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Golfers Finish Sixth In Louisiana
March 10, 2009 | Men's Golf
LAFAYETTE, La. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team rallied to shoot the second best final round score here Tuesday, but the Buffaloes were able to move up just a couple of notches in the standings to tie for sixth place in the Louisiana Classics.
New Orleans held off host Louisiana Lafayette and grabbed the team title with a 6-under par 858 score to win by a stroke. SMU was five strokes back, with Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State tying for fourth with 872 scores, one better than CU and Rice, which tied for sixth at 9-over 873. Colorado's 2-under 286 was the second best score posted in the final round, topped by SMU, which did the Buffs one better.
Colorado was the highest ranked and the only top 50 team in the field, coming in at No. 43 in the latest Golfweek rankings, and the Buffaloes were the tournament's defending champion. Thus the disappointment with the sixth place finish.
“We played a lot better, but still lost a few strokes down the stretch that cost us (a fourth place finish),” head coach Roy Edwards said. “But we have a good taste in our mouths and just need to keep moving forward at this point. We have a lot of golf over the next three weeks as we gear up for the most important events of the year. This will pay off down the road, because it's a great opportunity to play on Bermuda (grass) and it makes us better players, regardless of how we finish as a team. We'll be on Bermuda this year at the Big 12 Championships, and we could have it again at the regional.”
Senior Patrick Grady led the Buffs with his second third place finish in as many tournaments this spring and fourth on the year. He closed with a 66 Tuesday on the strength of seven birdies and just a single bogey on the 7,141-yard, par-72 Oakbourne Country Club course, giving him a 5-under 211 score for the tournament. It was the second best round in his collegiate career, and helped him move up 14 spots in the standings. He now has six career top five finishes, tied for the eighth most in school history, with his nine top 10 efforts now tied for 10th most.
“Pat's playing some good golf, and he's doing it the right way. He still has a lot of room for improvement, which is good when you shoot a 66 on a tough golf course and finish third. He is playing well, yet his best golf is ahead of him.” Grady was the nation's 101st-rated player in the latest rankings, and tied for the lead here this week with 14 birdies.
Freshman Kevin Kring shot a 1-under 71 for a 221 score, placing him 30th, with senior Derek Tolan finishing things off with a 3-over 75 for a 222 total, tying him for 31st. Tolan, as did Grady, played the par-fives at 6-under, tied for the third best number in the field. As a team, the Buffs were 16-under on the long holes, but were 32-over on the par-fours, uncharacteristically high for CU this season.
New Orleans junior Adam Cornelson defeated Southeastern Louisiana's Cedric Scotto in a playoff to win medalist honors, as the pair tied for the lead through 54 holes with 6-under 210 totals.
Rounding out the action for the Buffs were juniors Luke Symons, who tied for 47th (74, 225) and Justin Bardgett, who tied for 57th (76, 227).
The Buffs will return to action in two weeks in the Oregon Invitational at Eugene, March 23-24. “We have two meets in California and one in Oregon before the Big 12's, and we have to play better in those than we did here,” Edwards said. “But we know we didn't play near our best here and we're all already looking forward to getting right back out there.”
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T 3. Patrick Grady................................. 70-75-66?211
30. Kevin Kring.................................... 72-78-71?221
T31. Derek Tolan.................................... 75-72-75?222
T47. Luke Symons.................................. 69-82-74?225
T57. Justin Bardgett............................... 74-77-76?227
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. **Adam Cornelson, New Orleans..... 73-68-69?210
2. Cedric Scotto, SE Louisiana............... 68-69-73?210
3. Patrick Grady, Colorado...................... 70-75-66?211
3. Walt Koelbel, Kansas.......................... 70-68-73?211
3. Devin Carrey, Louisiana-Lafayette... 69-69-73?211
**-won in a playoff.
TEAM SCORES
1. New Orleans............................ 288-281-289?858
2. Louisiana-Lafayette............... 279-292-288?859
3. SMU.......................................... 286-292-285?863
4. SE Louisiana........................... 279-296-297?872
4. Texas State............................. 283-293-296?872
6. COLORADO............................. 285-302-286?873
6. Rice.......................................... 282-293-298?873
8. Memphis................................. 297-285-294?876
9. Kansas.................................... 296-296-292?884
10. Arkansas Little-Rock.............. 290-297-298?885
11. Missouri-Kansas City............. 298-301-295?894
11. Louisiana Tech....................... 294-298-302?894
13. North Texas............................. 299-304-299?902
14. Texas-San Antonio................. 309-299-295?903
15. Richmond................................ 301-303-305?909
