Colorado University Athletics
Golfers In 12th In Hawai'i In Spring Opener
February 06, 2008 | Men's Golf
HILO, Hawai'i -- The University of Colorado men's golf team opened the spring portion of its schedule here Wednesday, and all things considered, the Buffs fared well despite ending the day tied for 12th after the first round of the Hawai'i-Hilo Intercollegiate.
No. 16 Texas Tech and Arizona State are tied atop the standings with 9-under par 281 team scores, but have seven teams within nine shots of the lead, including three top 10 programs.
The Buffs are tied with TCU in 12th place, as both turned in 4-over par 284 tallies.
Colorado is being paced by the two seniors on the trip, as Michael Baird and Jim Grady both turned in 1-under par 69s, which has the pair tied for 20th overall. They are two of 28 players in the field under par on the 6,738-yard, par-70 Waikoloa Village Golf Course layout.
For Grady, it was his second collegiate round under par, but his first round scored in the 60s.
Sophomore Justin Bardgett and freshman Michael Imperato both carded 3-over par 73s, with sophomore Luke Symons rounding out the Buff scoring with a 3-over 74; he shot 40 on his first nine but came back strong with a 34 to finish out.
"We're excited to be out there, playing again, competing again," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "It was pretty typical for the first round of the year, but the guys hung in there pretty good. We had a lot of easy up-and-downs we didn't make, but that comes with the long layoff. We just need to button things up, and if we can get after it (Thursday), we can beat some good teams here.
"I'm encouraged for the rest of the tournament, I really am," he added. "The guys have a good attitude and want to improve."
Arizona State's Stephan Gross is the individual leader, as he shot 3-under 32s on both nines for a 6-under 64, good for a one stroke lead over two others.
The second round of the tournament is set for Thursday with the final 18 slated for Friday.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T20. Michael Baird............................ 34-35--69
T20. Jim Grady................................. 35-34--69
T65. Michael Imperato...................... 36-37--73
T65. Justin Bardgett.......................... 35-38--73
T76. Luke Symons............................ 40-34--74
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Stephan Gross, Arizona State...... 32-32--64
2. Rob Grube, Stanford .................. 32-33--65
2. Cameron Tringale....................... 32-33--65
4. Brad Hopfinger, Kansas.............. 33-33--66
4. Chris Ward, Texas Tech.............. 32-34--66
TEAM SCORES
1. Arizona State......................... 271
1. Texas Tech............................ 271
3. Oregon State......................... 273
4. Southern California............... 274
5. Stanford................................. 275
5. Georgia Tech......................... 275
7. Oklahoma............................. 277
8. Oregon.................................. 279
9. Washington........................... 280
10. Hawai'i-Hilo.......................... 282
11. CSU-Bakersfield.................... 283
12. COLORADO........................... 284
12. TCU....................................... 284
14. Kansas................................... 285
15. UC-Davis................................ 288
15. Santa Clara............................ 288
17. Pacific................................... 291
18. Hawai'i.................................. 292
