Men's Golfers To Open Spring Season

KOHALA COAST, Hawai'i - The University of Colorado men's golf team opens the spring portion of its schedule here in paradise Wednesday, but facing the toughest field it will see thus far in the 2008-09 season, the Buffaloes figure to get an immediate bearing on where they stand on the national scene.

Coach Roy Edwards' team, ranked No. 48 in the nation (Golfweek) after six fall tournaments, is one of 17 teams participating in the Hawai'i-Hilo Invitational.

The field is easily one of the strongest to date this season, with seven top 20 and 11 top 50 teams in the Golfweek rankings as of January 27. In addition to CU it includes Southern Cal (No. 2), Stanford (No. 5), Arizona State (No.8), Georgia Tech (No. 10), Washington (No. 11), Texas Tech (No. 16), TCU (No. 20), Michigan State (No. 28), Florida State (No. 31), Cal-Davis (No. 32), Fresno State (No. 88), Oregon (No. 85), Oklahoma (No. 93), Hawaii and Kansas. Host Hawai'i-Hilo is ranked No. 13 in Division II.

CU enters the spring with a 58-32 record against other schools.

The tournament, which spans three rounds over as many days, will be played at the Mauna Lani North Course on the island of Hilo. The course is built on a lava bed and characterized by rolling terrain punctuated by Kiawe (mesquite) forests, plays to 6,913 yards and is a par-72 layout.

Seniors Derek Tolan and Patrick Grady, juniors Luke Symons and Justin Bardgett and freshman Johnny Widmer are the five players who will count toward Colorado's team score here, with a sixth Buff, freshman Kevin Kring, playing as an individual.

Tolan set a school record for fall stroke average, 71.0, which he accomplished over 18 rounds as he was 9-under par overall for the fall. Grady was next among the regulars with a 72.9 average, followed by Symons (73.8), Kring (74.4) and Bardgett (75.2). Widmer played in just one fall tournament.

Tolan and Grady, who won three tournaments between them in the fall, are among the nation's top players. Tolan is the 18th ranked player by GolfStat (29th by Golfweek), while Grady is 174th by Golfweek (and No. 214 by GolfStat).

"This could be a very special spring for us if we play to our potential," Edwards said. "We have two guys in Derek and Patrick who have established themselves as top national players, and Luke has showed that he can play right there with them on a consistent basis. If those guys can keep it going as well as improve, the key to our season will be who can emerge as strong players for us in the fourth and fifth positions. That's usually where tournaments are won and lost."

The tournament starts with a 3:30 p.m. (MST) shotgun start Wednesday, followed by 10:30 a.m. tee times on Thursday and Friday.

The Colorado spring schedule in its entirety:

Feb. 4- 6 Hawai'i-Hilo Intercollegiate (Waikoloa, Hawai'i)

Mar. 9-10 Louisiana Classics (Lafayette, La.)

Mar. 23-24 Oregon Duck Invitational (Eugene, Ore.)

Mar. 29-31 Western Intercollegiate (Santa Cruz, Calif.)

Apr. 6- 7 CU-STEVINSON RANCH INVITATIONAL (Stevinson, Calif.)

Apr. 27-29 Big 12 Conference Championships (Hutchinson, Kan.)

May 8 or 9 FOWLER CUP (Alumni Matches; Boulder, Colo.)

May 14-16 NCAA Regionals (Galloway, N.J.; Austin; San Francisco)

May 27-30 NCAA Championship Finals (Toledo, Ohio)