Golfers Finish 10th At The Maxwell

Saturday, May 14

Ardmore, Okla.

TBA

Colorado

All Rounds

Photo by: GolfStat

May 15, 2005 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

ARDMORE, Okla. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team closed out its team season here Sunday with a 10th place finish in The Maxwell.

No. 1 Oklahoma State edged No. 6 Augusta State for the title, as the Cowboys finished with a 25-under par 815 team score. Colorado slipped from ninth after both the first and second rounds to a 10th place finish, as the Buffs closed with a 22-over total of 862.

The meet served as an experiment for a potentially new scoring format for college golf. Instead of the standard low four out of five player scores counting for the team total, it was computed by adding the low four scores on each hole over the course of a round to figure the total.

While this was Colorado's final tournament of the year (the Buffaloes were not selected for the NCAA regionals), junior Edward McGlasson was selected individually and used this meet to get back into quality competition after a two week layoff with final exams in-between. Otherwise, CU coaches used the meet to get some of the younger players some quality tournament experience.

McGlasson had CU's low round Sunday, a 3-over 73 on the 6,453-yard, par-70 Dornick Hills Country Club course. That gave him a 223 total for the meet, tying him for 38th place. However, redshirt freshman Jim Grady paced the Buffaloes overall here, as he had a 75 for a 220 total, tying for 31st overall. That snapped a string of seven consecutive meets where McGlasson had been CU's top performer.

The last time a freshman was CU's top performer in a meet was in April 2003, when McGlasson topped the list at the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational.

Rounding out the Buff action were freshmen Shea Sena (79 Sunday) and Patrick Grady (78), as the pair tied for 52nd with 229 totals, and sophomore Ryan Anderson (77, 235, 61st). Sena played 29 rounds this year, the 10th most by a freshman in CU history, with his 75.93 stroke average the eighth best by a frosh.

With head coach Mark Simpson remaining in Boulder while recovering from treatment to remove a blood clot from his left leg, assistant coach Brad Neher accompanied the team to Oklahoma.

“Jim should feel good about his finish,” Neher said. “He didn't play great, but he managed his game very well and kept things close throughout. With so many good teams here, his finish really was a solid one.” The Buffs did manage to hold their own with three freshmen and a sophomore in the lineup, as four top seven and seven top 30 teams competed here making Grady's finish very respectable.

“Edward had it going early, but he was pressing a little bit getting ready for the NCAA's,” Neher added. “He knows what he needs to work on, so a little fine tuning here and there and he'll be ready to play well in my estimation.”

As for the team overall, Neher thought three holes were the Buffs' undoing. “The same holes got us in the final round that got us the first two rounds. Nos. 1, 3 and 13 just killed us, tore us apart. I'm pretty sure we were even or under par on the other holes.”

Despite the 10th place finish, Neher saw a lot of positives this weekend. “This golf course, being a Maxwell design, gives the kids a barometer of where they need to be next year for the Big 12 Championships,” he said. “This is the perfect place to work on your course management. It makes you play the game shot-by-shot; you have to be smart and you have to be patient or you can get eaten alive on almost hole at any time.” The 2006 Big 12 meet will be held on another Maxwell course, Southern Hills in Tulsa.

Georgia's Brendan Todd fired a final round 65 to close with a 7-under 203 total to claim medalist honors by a stroke over Oklahoma State's Alex Noren. Noren had a final round 63, the low round of the meet; Todd's 65 was the second best.

McGlasson will participate in the NCAA Central Regional this Thursday through Saturday in South Bend, Ind. Simpson will know Monday if he will be able to go on the trip.

Buffalo Individuals

T31. Jim Grady.......... 71-74-75?-220

T38. Edward McGlasson... 77-73-73?-223

T52. Shea Sena.......... 79-71-79?-229

T52. Patrick Grady...... 73-78-78?-229

61. Ryan Anderson...... 78-80-77?-235

Team Scores

1. Oklahoma State... 265-270-270?-815

2. Augusta State.... 267-269-270?-816

3. Georgia.......... 266-276-271?-823

4. SMU.............. 273-273-269?-825

4. Tulsa............ 262-274-279?-825