Colorado University Athletics
Bardgett Ties School Mark, Golfers Finish Sixth In Barona Cup
March 26, 2010 | Men's Golf
LAKESIDE, Calif. - The University of Colorado men's golf team responded to the challenge from it coaches and put one of its best rounds together following one of its worst and in the process moved up three spots into a sixth place finish in the Barona Collegiate Cup, which was completed here Friday.
Host and No. 35 San Diego State captured its own meet as the Aztecs were the lone team to shoot under par, finishing up with an 8-under 1,072 stroke total after an even final round. UC-Irvine finished second (1,094) with No. 1 Oregon third (1,097), while Nevada slipped from second to fourth (1,098); Northwestern rounded out the top five with 1,104.
Colorado was sixth with a 1,112 count, bouncing back from an abysmal second round with a 4-over 364, the fourth best team round of the last day and the 11th best out of the 48 recorded this week (CU also had the sixth best with its opening 361). But in-between, CU logged a 387 count, virtually eliminating any chance for a top five finish.
The Buffs also finished sixth earlier this week on its first leg of spring break competition in the Oregon Duck Invitational in Eugene on Tuesday.
Colorado closed strong with an eagle, 16 birdies and 54 pars by its five scorers on the 7,324-yard, par-72 Barona Creek Golf Club course layout, against just 16 bogeys and three doubles. That was eight more holes under par and 13 fewer over par than the second round.
Senior Justin Bardgett closed with CU's best round of the tournament, shooting a 3-under 69 for a 220 overall score (4-over), tying him for 22nd. He led the Buffs with 12 birdies in the meet, seven on Friday, with six of those on the front nine. That performance came after Bardgett, who started on No. 9 with a birdie and was 2-under after five holes, bogeyed four straight holes (Nos. 15-18) before returning to the front nine. He promptly birdied Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7, giving him a 30 for the side, tying the school record for the lowest 9-hole score previously achieved by Steve Jones (1980 Arizona State Sun Devil-Thunderbird Classic) and John Nyuli (1989 Wyoming-Red Jacoby Invitational).
Sophomore Sebastian Heisele also turned in a 220 score after a 75 in the final round; he started on the back nine and eagled the par-5 No. 13, but that success was short lived as he scored a double on the very next hole. He bogeyed three of the four par-3s on the day, which was uncharacteristic for him here as he came into the final round having played the first eight par-3s at 1-under, third best in the field. He did finish up with 11 birdies for the meet.
Sophomore Kevin Kring tied for 30th after a final round 73 gave him a 6-over 222 score for the meet. He had 36 pars over the three rounds, tied for sixth most, and did not record anything higher than a bogey in 54 holes of play, one of just 17 players in the 104-man field to do so (and the only Buff).
Freshmen Derek Fribbs finished with a 74 and a 10-over 226 total, playing fairly steady with 13 pars in the final round (35 for the meet) in tying for 49th overall. Junior Michael Imperato wrapped the meet with his best round of the week, a 1-over 73 which he also shot in the first round in Oregon; he had an 11-over 227 score to tie for 54th. His round featured three birdies and 12 pars, with only a late bogey on his second-to-last hole keeping him from an even-par round.
Redshirt frosh Jason Burstyn shot a second straight 77 to finish at 16-over 232 (tied for 73rd). He had two birdies and nine pars, with seven bogeys, but five of those on his last eight holes to alter what appeared to be a round in the low 70s.
BUFF BONUS: Former CU golfer Patrick Grady ('09) qualified last Monday for the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, his first Nationwide Tour event, and through two rounds, he is tied for third place. He stands at 67-68--135, just two shots out of the lead. Grady shot a 64 to win the qualifying one day after he won the Coca-Cola Wal-Mart Open in Alexandria, La.
"We were happy with how we played today, and I was very encouraged with how the guys responded," head coach Roy Edwards said. "The second round was nothing short of a disaster but it was another teachable moment for us. I told the guys that if we had shot 7-over in the second round (instead of 27-over), which still would have been our worst score here, we would have finished in second by two shots.
"Today was a good day because we still didn't play our best, but the team mentality was to salvage every shot we could and just play smart and manage their games like they know they should," Edwards continued. "It would have been easy to give up considering what happened yesterday. I am certainly proud of Justin for being 2-over and then finishing 3-under and showing his resiliency, and kudos to Kevin for not scoring worse than a bogey and not having many of those, either."
"As a team, we still bogey too many par fives, and we also made bogeys on holes when we had a lot of short irons in our hands, and you can't have that."
"If we can continue to play how we did in rounds one and three, then yes, that's the team I think we're capable of being. But we need to do that on a more consistent basis," Edwards concluded.
Cal-Irvine's John Chin led from start to finish in claiming medalist honors, turning in a 12-under 204 score for 54 holes. That bested San Diego State's Johan Carlsson by three shots; Chin shot a final round 68 and Carlsson 70 as the pair was 1-2 heading into the final round.
The Buffaloes have a week off before resuming play April 5-6 in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, which will be played in Scottsdale, Ariz.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T22. Justin Bardgett................................ 71-80-69--220
T22. Sebastian Heisele........................... 70-75-75--220
T30. Kevin Kring..................................... 73-76-73--222
T49. Derek Fribbs................................... 72-80-74--226
T54. Michael Imperato............................ 75-79-73--227
T73. Jason Burstyn................................. 78-77-77--232
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
2. Johan Carlsson, San Diego State....... 68-69-70--207
3. Ryan Hallisey, Nevada..................... 71-69-68--208
4. Glen Scher, UC-Santa Barbara........... 69-72-72--213
T5. Tim Whitney, Air Force..................... 71-73-70--214
T5. Alex Kang, San Diego State.............. 71-69-74--214
TEAM SCORES
1. San Diego State.......................... 357-355-360--1072
2. UC-Irvine.................................... 367-366-361--1094
3. Oregon....................................... 368-369-360--1097
4. Nevada...................................... 353-377-368--1098
5. Northwestern.............................. 362-373-369--1104
6. COLORADO............................... 361-387-364--1112
7. Alabama-Birmingham.................. 368-377-370--1115
8. UC-Santa Barbara........................ 359-380-377--1116
9. UC-Davis.................................... 369-385-365--1119
10. Wyoming.................................... 363-381-379--1123
11. New Mexico State....................... 381-378-372--1131
12. Utah........................................... 374-396-367--1137
13. Texas El-Paso............................. 381-382-379--1142
14. Loyola-Marymount....................... 380-390-384--1154
15. Air Force.................................... 388-390-378--1156
16. Hawai'i...................................... 378-405-397--1180
