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Golfers Finish 18th, But Tolan Advances
May 17, 2008 | Men's Golf
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Junior Derek Tolan became the first University of Colorado player in 15 years to qualify as an individual for the NCAA Championship Finals, but the Buffaloes as a team missed the cut after finishing 18th in the NCAA Central Regional here Saturday.
No. 19 Wake Forest led from wire-to-wire in claiming the team title, with the Demon Deacons surviving Saturday's winds as good as anyone to post a final round score of 18-over par 302 for a tournament total of 879 (27-over). That easily bested No. 6 Oklahoma State (889) and No. 53 Illinois (891). No. 10 Florida and No. 8 Louisville tied for fourth with 894 totals.
Colorado, ranked No. 65, entered the final round tied for 18th, and hovered around the cutline for about two-thirds of the the round. But with high winds dominating the day and birdies at a premium, the Buffs couldn't make enough pars to hang on and missed the cut by 11 strokes. CU finished with a team score of 912, some 60 strokes over par.
Only the top 10 teams advanced to the 111th Annual NCAA Championship Finals in West Lafayette, Ind., May 28-31.
High winds wreaked havoc in the morning, with gusts reaching 30 miles per hour. They "subsided" into the low 20s for a time in the early afternoon, but eventually topped 30 mph to close the day. No one in the 141-man field shot in the 60s Saturday, and just three players put 1-under 70s into the books with a fourth matching par.
The Buffs were joined by some elite programs that also did not advance, including No. 8 Georgia Tech (15th), No. 13 Tennessee (11th), No. 18 Lamar (tie-16th), and No. 31 Wichita State (tie-19th).
The Volunteers missed the cut by a stroke, marking the eighth straight Central Regional came down either a tie for the last spot, forcing a playoff, or just one stroke separating 10th and 11th place in the standings.
The top two individuals not on those top 10 teams also qualified, with Tolan the first Buff since Bobby Kalinowski in 1993 to earn a solo trip. Kalinowski tied for ninth that year, also on Ohio State University's 7,420-yard, par-71 Scarlet Course and the same site as this year's event.
It's the 14th time in school history a Buffalo qualified as an individual, and Tolan is the 12th different player to do so. Gary Polumbus (1962, 1963) and Rick Cramer (1979, 1982) earned two solo invites. The legendary Hale Irwin qualified by himself in 1967, and he went on to win the title at Shawnee-On-Delaware, Pa.
Tolan fired a final round 73 to finish with a 5-over 218 total for the tournament, which placed him seventh overall. That was the best finish by a Buff in a regional since Kalinowski was the runner-up in 1994 in Oklahoma City, and the third best in school history when including John Lindberg's third place effort in 1989 in McKinney, Texas.
"We got behind the 8-ball not bring in the morning group today, and that's our fault for not playing well enough the first two days," head coach Roy Edwards said. This place was a bloodbath with entrails of college golfers all over the place, and no one was going to come close to going under par. And when that's the case, it's really hard to make up much ground."
That was evident in the fact that the top three teams from Friday, Wake Forest, Alabama and Illinois, were the first to finish Saturday, and collectively played 60-over par, plus-86 when including their fifth non-scoring performers.
"We basically played the same as we did the first two days," Edwards continued. "We missed a few short putts early on that could have lit a fire under us, and we just struggled from there.
"But Derek played great. His late two bogeys were being aggressive to make birdies--he wanted to win. He's a long way from the guy who missed the cut in the (Colorado) state stroke play last year. He went through rough patches like many players do, and he's worked extremely hard to build himself back up. We're all very proud of him, and this is just the start for Derek and what's ahead for him."
Tolan had three birdies and five bogeys, and was even heading into his last two holes, Nos. 8 and 9 (CU started on No. 10). Secure that he was going to advance, he made an effort to catch Oklahoma State's Kevin Tway for medalist honors.
"I switched drivers before the tournament to an older driver I had, and I definitely hit it straighter, and that's important here," Tolan said. "So hitting fairways here was beneficial, and even though I missed a lot of putts, I made a lot of putts and avoided three strokes on the green for the most part. I was aggressive at the right times, and played conservative at the right times and it paid off.
Tolan cited the late Mark Simpson, the coach who recruited him to CU in 2004, for being an inspiration to him. Simpson passed away in December 2005 after a yearlong battle with lung cancer.
"I still think about Coach Simpson a lot, and even though he's not here, I still hold myself accountable for the promises I made to him," he said. "I thought about those a lot coming into this season, and wanted to live up to those."
As for qualifying for the NCAA Finals, it's achieving another goal for the player who as a 16-year old qualified and played in the 2002 U.S. Open.
"It means a lot to me," Tolan said of qualifying. "You work hard, invest a lot of preparation. I really want to play against the best, and it's something you think about before the season even starts. So I did everything I could to be ready for it.
"The better I play, the better it is for the team, so you take it to heart and I really wish we could be going as a team. And living with (former CU golfer) Ed (McGlasson), I really got to see how much work and dedication goes into making the NCAA's and seeing how disappointed he was for coming oh so close but never being able to go. This is not something I am taking for granted."
Senior Jim Grady wrapped up his career tying for 59th in the standings, closing with an 8-over par 79 for a 228 total (+15). He opened the final round with six straight pars before making a bogey, and was eventually undone by a double bogey on No. 9 an a triple on No. 3, both par fours.
Sophomore Luke Symons tied for 75th, recording a 6-over 77 to finish with a 17-over 230 total. He made the turn at 5-over and settled down on the second nine, posting a birdie against five bogeys and a double on the round.
Sophomore Justin Bardgett closed with a 10-over 81, tying for 122nd with a 238 scorecard (plus-25). He had a birdie, nine bogeys and a double Saturday.
Rounding out the action for CU was freshman Michael Imperato, who had his struggles here but did turn in a tournament best 8-over 79. He tied for 136th with a 245 total (+32). He had a birdie and nine bogeys to close what was otherwise a very successful debut season, in which he played 40 rounds, the second most by a freshman in school history to Terry Kahl's 41 in 1976-77.
Grady, Bardgett and Imperato all competed in their first NCAA championship, but CU was minus its top golfer, Michael Baird. He was diagnosed with double pneumonia last Monday and was under doctor's orders to rest, thus ending his college career.
Tway claimed the individual title, as despite a 4-over 75 in the final round, he finished with a 1-over 214 for the meet, which was good for a one shot victory over Wake Forest's Brendan Gielow and Penn State's Robert Rohanna.
The Scarlet Course layout was as challenging as predicted. Out of 422 rounds played this week, only two scores in the 60s were posted (both 69s), with 12 1-under par 70s and a dozen rounds of par; otherwise, 94 percent of the rounds played here were over par. The average score was 76.7.
"While we're disappointed right now, overall, I am pleased with the season," Edwards concluded. "We made a lot of progress, and we had a group of guys who worked extremely hard. We asked a lot of out of them and they delivered. Now it's on to the summer and we'r excited for amateur play and for next year."
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
7. Derek Tolan............................... 73-72-73--218
T 59. Jim Grady.................................. 74-75-79--228
T 75. Luke Symons............................. 77-76-77--230
T122. Justin Bardgett........................... 77-80-81--238
T136. Michael Imperato...................... 84-82-79--245
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State........ 70-69-75--214
2. Brendan Gielow, Wake Forest...... 69-72-74--215
2. Robert Rohanna, Penn State.......... 75-70-70--215
4. Dustin Groves, Wake Forest.......... 72-70-74--216
5. Trent Leon, Oklahoma State.......... 71-74-72--217
5. Jorge Campillo, Indiana................ 71-73-73--217
7. *Derek Tolan, Colorado.... 73-72-73--218
8. Billy Horschel, Florida................... 73-76-70--219
9. *James Sacheck, TCU.................. 74-76-70--220
9. Charles Ford, Tennessee............... 70-75-75--220
(*--qualified as individuals for finals; Sacheck beat Ford on second playoff hole to advance)
TEAM SCORES
1. Wake Forest............................ 290-287-302--879
2. Oklahoma State....................... 293-299-297--889
3. Illinois...................................... 298-292-301--891
4. Florida..................................... 294-300-300--894
4. Louisville.................................. 301-293-300--894
6. Alabama.................................. 292-295-309--896
7. Texas A & M............................ 298-294-305--897
8. Penn State................................ 304-286-308--898
8. Kent State................................. 302-295-301--898
10. Indiana..................................... 300-297-304--901
-------------Did not qualify for Finals----------------
11. Tennessee................................ 301-300-301--902
12. Michigan.................................. 298-300-306--904
12. Eastern Kentucky..................... 302-289-313--904
14. Eastern Michigan..................... 297-302-307--906
15. Georgia Tech........................... 307-299-302--908
16. Lamar...................................... 299-301-311--911
16. Ohio State................................ 299-303-309--911
18. COLORADO............... 301-303-308--912
19. Wichita State........................... 302-300-312--914
19. TCU.......................................... 302-302-310--914
21. Arkansas.................................. 304-304-306--914
22. Texas-Arlington........................ 308-298-310--916
23. Cleveland State........................ 313-299-314--926
24. Marquette................................ 314-299-317--930
25. Baylor....................................... 307-309-323--939
26. Sacred Heart........................... 316-311-323--950
27. Loyola-Maryland...................... 318-314-321--953
Players Mentioned
