Golfers Finish Fifth At Tucker; Tolan Makes Historical Debut

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Golfers Finish Fifth At Tucker; Tolan Makes Historical Debut

September 17, 2005 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

ALBUQUERQUE ? The University of Colorado men's golf team struggled down the stretch in the final round here Saturday, and as a result slipped from third to a fifth place finish in the 51st Annual University of New Mexico William H. Tucker Invitational.

UNLV rode a 7-under par 281 team total in the final round to a 10-stroke win, as the Rebels finished with an 851 score (13-under par). BYU utilized the best single round in the tournament, a 12-under 276, to jump from sixth into second at 861; Texas Tech dropped from second into third at 862, with Baylor grabbing fourth (870) and Colorado fifth (8-over 872).

The Buffaloes were hanging in third place around at the turn, as CU's four scorers were 1-under par for the front nine, but three double bogeys on the back side helped deter the effort for a top three effort.

The 8-over par team tally is a school best for the first tournament of the fall, besting a 10-over effort in the 1979 Oklahoma City All-College Golf Classic. PGA Tour pro Steve Jones led the Buffs in that meet with a fifth place finish.

Redshirt freshman Derek Tolan made his long-awaited college debut in this meet, and wrapped it up with an even-par 72 Saturday after a pair of 71s Friday for a 2-under 214 total. Tolan's first collegiate effort saw him net 13 birdies, 31 pars, nine bogeys and just one double bogey, which unfortunately came on No. 16 Saturday, his second-to-last hole. He finished seven back of medalist Andres Gonzales of UNLV, who won with a 9-under 207 total on the 7,350-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course layout.

Tolan's finish was the best by a CU player in his first major collegiate meet since 1999, when Stephen Carroll also tied for eighth in the Nebraska Fairway Club Invitational. Overall, it tied for the third best finish in a debut in a major tournament by a CU freshman, trailing only Rick Cramer (third in the 1978 Air Force Falcon Invitational) and Bill Riddle (tie for fourth in the 1985 Kansas Jayhawk Invitational), though score-wise, was the first under-par effort in a freshman's first effort in a major meet.

“It was fun, probably one of the most enjoyable trips I've ever had, just from traveling with all the guys,” Tolan said of his first collegiate tournament. “I hit it pretty good (off the tee) the first two rounds, but not near as well today but I made a lot of putts. I missed a couple early, but after that, I putted really well and had a lot of 12- to 15-footers fall for me.” Tolan had 29 putts on the round, with seven one-putts and no three putts.

Senior Kenny Coakley (74 Saturday) and sophomore Jim Grady (72), tied for 23rd with 2-over 218 scores. Coakley played holes 9 through 18 at 6-under for the meet, but struggled on Nos. 1 and 2, where he was a combined 5-over. Grady was steady, as he logged 34 pars for 54 holes, the most by a Buffalo.

Senior Edward McGlasson tied for 47th after a final round 76 for a 222 total. He played the front nine 2-under for the meet but the back nine at 8-over. Sophomore Pat Grady rounded out the CU quintet here, as he struggled a bit throughout and closed with an 81 for a 236 total.

Assistant coach Brad Neher coached the team this week, as head coach Mark Simpson remained in Boulder undergoing continued radiation and chemotherapy treatments in a second battle against cancer, while also recovering from surgery on his vocal chords this past Wednesday.

“It was a good tournament overall, and a good start,” Neher said. “Obviously, we would have liked to have made more of a run at the lead today, but UNLV proved to be hard to catch. Maintaining (third) would have been good, but fifth place here in a tough field on a tough course is a very good sign for us. I definitely liked the attitude of the team, and we're already looking forward to our next meet. We have a lot to hang our hat on, and I think we'll be hungry to go out and battle for the win next time after being in contention.”

“Jim Grady and Derek played extremely well,” he added. “Derek had a solid performance his first collegiate meet, and he would have finished higher had he seen more putts go his way the first two rounds. Jim's play bodes well for us as a team, and he had it four-under with six holes left before having some trouble. Kenny battled and hung in there, and Edward was just a bit off his game, but they'll be back for our next meet.”

“This was valuable experience right out of the gate,” Neher concluded. “Playing with the leaders is something we didn't do a lot of last year, if at all, so it was important to get those experiences right from the start, as it will serve us well as the season progresses.”

The fifth place finish by Colorado was still its best here since 1987, when it finished fourth for a second consecutive year, and marked only the eighth time the Buffs placed in the top five here in traditionally what has drawn one of the more competitive opening meet fields, as CU is one of just three schools to have played in every Tucker Invitational.

The Buffs return to action in a little over two weeks at the Pepperdine Club Glove Intercollegiate in Malibu on October 3-4.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T8. Derek Tolan.................. 71-71-72?214

T23. Kenny Coakley................ 71-73-74?218

T23. Jim Grady.................... 73-73-72?218

T47. Edward McGlasson............. 73-73-76?222

T95. Pat Grady.................... 78-77-81?236

TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS

1. Andres Gonzales, UNLV........... 67-72-68?207

2. Jared Texter, UNLV.............. 69-72-68?209

3. Andrew Dresser, Texas Tech...... 73-70-67?210

4. Dillon Dougherty, Northwestern.. 68-74-70?212