Colorado University Athletics
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Golfers Finish 11th At Windon Memorial
October 06, 2008 | Men's Golf
GLENVIEW, Ill. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team couldn't put together a rally here Monday and placed outside of the top four for the first time four tournaments this fall, as the Buffaloes finished 11th in Northwestern's Windon Memorial.
Illinois led from wire-to-wire to claim the team win, riding a first round effort of 8-under par to an 843 score (9-under), holding off a charging Indiana team that finished second, five strokes out of the lead. The Buffaloes, who were tied for 13th after the first round and moved into 10th after two rounds, were one of four teams to post the worst score of the day ? a 13-over 301 ? and slipped back a notch into 11th place.
Colorado had entered the meet ranked as high as No. 14 (Golfweek; No. 25 in the GolfStat rankings), thanks to a win, a runner-up and fourth place finishes to compile a 40-4 record on the season through three meets. The team won-lost record is a figure that is becoming more important in college golf in relation to qualifying for the regionals next spring, and CU still owns a fine 44-14 mark after what the team thought was a disappointing experience here.
Senior Derek Tolan didn't catch fire in the final round but still finished in a tie for 13th, closing with a 4-over 75. The candidate for Big 12 Golfer of the Month honors for September with two wins and a second was five out of the lead entering Tuesday, but made the turn at 2-over (seven pars, two bogeys on the front) and then scored two more bogeys before getting those strokes right back with two birdies. But at that point there were too few holes remaining for him to make a run at medalist honors.
Junior Luke Symons might have played the most consistent of all the Buffaloes in the event, as he closed with a second straight 1-over 72 for a 217 total (4-over), with his 39 pars the second most in the field on the challenging 7,031-yard, par-72 North Shore Country Club course. He had a team co-best of three birdies in the final round, and was only undone by a double bogey on No. 1, his first hole of the day.
“We're obviously pretty disappointed with the tournament overall,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “We thought we had a good chance of doing well coming here. We weren't able to cut our losses when we played bad and let everything snowball a little bit. Luke did a good job, and while not playing his best, managed his game well, and Derek and had a good round (Sunday) but never got things going to any degree today.”
Senior Patrick Grady matched Symons with three birdies Tuesday, but saw two double bogeys wipe them out en route to a 5-over 76. He finished in a tie for 67th with a 231 total (18-over), as the Broomfield product had hoped to match or better his seventh place effort here two years ago (220, +7).
Freshman Johnny Widmer tied for 73rd in his Buffalo debut, closing with a final round 78 for a 20-over 233 score. He had seven bogeys and 11 pars on the day. Rounding out the action for CU was junior Justin Bardgett, who endured seven bogeys, a double and a triple in closing with an 82. That tied him for 75th overall with a 235 total.
Indiana's Jorge Campillo, who was tied for ninth and seven shots out of the lead entering the final round, blistered the course for an 8-under par 63 to finish with a 205 total, also 8-under. He won by two shots over Kent State's John Hahn, who closed with a 2-under 69 for a 207 score.
“It's just a bump in the road,” Edwards surmised. “You have to learn from it and let it go. It can either be something we let hold us back, or we keep moving on and proceed to finish the fall on a positive note.”
CU returns to action in two weeks in The Prestige At PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif., October 13-14.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T13. Derek Tolan.................................... 73-67-75?215
T19. Luke Symons.................................. 73-72-72?217
T67. Patrick Grady.................................. 78-77-76?231
T73. Johnny Widmer................................ 74-81-78?233
T75. Justin Bardgett................................ 79-73-82?234
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Jorge Campillo, Indiana..................... 72-70-63?205
2. John Hahn, Kent State...................... 68-70-69?207
3. Chris DeForest, Illinois...................... 74-70-64?208
4. Ryan Brooks, Tulsa.......................... 74-66-70?210
5. Seth Brandon, Indiana...................... 71-69-71?211
TEAM SCORES
1. Illinois........................................ 276-283-284?843
2. Indiana....................................... 286-281-281?848
3. Tulsa......................................... 292-289-284?865
4. Northwestern.............................. 289-289-292?870
5. Kent State.................................. 287-290-290?867
6. Purdue....................................... 295-295-284?874
7. Michigan.................................... 294-291-292?877
8. Missouri..................................... 291-287-301?879
9. Marquette................................... 285-301-295?881
10. Coastal Carolina........................... 296-294-292?882
11. COLORADO............................... 298-289-301?888
12. New Mexico................................ 292-299-298?889
13. San Jose State............................ 291-298-301?890
14. Liberty....................................... 298-301-294?893
15. Santa Clara................................. 303-300-301?904
