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Golfers Ninth At The Maxwell; Grady Posts Near Record Effort
May 14, 2006 | Men's Golf
ARDMORE, Okla. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team completed its regular season here Sunday with a ninth place finish in the 15th Annual Perry Maxwell Intercollegiate, as the Buffaloes will now turn their attention to this week's NCAA Championships and regional play.
Sophomore Patrick Grady turned in the performance of his young career, as he tied for fourth individually with a 5-under par 205 score, including a final round 69 on the 6,442-yard, par-70 Dornick Hills Country Club layout designed by the tournament's namesake.
No. 2 Oklahoma State hung on to defeat No. 14 Baylor by four strokes, as the Cowboys recorded a 55-under par team score of 785. Baylor (789), Oklahoma (815), SMU (816) and Michigan State (818) rounded out the top five in the meet, which utilizes its own unique scoring system. The best four scores per hole count toward a team's score instead of the low four overall rounds, which is the standard college format.
Colorado finished ninth with an 834 total, as despite playing solid overall, the Buffaloes turned in the high score of the final round; using the standard scoring formula for comparative purposes, the scores here would have equated to an 859 team score, which is CU's fourth best tournament score in 13 meets this season in relation to par.
Grady, who posted his three best collegiate single round scores this weekend, tied the 54-hole school best on a par-70 course with his 5-under effort, while matching the third best three round total overall. John Lindberg owns the two scores ahead of Grady and two others, as he recorded a 12-under 204 in the 1989 BYU Cougar Classic and a 9-under 204 in the 1987 Robertson Homes Invitational, as he owns the best marks on both par-72 and par-71 layouts.
Scott Petersen recorded an 11-under 205 in the 1993 John Burns Invitational while Grady matched the same score posted by Kane Webber in the 2004 Maxwell Intercollegiate, which was good enough two years ago to win the tournament. Grady also became the first non-first year Buff since Joe Liley in 2001 to record his three best career rounds in the same tournament; Liley recorded his two best scores and tied his previous best in The Prestige. They are the only pair at Colorado to accomplish the feat in any other year but their first as a member of the team.
Grady didn't have a particular reason why everything started to come together for him.
“I don't really know. I've always played well in qualifiers, and I approached this tournament like a qualifier, since that's what it was for NCAA's,” he said. “It was my second time playing this course, so I knew what to expect, where to place the ball, where to be aggressive and where to be conservative. Much different than when I was a freshman, that's for sure.
“I've been playing really well this whole spring at home, both in team qualifiers and in a couple of CGA (Colorado Golf Association) events,” he added. “I was finally able to take that game on the road and play well. Nothing's really been different that I can see, but it's nice to finally have it click on the road.”
He was also aware that the school record for 54 holes was 204. “I was thinking about the record on the last hole, and I lost my focus a bit, and I barely made par,” he said. “So, I learned a lesson there.”
Grady also played individually, as his scores did not count toward CU's team total. In addition, he was well away from his teammates, as this is the only tournament in college golf where the teams play together as fivesomes to help prepare for NCAA play.
Senior Edward McGlasson shot an uncharacteristic 77, matching his high score of the year, to finish in a tie for 22nd with a 213 total after he opened with a 70 and a 66. A candidate for All-America honors, it was his 11th consecutive top 25 finish on the year, a streak that includes nine top 10 and five top five efforts.
Other CU efforts included senior Kenny Coakley (76 Sunday, 217 total), who tied for 40th; redshirt freshman Derek Tolan (71-218), tying him for 44th; junior Ryan Anderson (72-222) placed 53rd and sophomore Jim Grady (82?233), finishing 62nd.
Oklahoma State's Jonathan Moore earned medalist honors, as he produced a 64-66-66?196 scorecard to win by seven strokes over teammate Zack Robinson.
The Buffs have their five for regionally play, as McGlasson, Tolan, Coakley, Anderson and Patrick Grady will try to lead the Buffaloes to a top 10 finish, which would advance the “team without a coach” to the NCAA Championship Finals in Sunriver, Ore., May 30-June 3.
Assistant AD Charles Johnson, one of two administrators who have taken over coordinating the day-to-day needs of the program after interim coach Brad Neher stepped down in April, accompanied the team to Ardmore. Neher took over last winter following the death of long-time head coach Mark Simpson, who passed away December 5 due to complications from a yearlong battle with lung cancer.
The Buffaloes depart Tuesday for the NCAA Central Regional, set for Thursday through Saturday in Chardon, Ohio, just east of Cleveland. A practice round is scheduled Wednesday, with CU set to tee off at 6 a.m. MDT Thursday, as the Buffaloes, the No. 19 seed in the region, will tee it up with two familiar rivals, Missouri (the No. 20 seed) and Nebraska (No. 21). The three teams will start on hole No. 10 to open the tournament, and will tee off on No. 1 Friday at 10:12 a.m. MDT before schools are repaired in order of standing for the final round. Associate AD David Plati is taking the team to the regional.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T4. *Patrick Grady............. 65-71-69?205
T22. Edward McGlasson........... 70-66-77?213
T40. Kenny Coakley.............. 72-69-76?217
T44. Derek Tolan................ 75-72-71?218
53. Ryan Anderson.............. 75-75-72?222
62. Jim Grady.................. 79-72-82?233
(*?competed individually; scores did not count toward CU team total)
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
1. Jonathan Moore, Okla. St. ... 64-66-66?196
2. Zack Robinson, Okla. St. .... 66-69-68?203
3. Jeremy Alcorn, Baylor........ 71-67-68?204
4. Patrick Grady, Colorado...... 65-71-69?205
4. Colt Knost, SMU.............. 69-67-69?205
TEAM SCORES
1. Oklahoma State........... 259-265-261?785
2. Baylor................... 264-264-261?789
3. Oklahoma................. 273-269-273?815
4. SMU...................... 271-270-275?816
5. Michigan State........... 272-275-271?818
6. Notre Dame............... 272-272-275?819
7. Tulsa.................... 277-261-282?820
8. Oklahoma City............ 273-269-280?822
9. COLORADO................. 282-268-284?834
10. Louisiana-Monroe......... 287-272-279?838
11. Sam Houston State........ 294-278-281?853
