Colorado University Athletics
Golfers Hosting 10th Annual Stevinson Ranch Invite
April 06, 2008 | Men's Golf
STEVINSON, Calif. - The University of Colorado men's golf team is among one of the favorites in its own 10th annual CU-Stevinson Ranch Invitational, as the Buffaloes will once again host the event here this Monday and Tuesday (April 7-8) at Stevinson Ranch Golf Club just outside of Turlock, Calif. (about halfway between Modesto and Merced).
A few years back, late University of Colorado head coach Mark Simpson had the idea of hosting a meet for District 5 (Central Region) teams at a good weather site, since many of the schools only faced each other once or twice a year at the most and usually in less-than-preferential weather conditions. George Kelley, the founder and owner of Stevinson Ranch, lettered in golf at Colorado in the early 1970s and was friends with Simpson, as the two were teammates in 1972.
Simpson pitched Kelley on the idea and the rest is history, though the format is moving away from the central format, though all are still invited; the first nine tournaments have been a success and are quite popular with the participating teams.
Stevinson boasts a championship par-72 configuration of 7,144 yards for this event, with the greens featuring bent grass. Club officials say the course is in perhaps the best condition it has ever been in April.
Wichita State is the defending champion, but the Shockers are not participating this year. In addition to the host Buffaloes, schools competing include Akron, CSU-Bakersfield, Drake, Gonzaga, Loyola-Marymount, Missouri-Kansas City, New Mexico State, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma City, Pacific, St. Mary's, San Francisco and Washington State. That's 14 team in all, along with five individual slots for a 75-man field, with the top ranked teams participating being St. Mary's (ranked No. 46 by Golfweek and No. 43 by GolfStat), Colorado (70/68), Loyola-Marymount (71/76) and Pacific (91/86); Oklahoma City is ranked fifth nationally in the NAIA.
Colorado has won here once (2006, in a lightning-shortened event to 36 holes), and has three second place finishes including last year. CU coach Roy Edwards believes his team has a very good chance leaving here with a victory for the second time in three years, as his Buffaloes have played well this spring including a victory in last month's Louisiana Classics.
Seven Buffs will play this week, with the five golfers who will count toward CU's team score being seniors Michael Baird and Jim Grady, junior Derek Tolan, sophomore Luke Symons and true freshman Michael Imperato. Playing individually are sophomore Justin Bardgett and redshirt frosh Riley Andrews.
The format calls for two rounds Monday, with 36 holes of continuous play with tee times commencing in 8-minute intervals between 7:22 and 9:14 a.m. PDT. The final 18 holes Tuesday will feature a shotgun start at 8 a.m.
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RESULTS: Tournament results will be posted on www.CUBuffs.com as soon as possible following each round. First Round results should be posted by 3 p.m. (PDT) on Monday; the second round should be up by 8:30 p.m. (PDT) that evening and final results by 3:00 p.m. (PDT) on Tuesday. Due to the off-site location and lack of practical office facilities (we are basically in a rural area), there will be no live scoring on GolfStat.
