Colorado
Round Three
Golfers Finish Eighth At Big 12 Championships
April 26, 2009 | Women's Golf
LUBBOCK, Texas ? The University of Colorado women's golf team bounced around from seventh to fourth over three days and 54 holes of the 13th Annual Big 12 Conference Championships, and when things finally settled here on this windy Sunday afternoon, the Buffaloes finished in a tie for eighth and freshman Emily Talley earned All-Tournament Team honors.
Reigning Big 12 champs and No. 5 Oklahoma State (909) lead the tournament from wire-to-wire for its seventh conference title and a 13-stroke victory over No. 41 Texas A&M (922). Oklahoma (938), Kansas State (944) and Kansas (945) round out the top-five.
Colorado, ranked No. 45, tied for eighth with a 317-305-330?952 scorecard, as the Buffs and Iowa State were at the tail-end of an eight-team bundle that saw only nine strokes separate fourth and 10th place.
“It was a really tough day,” said head coach Anne Kelly. “The wind was blowing steady at about 35mph and gusting up to 40 or 50mph. Unlike yesterday where the team kept their focus on every shot, today they let the conditions get the better of them.”
CU had ended competition on Saturday in a tie for fourth place after 36 holes, and had its sights set on jumping into the top-three in the final round before the windy Lubbock conditions got the best of them. The entire field had their struggles on the final day on the 6,525-yard, par 73 Rawls golf course layout, as every school was at least 20-over par. But one Buffalo was able to avoid the difficulty that the tough weather and golf course offered up to the 60-woman field.
Talley recorded a 5-over 78 in the final round for an 11-over 230 total, which was good for a sixth place tie individually. That is the highest finish by a Buffalo since Maria Persson-Gulda took fifth in the 2006 event and the highest finish in program history at the Big 12 Championships by a freshman. She became the first Buff to make the All-Big 12 Tournament Team since Persson-Gulda in 2006, and just the fifth overall since the conference was formed 13 years ago. The honor is given to the top-10 individuals plus ties.
“I'm very proud of Emily Talley, having to carry the team on her shoulders as a freshman,” said Kelly. “This is definitely the highest finish for a freshman and she deserves it.”
Talley recorded just four birdies and an eagle in three rounds of play, but making par on 32 of 54 holes proved that consistency and patience made all the difference for the freshman. Talley was 1-over through 13 holes in round three, but four bogeys in a five-hole span on her way in kept her from breaking into the top-five.
“It was the windiest today by far,” said Talley. “It was tough but I felt like I was able to keep it together until the last three holes. I made one bad decision and the last two holes were saves for bogeys. I was happy with the way I played this weekend but it was really frustrating because I didn't know where I was going to hit when I had to factor so many different elements into a single shot. This was definitely confidence building for me though. I haven't played consistently this well so to do it at Big 12's was good for my confidence.”
Junior Julie Kim, who recorded CU's lowest individual score of the tournament in the second round (75), shot an 84 in round three, placing her in a tie for 28th individually. Kim led all Buffs with nine birdies over three rounds.
Sophomore Stephanie Simich, after rebounding in round two with a 4-over 77, slipped back again in day three and finished with a three-round total of 244, good for a 46th place tie. Juniors Christine Kim and Dominique Pytlewski rounded out the scoring for the Buffs, taking 50th and 52nd place, respectively.
Kendall Dye of Oklahoma and Ashley Freeman of Texas A&M shared medalist honors with 6-over par 225 totals, which was good for a one-shot win over Caroline Hedwall and Pernilla Lindberg of Oklahoma State.
The regular season is now over and the Buffaloes will wait for Monday, April 27, when the field for the NCAA Regionals will be announced. CU has never sent a team to regionals, and just one individual, Erin Kerr in 2002, has been selected at-large.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T6 Emily Talley 76-76-78?230
T28 Julie Kim 79-75-84?238
T46 Stephanie Simich 85-77-82?244
T50 Christine Kim 77-80-90?247
T52 Dominique Pytlewski 85-77-86?248
TEAM SCORES
1 Oklahoma State 295-302-312?909
2 Texas A&M 304-299-319?922
3 Oklahoma 315-306-317?938
4 Kansas State 311-311-322?944
5 Kansas 312-310-323?945
6 Texas 321-308-317?946
7 Baylor 322-313-315?950
T8 Colorado 317-305-330?952
T8 Iowa State 325-315-312?952
10 Nebraska 315-314-324?953
T11 Texas Tech 326-312-319?957
T11 Missouri 317-311-329?957
TOP-FIVE INDIVIDUALS
T1 Kendall Dye, Oklahoma 76-73-76?225
T1 Ashley Freeman, Texas A&M 72-73-80?225
T3 Caroline Hedwall, Oklahoma State 70-75-81?226
T3 Pernilla Lindberg, Oklahoma State 73-75-78?226
5 Amanda Johnson, Oklahoma State 73-75-80?228
Players Mentioned
