Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
All Rounds
Golfers Finish Fourth In Oregon
March 24, 2009 | Men's Golf
EUGENE, Ore. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team had its best round of the tournament Tuesday but was only able to inch up one spot in the final standings as the Buffaloes finished fourth in the Oregon Duck Invitational.
No. 8 Washington led from wire-to-wire and blew away the field with a 10-under par score in the third round en route to winning with an 859 team total, or 5-under par for the 54-hole tournament. Host and No. 56 Oregon leapfrogged rival Oregon State into second place, but the Ducks were still 15 strokes out of first. OSU finished with an 879 score, while the Buffs closed with an 886 total after recording a 3-over par 291 in the final round.
The Buffaloes were in fifth place after each of the first two rounds, but did defeat two top 30 teams here, No. 24 UC-Davis (891) and No. 29 Pepperdine (893) who finished right behind CU in the standings. In the all important win-loss standings new to college golf, the Buffaloes improved to 84-45-1 for the season against Division I competition.
The weather was much improved over Monday's cold, wet and windy conditions, with the temperature reaching 50 degrees with just overcast skies and light winds.
Senior Patrick Grady led the Buffaloes here, tying for 12th overall after he shot a final round 74 for a 220 score, or 4-over par) on the 7,033-yard, par-72 Eugene Country Club course. He suffered bogeys on two of his last three holes, costing him a top 10 finish, but the effort marked his 14th career top 20 finish, tying him for 12th all-time at CU with four other players. Grady's nine birdies tied for the team-best this week, as were his 33 pars.
Senior Derek Tolan shot CU's best round of the day, a 2-under 70, just one of eight in the 78-man field of 70 or better Tuesday. He finished with a 222 total to tie for 20th, the 22nd top 20 effort in his career, tying him with Knut Ekjord for fifth all-time at CU. After just scoring two birdies in 36 holes Monday, he had seven in his final time around the Eugene CC track and improved his team-best final round average to 71.56 in the process.
Freshman Johnny Widmer also finished with a 222 after a 2-over 74, recording his first collegiate top 20 effort in just his third tournament. He played fairly steady Tuesday with an eagle, a birdie and 11 pars against five bogeys, which was important as he had an 81.5 stroke average in his two previous final round efforts.
“It was good to move up, and we were in position for an even better round,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “Derek closed strong, with birdies on his last three holes, but the other guys struggled down the stretch. Still overall it was a good round. Washington played really good and no one was going to catch them today. We're certainly capable of playing the way they did, and we did at times in the fall.”
Junior Luke Symons was the third Buffalo to put a 2-over 74 into the book for the final round, as he closed with a 225 total to tie for 35th overall. He had four birdies and eight pars against six birdies on the day, though he started strong with all of his birdies in the first seven holes and was 3-under with seven holes remaining. But five bogeys and two pars to close his round dropped him out of contention for a top 20 finish.
Freshman Kevin Kring rounded out the action for the Buffaloes, his 1-over 73 giving him a 232 total that tied him for 59th. He settled down in the final round as did his teammates, recording four birdies, one more than he had in the two opening rounds combined, and nine pars against five bogeys.
“I think we're going to get out of the funk we've been in sometime during this trip, and today was the start of that,” Edwards said of his team's spring lull. “It's part of the ebb and flow of the season. The guys are excited after playing better today as a team, and it's something to build on. We cut down on wasted shots and capitalized on more opportunities, which was important because this course was a really good test of golf and I was pleased with how we rebounded after Monday.”
No score worse than a bogey was recorded by any of CU's five players Tuesday, compared to six doubles and triple the previous day. Collectively, the Buffs had an eagle, 19 birdies and 26 bogeys with the rest all pars.
Washington's Nick Taylor used a final round 68 to topple Oregon's Jack Dukeminier for medalist honors. Taylor trailed Dukeminier by one shot heading into the final round, but flipped positions with his 4-under effort to win by a stroke with 211 total (5-under). Washington's Richard Lee finished third with a 215 total, cruising into the top 10 after shooting a 67, the best score in the final round.
The Buffaloes will head south to California to practice three days at Stevinson Ranch south of Turlock, the site of its own tournament in two weeks. Colorado will then pop over to Santa Cruz Saturday for a practice round ahead of the Western Intercollegiate, which runs Sunday through Tuesday at the famed Pasatiempo Golf Club.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T12. Patrick Grady.................................. 76-70-74?220
T20. Derek Tolan.................................... 76-76-70?222
T20. Johnny Widmer................................ 73-75-74?222
T35. Luke Symons.................................. 73-78-74?225
T59. Kevin Kring..................................... 83-76-73?232
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
T12. Patrick Grady.................................. 76-70-74?220
T20. Derek Tolan.................................... 76-76-70?222
T20. Johnny Widmer................................ 73-75-74?222
T35. Luke Symons.................................. 73-78-74?225
T59. Kevin Kring..................................... 83-76-73?232
TEAM SCORES
1. Washington................................. 285-296-278?859
2. Oregon....................................... 286-304-284?874
3. Oregon State............................... 292-296-291?879
4. COLORADO............................... 298-297-291?886
5. UC-Davis.................................... 300-303-288?891
6. Pepperdine................................. 303-290-300?893
7. Washington State........................ 291-309-295?895
8. Alabama-Birmingham.................. 300-300-296?896
9. Idaho......................................... 299-304-296?899
10. Pacific....................................... 307-308-298?913
10. Portland..................................... 313-301-299?913
12. St. Mary's.................................. 304-309-301?916
12. Utah........................................... 311-304-303?916
