Colorado University Athletics
Men's Golfers Tied For 13th In San Diego
March 24, 2011 | Men's Golf
SAN DIEGO - The University of Colorado men's golf team never got things going, as the Buffaloes are tied for 13th place after the first two rounds of the Barona Collegiate Cup, both of which were completed here Thursday.
No. 21 San Diego is winning the cross-town battle over rival No. 8 and rival San Diego State, as the Toreros are the only team under par through two rounds with an 8-under team score of 712. The Aztecs, perhaps distracted playing at the same time as their men's basketball team took the court in the NCAA Sweet 16, are 10 back at 722. Nevada (725) and Arizona and UC-Santa Barbara (both tied with 732) round out the top five.
How good was San Diego's second round score of 11-under par (349)? Even though the course played harder the second round (76.2 average for the 100-man field compared to 74.3 in the first round), the Toreros bested the next best score by some 16 strokes.
Colorado was 12th after the first round (shooting a 10-over 370) and then slipped down a notch after shooting what was tied for the second highest 18 holes in the afternoon, 384, or 24-over par. That gave the Buffaloes a team total of 754 heading into the final round, as CU is tied with Texas-El Paso.
"Not much to really say, just not a stellar day," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We've been searching all year for someone to consistently step up and get that score we can count on to anchor the team. When you don't have an anchor score or two, things just often have a way of snowballing from there. It makes it very, very difficult to shoot a good score as a team. And if everyone struggles, you shoot a bad score very easily."
"Our main problem is that we've been losing a lot of easy shots, bad wedges, three putts from 15 feet, etc.," he added. "If we want to be a good team, we can't do those things, there's just no way around it."
Senior Luke Symons is pacing the Buffaloes for a second straight tournament, and in just two days at that, as he is tied for 17th with a 70-75'145 performance on the 7,324-yard, par-72 Barona Creek Black course layout. He had six birdies and 23 pars, both in the tourney's top 25, against seven bogeys for his 36 holes. He played the tough par-5s at 2-under on the day, also in the top 15 in the field.
Junior Sebastian Heisele is tied for 45th after posting a 74-76'150 effort, with his 24 pars tied for ninth in the field. He had four birdies, six bogeys and two doubles on his other holes.
Sophomore Jason Burstyn is tied for 63rd with a 9-over total of 153. Starting his day on No. 9, he bogeyed his first seven holes, then closed out the back side with a par, birdie and double for a 43; unfazed, he played the next eight holes two-under, rallying with that 35 on the front side for a 6-over 78. The second time around was much better, as he was 1-under after eight holes, eventually settling for a 3-over 75. His team-best seven birdies also stood as the 17th most in the field despite his early struggles.
Sophomore Johnny Widmer is also tied for 63rd with a 75-78'153 scorecard; sidetracked mainly by a triple bogey on the 471-yard, par-4 No. 4 hole in the first round, when he shot a 3-over 75, he was just 2-over in the afternoon with four holes to play before suffering a tough stretch where he scored a double sandwiched by two bogeys.
CU's top two in scoring average in the fall continued to have a rough time of it in the spring. Junior Kevin Kring, who had turned in a solid performance earlier this week in Oregon, is tied for 81st after registering a 76-80'156 card. He had an inordinate amount of bogeys for him (12), also recording two doubles while posting four birdies and 18 pars. Sophomore Derek Fribbs is 85th (75-82'157); he was 1-under in both rounds after six and five holes, respectively, before he had some struggles. He, too, had four birdies along with 19 pars, but had a triple bogey in his second round that contributed to his playing his last 13 holes at 11-over.
"Luke did okay, he closed strong and birdied his last two holes after struggling from the midway point of his round," Edwards noted. "And while Jason struggled most of the day, he showed some fight and did a decent job of managing his game."
UC-Santa Barbara's Glen Scher is the individual leader through rounds, his 70-67'137 scorecard (5-under) one better than Nevada's Scott Smith. San Diego's Alex Ching is tied for third, two back, as his second round 64 is the lowest score in the meet; he started the round with five birdies on his first six holes.
The third and final round of the tournament is set for an 8 a.m. MDT shotgun start Friday.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T17. Luke Symons.............................. 70-75-145
T45. Sebastian Heisele....................... 74-76-150
T63. Jason Burstyn............................. 78-75-153
T63. Johnny Widmer.......................... 75-78-153
T81. Kevin Kring................................... 76-80-156
85. Derek Fribbs................................ 75-82-157
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
2. Scott Smith, Nevada.................. 69-69-138
T3. Alex Ching, San Diego................ 75-64-139
T3. Manav Shah, San Diego.............. 67-72-139
T5. John Catlin, New Mexico........... 69-72-141
T5. J.J. Spaun, San Diego State....... 71-70-141
1. Glen Scher, UC-Santa Barbara... 70-67-137
TEAM SCORES
1. San Diego................................ 363-349--712
2. San Diego State...................... 355-367--722
3. Nevada.................................... 353-372--725
4. Arizona..................................... 361-371--732
4. UC-Santa Barbara................... 367-365--732
6. New Mexico............................ 369-365--734
6. St. Mary's................................ 368-366--734
8. Santa Clara.............................. 358-382--740
9. UC-Irvine................................. 368-379--747
10. Utah......................................... 368-383--751
10. Arkansas State....................... 367-384--751
10. Loyola-Marymount................. 373-378--751
13. COLORADO............................. 370-384--754
13. Texas-El Paso......................... 376-378--754
15. Wyoming................................. 372-383--755
16. Xavier...................................... 379-389--768
