Colorado
All Rounds
Golfers Finish 11th at Oregon Duck Invitational
March 22, 2011 | Men's Golf
EUGENE, Ore. ? The University of Colorado men's golf team got off to a good start Tuesday but couldn't maintain it, slipping three spots after two rounds into an 11th place finish in the Oregon Duck Invitational.
No. 1 Oklahoma State pulled away from the field, closing with the lowest single round score in the meet, a 10-under 278, en route to an 848 total (16-under); that was good for an eight stroke win over No. 28 and host Oregon (856). No. 22 Washington (870) and No. 39 Oregon State (879) held their second round positions, with New Mexico State rounding out the top five (879).
Colorado, tied for 10th after the first round and for eighth after the second, shot a 12-over 300 Tuesday for a final score of 895, or 31-over par. CU started strong, with the Buffaloes just one of two teams that were even through the first five holes played, though that is somewhat subjective since it was a shotgun start. The 300 wound up being the second worst score in the 15-team field, certainly not what the Buffs were expecting.
“We didn't play well in the middle round,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “We made too many bogeys on holes you could have made birdie on, so that was a double whammy, and we just didn't take advantage of the par-5s. We were in position to have a good finish, and even though we didn't accomplish that today, we're confident that things are turning around and that we're going to play good in San Diego (in CU's next tournament later this week).”
Senior Luke Symons led the Buffaloes, tying for 23rd overall with a 2-over 218 score. He shot a 75 Tuesday, closing with two birdies, 11 pars and five bogeys on the 7,020-yard, par-72 Eugene Country Club course layout. Finally returning to his old form after a pair of hip surgeries that sidelined him last year, he had seven birdies and 38 pars in the tournament.
Junior Kevin Kring, playing as an individual, turned in a solid performance on the heels of his worst collegiate tournament two weeks ago just south of here. He shot par in the final round on the strength of three birdies, and 12 pars against three bogeys, finishing with a 219 total (3-over) to tie for 26th. He had a team best 39 pars over the three rounds, and tied Symons for the fewest bogeys (nine).
Junior Sebastian Heisele shot a 1-over 73 for a 220, or 4-over for the meet, tying him for 29th. He had three birdies and 11 pars against four bogeys Tuesday, winding up with a team-best eight birdies over the two days.
Sophomore Jason Burstyn had a classic rollercoaster round; starting with a bogey on the par-5 No. 6 hole, he proceeded to score just two pars on his first 13 holes. He had two birdies, seven bogeys, one double as well as an eagle, the latter on the par-5 17th hole, before settling into a rhythm and closing with five pars for a 77. He tied for 57th with a 13-over 229 total.
Sophomore Johnny Widmer shot a second straight 77, though he had 12 pars and a birdie as four bogeys and a double accounted for the overage; he finished with a 233 total (17-over) and tied for 72nd. Sophomore Derek Fribbs rebounded from a second round 83 with a closing 75, giving him a 234 (18-over) which tied him for 77th. He wrapped things up with two birdies, 11 pars and five bogeys.
“That was good to see Kevin come back and play fairly solid. He's a huge key for us,” Edwards said. “Luke is getting more consistent and Sebastian is starting to come around. Derek just didn't have a good tournament putting and wasn't striking the ball that well, which is a deadly combination, but he's working hard and will get it back.”
First round leader, Washington's Chris Williams, rallied with a final round 69 to grab medalist honors with a 9-under par score of 207. That bested Oregon State's Alex Moore and Rice's Michael Whitehead, both two back at 209. Moore assumed the lead after two rounds with a 63 in the second round, while Whitehead moved up from 11th plae after recording best score, a 6-under 66, in the final round.
The Buffaloes now head south to San Diego to participate in the Barona Collegiate Cup this Thursday and Friday.
BUFFALO TEAM SCORES (*--played as an individual)
T23. Luke Symons.............................. 71-72-75?218
T26. *Kevin Kring................................. 74-73-72?219
T29. Sebastian Heisele....................... 74-73-73?220
T57. Jason Burstyn............................. 77-75-77?229
T72. Johnny Widmer.......................... 79-77-77?233
T77. Derek Fribbs................................ 76-83-75?234
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Chris Williams, Washington...... 67-71-69?207
T2. Alex Moore, Oregon State.......... 73-63-73?209
T2. Michael Whitehead, Rice........... 72-71-66?209
4. Jack Dukeminier, Oregon........... 72-70-68?210
T5. Charlie Hughes, Washington...... 70-74-67?211
T5. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State..... 74-68-69?211
TEAM SCORES
2. Oregon..................................... 289-284-283?856
3. Washington............................. 282-294-294?870
4. Oregon State........................... 298-283-297?878
5. New Mexico State.................. 291-299-289?879
6. San Jose State........................ 290-298-292?880
7. Pepperdine.............................. 295-298-290?883
8. Idaho........................................ 296-303-289?888
9. UC-Davis................................. 296-298-297?891
10. San Francisco......................... 296-303-293?892
11. COLORADO............................. 298-297-300?895
12. Santa Clara.............................. 304-299-297?900
13. Rice.......................................... 312-297-292?901
14. Portland................................... 305-304-294?903
15. Alabama-Birmingham............ 306-302-303?911
Players Mentioned
