Colorado University Athletics
Golfers In 11th At Battle At The Beach
February 14, 2010 | Men's Golf
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. ' The University of Colorado men's golf team reversed a troubling trend here Sunday, closing strong down the stretch for the first time this spring as the Buffaloes stand in 11th place in the inaugural Battle At The Beach.
No. 24 Oregon State owns the first round lead, as the Beavers posted a 7-under team score of 348, good for a one-shot lead over No. 48 Arkansas. No. 35 San Diego State (352), No. 6 Washington (353) and co-host and No. 14 UCLA (354) round out the top five. Eight of the nation's top 50 programs are competing here.
Colorado, ranked No. 83, is in 11th with a team score of 369, or 14-over par. This tournament is unique in the sense that it is one of the few that has five players scoring for each team instead of the usual four, and also that the schools play in foursomes with just one other team, thus each group features two teammates.
"We did a really good job of finishing today," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We were about 18-over with a few holes left and finished with mostly all pars and a few birdies. I was proud of the guys for doing that after not having much going throughout most of the round." The six Buffs combined for four birdies, 13 pars and one double on the final three holes.
Senior Justin Bardgett and sophomore Sebastian Heisele paced the Colorado attack Sunday, both recording 2-over par 73s on the 6,945-yard, par-71 Ocean North Course at Pelican Hill Golf Club. Bardgett parred his first eight holes and was even through 13, before a bogey and double bogey took him to 3-over. He birdied the 558-yard, par-5, 17th on his way in to get it back down a stroke. Heisele was even through seven but doubled No. 8, a par-5, but played the rest of the way even, also birdying No. 17. Both Bardgett and Heisele had similar rounds of two birdies, 13 pars, two bogeys and a double.
"Sebastian and Justin both played pretty well but couldn't take advantage of their opportunities. They are definitely on the right track. We expect good rounds out of both of them tomorrow."
Sophomore Kevin Kring and redshirt frosh Jason Burstyn logged 3-over 74s into the books, and are tied for 53rd. Kring had two birdies and 12 pars in his round, with three bogeys and one double. He was 3-over after five but settled in to play even the rest of the way. Burstyn had CU's best individual round going until late; he opened with a birdie and was just 1-over through 16, but was the only Buff who had trouble on No. 17, which he double-bogeyed. He otherwise had 14 pars and two bogeys on his day.
"Kevin struggled some on the greens but also rallied to help us out; he is an outstanding putter," Edwards said. "Once he gets it going, the low scores will start coming. Jason was really in position to shoot a good score but hit one bad shot on 17, and that led to a double bogey. He keeps improving and working hard. We are excited about his continued progress."
Freshman Derek Fribbs shot a 4-over 75, tying him for 57th, and did so with the most birdies by a Buff in the opening round with four. Unfortunately, he also had the most bogeys'eight'with the rest pars. He had just one par on the front nine, turning at 40, but he rallied to play the back side even.
Junior Michael Imperato completed the CU effort Sunday with a 7-over 78 (tie-73rd); playing nearly in his home backyard as he prepped 50 miles northwest of here in Westlake Village, he had 14 pars, two bogeys, a double and a triple.
"Derek made a bunch of bogies (six) early in his round but played his last 11 holes even par," Edwards said. "But he is continuing to improve and grow during his freshman season. Michael got off to a rocky start and couldn't quite get comfortable, but did a nice job of hanging in there. We expect him to play much better tomorrow and Tuesday.
A pair of Oregon State players lead the field with 5-under 66 scores, Diego Velasquez doing so with five birdies and the rest pars, while Mike Barry scored nine birdies but had four bogeys.
"The golf course is very, very good and it is set up extremely well," Edwards noted. "The weather has been beautiful and we look forward to getting out there again tomorrow. We had a really good practice session after the round and we know our progress this season is a process, not an event. We need to keep being patient, confident, and make good decisions. Everything will work out from there."
The second round will commence at 8:05 a.m. mountain time Monday, with all teams again starting on No. 1, but Tuesday's final round will feature a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. (MST). The Buffs will be paired with No. 13 Tennessee Monday.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T38. Justin Bardgett........................... 37-36-73
T38. Sebastian Heisele....................... 38-35-73
T53. Kevin Kring................................... 38-36-74
T53. Jason Burstyn............................. 37-37-74
T57. Derek Fribbs................................ 40-35-75
T73. Michael Imperato........................ 40-38-78
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Mike Barry, Oregon State........... 32-34-66
1. Diego Velasquez, Oregon State.. 33-33-66
3. Raymond Ho, Long Beach State. 34-33-67
3. Ethan Tracy, Arkansas .............. 32-35-67
5. Richard Lee, Washington........... 32-36-68
5. Mario Clemens, UCLA................ 33-35-68
TEAM SCORES
1. Oregon State........................... 348
1. Arkansas................................. 349
3. San Diego State...................... 352
4. Washington............................. 353
5. UCLA....................................... 354
6. Long Beach State.................... 358
7. Arizona State........................... 359
8. Colorado State........................ 361
9. Texas-Arlington...................... 364
10. Notre Dame............................. 366
11. COLORADO............................. 369
12. Tennessee............................... 371
13. San Francisco......................... 374
14. UC-Davis................................. 375
