Colorado University Athletics
Golfers In Fourth At San Francisco Intercollegiate
September 08, 2008 | Men's Golf
SAN FRANCISCO -- The University of Colorado men's golf team kicked off the 2008-09 season here Monday, and after two rounds of the San Francisco Intercollegiate, the Buffaloes find themselves in fourth place in a tough field on a tough course.
California owns the team lead after turning in a two-round team score of 568, or even par on The Olympic Club's Lake Course layout. Alabama-Birmingham is 11 back at 579, followed by Xavier (582), Colorado (583) and San Diego (584) to round out the top five.
CU senior Derek Tolan is tied for fourth, recording one of just two scores in the 60s on the day with a second round 69. That coupled with an opening 74 gave him a 36-hole total of 1-over 143 on the 6,833-yard, par-71 layout set for this tournament at the prestigious Olympic Club, which rivals Augusta National as courses privileged to play.
Tolan, as did most of his teammates, had a steady day with 24 pars, six birdies, five bogeys and a double. He had one bad stretch where he played five holes at four-over par, otherwise was in command of his game and is just two strokes out of the lead.
UAB's Adam West had the only other score in the 60s, also a 69 in the first round, out of the 154 played Monday.
Senior Patrick Grady, playing his first competitive round in the college ranks in over 15 months after taking a redshirt season for 2007-08, is tied for 14th after a 70-75--145 effort. He had seven birdies against 10 bogeys Monday, but was 1-under par with eight holes remaining before scoring four bogeys down the stretch.
"I was really pleased with things today," head coach Roy Edwards said. "I thought we played steady overall, and that's shown by having to throw out a 75 and a 76 (from the team scores).
Opening the season on San Francisco's prestigious Olympic Club course might be intimidating for some, but Edwards liked how his team responded.
"It can be intimidating if you let it, but I thought we prepared for that pretty well," he said. "We have a veteran team. Kevin handled it really well and obviously he had a great second round and I'm really proud of him."
Junior Luke Symons turned in a 75-74--149 scorecard with another junior Justin Bardgett posting a pair of 75s for a 150 total to round out the CU quintet. California had all five of its players in the top 20 after two rounds, but only Colorado and Xavier joined the Bears in having all five in the top 41.
Colorado enters the season unranked in the coaches' poll, and it's been at least four years since the Buffs received even a vote from their peers. But Edwards doesn't think that's far off.
"We just have to play well. That's the key to the whole deal. I like the makeup of this team. We have good leadership and good people who enjoy each other. There's a lot of trust here and that's going to be really important for us to maximize our potential."
"If we can play solid again (Tuesday), hopefully we can improve another five shots. We just want to keep playing better and better, take the challenge that this unique golf course presents and see what happens."
The final round is set for Tuesday morning.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T 4. Derek Tolan.................................... 74-69--143
T14. Patrick Grady.................................. 70-75--145
T27. Kevin Kring..................................... 76-71--147
T35. Luke Symons.................................. 75-74--149
T41. Justin Bardgett................................ 75-75--150
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
T 1. George Gandranata, California........... 71-70--141
T 1. Michael Jensen, California............... 71-70--141
3. Steven Hale, California.................... 72-70--142
T 4. Derek Tolan, Colorado.................. 74-69--143
T 4. Chris Cunningham, San Francisco..... 70-73--143
TEAM SCORES
1. California.................................... 287-281--568
2. Alabama-Birmingham................... 288-291--579
3. Xavier........................................ 293-289--582
4. COLORADO............................... 294-289--583
5. San Diego................................... 296-288--584
6. San Francisco............................. 296-295--589
7. Oregon State............................... 298-294--592
8. Nevada...................................... 294-299--593
9. St. Mary's.................................. 296-298--594
10. Notre Dame................................ 298-299--597
10. Wisconsin................................... 302-295--597
12. Santa Clara................................. 302-300--602
13. Rice........................................... 303-304--607
13. Hartford...................................... 301-306--607
