Colorado
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Men's Golfers Finish Ninth At UNM Tucker Invitational
October 02, 2010 | Men's Golf
ALBUQUERQUE ? The University of Colorado men's golf team had a decent start but the round would eventually get away from the Buffaloes, as CU finished ninth in the 56th annual University of New Mexico William H. Tucker Invitational here Saturday.
No. 7 San Diego State used a 3-over par team score (291) in the final round to move from fifth place entering the day to the top of the leaderboard in claiming the team win with an overall score of 10-over 874. No. 10 North Texas, which held a four-stroke lead coming in, was one shot back at 895, with host and No. 41 New Mexico third, two back at 886. New Mexico State scored the only subpar team round of the day (5-under 283) to zoom into fourth with an 878.
The Buffaloes remained in ninth place, where they were after two rounds, using the fifth-best second round score to inch up from 11th place after 18 holes. However, despite opening fairly well (just 1-over par through four holes for the four players who would score Saturday), CU wound up posting the 11th best round again to close the meet, finishing up with a 19-over 307 for an overall score of 903, some 39-over par.
The course was set up “PGA Tour Sunday tough,” with only six subpar rounds recorded in the 88-man field, with six others matching par; there was just one round in the 60s, two 2-under 70s and three 1-under 71s. Only eight other managed 1-over 73s, thus over three-quarters of the field shot 2-over or higher for the day.
The Buffaloes had a chance to help increase those numbers, but the five designated scorers collectively lost 16 strokes to par over their last three holes. Only one played the last three even, junior Sebastian Heisele, and he went bogey-eagle-bogey to do it.
“We keep having the same recurring problem,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “We shoot a bad round when we should shoot a score that's more manageable ... instead of holding it to eight or nine over, we wind up shooting 19 over. The problems are individual; we just need keep working to improve our course management and our short game.
“We definitely have the capability and we have a lot of guys who can be very good players,” he added. “We're just not doing all the things necessary to maximize our scores. We're all frustrated, but also encouraged that we know we're not playing anywhere near our best and there is a lot of room for improvement. So with a lot of hard work and good attitudes we can get that done.”
Sophomore Derek Fribbs led the Buffaloes on the 7,566-yard, par-72 UNM Championship Course, closing with a 4-over 76 for a 223 total (7-over) to tie for 21st. He struggled at the end with a bogey and double bogey on his final two holes, costing him nine spots in the final standings. He did have the most birdies (3) by any Buff golfer in the final round.
Junior Kevin Kring had a 77 Saturday for a 226 total, tying him for 36th, as he played the most consistent in the sense that he had two birdies, seven bogeys and nine pars; all other players had at least one double, with three others have three holes of double or worse. Sophomore Jason Burstyn competed individually here and finished up with a 78 for a 14-over 230 total, tying him for 50th; he had two birdies, a bogey and three doubles with 12 pars for his round.
Senior Luke Symons opened strong with a first round 71, but struggled for a second straight round, firing a 79 to finish with a 231 score, the same as junior Sebastian Heisele (a final round 75, CU's best score for the day) as the pair tied for 54th. Symons is still not yet 100 percent after two hip surgeries since August 2009, and may have hit the wall this week with six rounds in as many days, including 36 twice (Monday and Friday). Both Symons and Heisele did record an eagle each in the final round. Redshirt frosh Brennan Dolan, playing as a member of the travel squad and counter for the first time in his Buff career, closed with a 10-over 82, though seven of those extra strokes came on back to back holes where he scored consecutive 8s (triple and quadruple bogeys).
CU is the only school other than the host Lobos to have played in all 56 Tucker invitationals, dating back to the inaugural event in 1955. The Buffs did improve on their 12th place finish here a year ago.
Colorado will conclude the fall portion of its schedule later this month, traveling to Fairfax, Calif., to participate in the Alister Mackenzie Invitational October 18-19.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS (*?played as an individual)
T21. Derek Fribbs................................ 76-71-76?223
T36. Kevin Kring................................... 76-73-77?226
T50. *Jason Burstyn........................... 78-74-78?230
T54. Luke Symons.............................. 71-81-79?231
T54. Sebastian Heisele....................... 85-71-75?231
T75. Brennan Dolan............................. 82-76-82?240
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Joon Heui Lee, N.M. State.......... 74-71-67?212
1. Carlos Ortiz, North Texas............ 71-66-75?212
1. Andrew Putnam, Pepperdine..... 69-65-78?212
4. Zac Blair, BYU............................. 71-72-70?213
5. Timothy Madigan, N.M. State.... 72-72-71?215
TEAM SCORES
1. San Diego State...................... 291-292-291?874
2. North Texas............................. 295-281-299?875
3. New Mexico............................ 292-288-296?876
4. New Mexico State.................. 300-295-283?878
5. Brigham Young........................ 298-290-297?885
6. Pepperdine.............................. 296-286-304?886
7. Baylor...................................... 293-298-296?887
8. Arizona..................................... 297-294-306?897
9. COLORADO............................. 305-291-307?903
10. Utah......................................... 304-300-305?909
11. Texas-El Paso......................... 307-304-305?916
12. Northern Colorado................... 308-302-312?922
13. Toledo...................................... 312-303-315?930
14. Wyoming................................. 299-319-312?930
15. Texas-San Antonio................. 310-311-321?942
Players Mentioned
