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Golfers Finish Ninth At The Prestige
October 17, 2006 | Men's Golf
LA QUINTA, Calif. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team recorded its best single round of the fall season here Tuesday, but it wasn't enough to propel the Buffaloes up the standings board as CU finished ninth in The Prestige At PGA West.
Co-host Stanford held off UCLA in winning with a 15-under par team score of 849, edging the Bruins by two strokes. The Cardinal shot the best final round in the field, an 8-under 280, though UCLA logged a 281 into the books. UC-Irvine (859), Minnesota (870) and Kansas and Southern California (both 877) rounded out the top five.
Colorado shot a 1-over 289 to finish with an 884 score, also its best 54 hole score of the fall, but the Buffs actually slipped from sixth to ninth in the final standings.
“We made some birdies early but couldn't sustain it during the round,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “We just had too many bogeys and a couple of double bogeys hurt us. I think the way we played the par fives (Monday) kept us from having a good finish. Today, we concentrated on playing those holes better, and we did.”
The Buffs had played the four par-5 holes collectively at 8-over par on Monday, including three double bogeys; in the final round, CU golfers logged 10 birdies, and eagle and just a single double bogey to play them 10-under overall.
Junior Michael Baird, who transferred to CU from Pepperdine this past June, saw his first action wearing CU colors and tied for 20th overall, firing a 72 Tuesday for a 1-over par 217 total on the 7,156-yard, par-72 Greg Norman Course at PGA West.
Junior Patrick Grady also scored an even par-72 in the final round to close with a 224 total, tying for 35th. He scored a double bogey on his first hole of the day, but settled right down and played the rest of the round at 2-under. Freshman Luke Symons again knocked five strokes off his score, as he opened with an 80 and then a 75 Monday before posting a 70 in the final round, finishing tied for 39th with a 225 score. It was the 11th best score in the 78-man field for the final round, as he played very steady with four birdies against just two bogeys.
Rounding out CU's efforts here were sophomore Derek Tolan, who closed with a 75 for a 228 (tying for 48th), and senior Blake Moore (80?230, tying for 55th). Tolan recorded CU's lone eagle in the tournament, on the par-5 No. 2 hole, but it was unfortunately sandwiched between a bogey and a double. Moore had a rollercoaster ride in his final round, as he had just five pars but scored six birdies; he was undone by three bogeys and three doubles as well as a triple bogey.
“I was pleased with Michael's performance, his first tournament as a Buffalo was a good one,” Edwards said. “This was a great field, and it showed the guys that we had a chance to beat some good teams. We learned we need step it up and play 54 holes, and I think the guy swill learn from this. I am encouraged. I think the team is starting to take shape, and I think playing with teams like UCLA and Stanford has shown the guys what it takes to be one of the best teams in the country and that it is attainable.
Stanford's Zack Miller, who trailed by one shot entering the final round, recorded a 69 Tuesday for a 207 total (9-under), winning by three shots over two players.
The Buffaloes complete the fall portion of their 2006-07 schedule next Monday and Tuesday in the Pepperdine Club Glove Intercollegiate in Saticoy, Calif.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T20. Michael Baird........ 73-72-72--217
T35. Patrick Grady........ 76-76-72--224
T39. Luke Symons.......... 80-75-70--225
T48. Derek Tolan.......... 73-80-75--228
T55. Blake Moore.......... 75-75-80--230
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
1. Zack Miller, Stanford..... 71-67-69--207
T2. Jay Choe, UC-Irvine....... 70-67-73--210
T2. Lucas Lee, UCLA........... 74-67-69--210
T4. Tyler Docking, Kansas..... 75-69-67--211
T4. Gary Woodland, Kansas..... 69-72-70--211
T4. Ben Pisani, Minnesota..... 70-70-71--211
TEAM SCORES
1. Stanford.............. 288-281-280--849
2. UCLA.................. 294-276-281--851
3. UC-Irvine............. 288-286-285--859
4. Minnesota............. 288-292-290--870
T5. Southern California... 294-303-280--877
T5. Kansas................ 301-294-282--877
7. Notre Dame............ 302-295-282--879
8. UC-Davis.............. 296-292-292--880
9. COLORADO.............. 297-298-289--884
10. Illinois.............. 304-297-292--893
11. California............ 298-299-298--895
12. Northern Colorado..... 293-305-302--900
13. Oregon................ 302-305-295--902
14. San Diego............. 300-299-311--910
15. Princeton............. 317-301-317--935
