Simpson called the cut right on, as he predicted Friday that 45-over would probably make it. The Buffs closed at 70-over, including a plus-35 in the final round; the 10th and final team, Kent State, closed with a 910 score which was 46-over par.

?We're staying home, the season is over,” Simpson said. “Without a doubt, this was a disappointment, we had faith that we'd make it to the finals. This was by far the toughest golf course we've played all year, and we just didn't respond to the challenge. While many others put up some high scores, there were obviously some good scores posted as well" but really just one by a Buffalo. A few other times, just two or three holes did in what would have been a good round by at least two of the guys.”

Simpson was referring to Webber's opening day 72, the only round by a Buff here that wasn't at least three strokes over par.

“But the young guys can use this as a learning experience,” Simpson continued. “Once you get to the national championships, it's a different venue, and a different feel, and now they know what kind of game they need to have and to be successful at the highest level in college golf.”

Though the Buffs finished second in Purdue's invitational back in April, that turned out to be more of a disadvantage than a positive.

“I don't think the guys realized how much different the course was from over a month ago, and in a way, it almost worked against us,” Simpson said. “Basically, it's how the course plays due to the wind direction. So after we played it for the first time in the newer conditions, overconfidence from what we did before wasn't really a factor. It was like a brand new golf course.”

Webber and Hanson led the Buffs Saturday with 7-over par 79s, with Webber posting CU's best score and finish, a 227 total to tie for 30th place.

Though it was only the second time in 13 tournaments that Webber didn't post a top 20 finish, he still established two high profile school records. In finishing the year with a 71.46 stroke average, he broke one of the oldest records on the books at Colorado in any sport: Hale Irwin set the old mark of 72.04 in 1965-66. He also set the all-time career stroke average best of 72.90, snapping Scott Petersen's record of 73.47 (for 50 rounds or more) and John Lindberg's mark of 73.65 (for 100 or more rounds). Webber's 144 rounds tied for the third most in school history, and he set 12 records overall and tied one other.

The sophomores all recorded their high single rounds of the year, as Coakley and Edward McGlasson finished up with 82s and Moore an 89.

Of the 423 rounds in the meet, only seven percent (32) recorded par or better on the 7,035-yard, par-72 Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, located on the Purdue University campus. Only 19 golfers managed to better par, with only five scores in the 60s (all 69s).

Kentucky's John Holmes recorded a final round 71 for a 2-under 214 total, good for a two shot win over SMU's Will Dodson, who likewise had a 71, one of just four subpar rounds on the day in the 141-man field.

“But we had a good year, no question about it,” Simpson added. “The kids learned a lot from Kane, who was a terrific leader, and he should definitely be an All-American. So we had some success, but it's not where we want the program. We want to continue to work hard and reach our aspirations of being one of the top 10 teams in the country. As coaches, we'll evaluate things as well and what needs to be done to achieve that goal.”

Buffalo Individuals

T 30. Kane Webber............ 72-76-79--227

T 84. Edward McGlasson....... 76-78-82--236

T101. Kenny Coakley.......... 81-76-82--239

T107. Blake Moore............ 75-77-89--241

T132. Jeff Hanson............ 83-87-79--249

Team Scores

1. Kentucky.............. 298-285-299--882

2. Oklahoma State........ 287-298-308--893

3. Oklahoma.............. 305-294-296--895

4. Texas A & M........... 292-303-305--899

5. Texas................. 298-296-307--901

5. TCU .................. 305-297-299--901

7. Purdue................ 295-302-308--905

8. Wichita State......... 302-300-306--908

9. SMU .................. 302-299-308--909

10. Kent State............ 301-305-304--910

?failed to advance to NCAA Finals?

11. Minnesota............. 302-303-306--911

12. Notre Dame............ 310-297-307--914

13. Texas Tech............ 317-296-304--917

14. Ohio State............ 302-310-306--918

15. Kansas State.......... 300-305-318--923

16. Kansas................ 315-300-311--926

17. Arkansas.............. 314-307-310--931

18. COLORADO.............. 304-307-322--933

18. Illinois.............. 309-320-304--933

18. Tulsa................. 314-306-313--933

21. Indiana............... 306-308-320--934

21. Lamar................. 309-313-312--934

23. Xavier................ 312-316-312--940

24. Western Illinois...... 323-323-312--958

25. Baylor................ 321-317-323--961

26. Princeton............. 323-318-333--974

27. Jackson State......... 333-337-330-1000

2004 NCAA Central Regional Notes

u Webber will turn professional the first week in June and will try to get on the Gateway Tour, a summer series of tournaments in the Phoenix area. The tour is coordinated and run by former CU golfer Rick Cramer.

u Despite the high scores, the Buffs still set team records for overall stroke average for the season (73.77, topping the 74.10 mark set in 2001-02) as well as for the spring season (73.72, also besting the '01-02 teams mark of 74.14).

Buff Individual Cards (Round 3)

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total