Colorado
All Rounds
Golfers Finish in 10th In Last Big 12 Championship
April 27, 2011 | Men's Golf
HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- The University of Colorado men's golf team finished 10th here Wednesday in the 15th Annual Big 12 Conference Championships, the school's final appearance in the event as the Buffaloes become members of the Pacific-12 Conference this July 1.
As for the tournament itself, it was almost a ho-hum finale in the sense that Oklahoma State cruised to its fifth straight title, and ninth overall, in dismantling the field. The No. 1-ranked Cowboys played to their ranking and then some, claiming the top spot with a 1,139 team score to win by 13 strokes, the second largest margin in the event's history. No. 6 Texas A&M was second (1,152), with No. 11 Texas third (1,160).
Colorado remained where it started the day, finishing in 10th place with a 1,208 score; the Buffalos closed with 37-over 317 score for the final round, though all teams in the field were well over par for the last trip around the 6,759-yard, par-70 Prairie Dunes Golf Club course layout.
"Today was just a real struggle for the guys overall," head coach Roy Edwards said. "That was the case for the entire field, all the players had to fight through a really tough day. We basically stayed in the same position, so it was a rough end to the event."
Prairie Dunes saved its toughest for last, with all 12 teams at least 14 over par (309 overall). The average final round score was 77.5, well over seven strokes over par and almost four higher than the average for the first three rounds (73.9). There were no rounds in the 60s after just 20 over the first 54 holes, and just one player, OSU's Peter Uihlein, managed to shoot par; 18 players shot 80 or higher, with nine others on the fringe with 79s.
Chalk that up to final round pin placements combined with windy and cool conditions. The winds gusted up to 30 miles per hour from the north, and Prairie Dunes plays more difficult when they blow in from that direction. The 59-man field recorded 89 holes of double bogey or worse Wednesday, after just 169 of the same over the first three rounds.
"For the year, we never developed any real consistency from start to finish," Edwards continued. "I definitely saw improvement, but we just couldn't sustain anything over a long period of time. I'm confident that the guys coming back will work hard to improve in that area and in their overall course management skills."
Senior Luke Symons posted CU's best finish here, placing 30th with a 19-over 299 total after closing out his career with an 80. Most of the damage came by virtue of two triple bogeys - on Nos. 10 and 18 - as he made the turn with a 43 before playing the front nine at just 2-over. He otherwise had a birdie, nine pars, five bogeys and a double. His nine birdies this week were a team-high.
Symons wrapped up his days at Colorado with a 74.77 career stroke average (18th best in CU history), playing the eighth most rounds (143). He tied for 16th in all-time top 10 finishes (7) and 13th in top 20 efforts (14); he had 19 top 25 finishes overall. When removing 11 rounds he played as an individual in various meets, 112 of the remaining 132 rounds were applied to team scoring, an impressing 85 percent figure.
"It's kind of strange to think about playing without Luke in the line-up," Edward said of one of two graduating seniors in the program. "He was a hard worker, a good team guy, a good leader, someone who was fun to be around, and the guys really enjoyed him. It's always hard to replace someone like that going forward. His career over the last two-and-a-half years unfortunately has been marred by his injuries, but he had a solid career despite that and that should not be forgotten."
Junior Kevin Kring and sophomore Pat Wilson tied for 41st, each finishing with 24-over 304 totals. Kring shot an 80 and Wilson a 79 Wednesday, both with near identical rounds, as each had a birdie and three double bogeys; Wilson had 10 pars and four bogeys and Kring nine and five, respectively. Kring led the Buffs in pars in the meet with 43, while Wilson matched Symons for the next most with 41.
Sophomore Jason Burstyn tied for 54th, as he carded CU's best score in the final round with a second consecutive 8-over 78; that gave him a 32-over score of 312. He closed things out with a birdie, nine pars, seven bogeys and a double.
Junior Sebastian Heisele closed with a 12-over 82 for a 313 total, which tied him for 56th. After he opened with a 71and was tied for ninth, he endured two uncharacteristic rounds in the 80s, two of just three he's had in his three-year CU career. He had a birdie and nine pars against five doubles, a bogey and two triples, though to his credit, his second triple came on No. 8, his next-to-last hole of the day, but rallied to birdie No. 9.
There was no change in the top three individuals between the third and final rounds, with Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffman claiming medalist honors with a 280 total, the only player not to shoot over par for the tournament; he closed with a 3-over 73. Teammate Kevin Tway remained in the runner-up spot with a 285 score, followed by Texas A&M's Jordan Russell at 286.
When the Buffs open play next fall in its own CU-Mark Simpson Invitational, Colorado will be a full-fledged member of the Pac-12 Conference. Not that the Big 12 was any kind of slouch in this area, but with seven Pac-12 teams are currently in the nation's top 30, the Buffs will transition from one of the top three or four college golf conferences into arguably the nation's strongest one year-in and year-out.
"It was a battle all year long, and the season's now behind us," Edwards said. "We obviously had greater expectations and wanted to play in the regional we're hosting next month at Colorado National. That aside, we saw a lot of positive signs. I'm confident the players will keep working, keep getting better, and with four new guys coming in, and playing in a new conference, it's going to be a completely different team next year."
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BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
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30. Luke Symons.............................. 76-75-68-80--299 |
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T41. Kevin Kring.................................... 73-74-77-80--304 |
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T41. Pat Wilson.................................... 71-79-75-79--304 |
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T54. Jason Burstyn............................. 77-79-78-78--312 |
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T56. Sebastian Heisele...................... 71-87-73-82--313 |
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TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS |
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1. Morgan Hoffman, Oklahoma St. ..... 70-69-68-73--280 |
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2. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma St. ............ 66-73-71-75--285 |
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3. Jordan Russell, Texas A&M............ 77-69-66-74--286 |
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T4. Stuart Ballingall, Missouri................... 74-73-68-73--288 |
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T4. Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma St. ............. 74-75-69-70--288 |
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T4. Chandler Rusk, Texas Tech............. 71-73-69-75--288 |
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TEAM SCORES |
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1. Oklahoma State...................... 283-292-270-294--1139 |
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2. Texas A&M.............................. 286-296-275-295--1152 |
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3. Texas......................................... 287-291-284-298--1160 |
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4. Texas Tech............................... 286-299-281-297--1163 |
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5. Missouri...................................... 300-302-276-295--1173 |
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6. Oklahoma................................. 287-292-288-311--1178 |
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7. Baylor........................................ 296-299-291-297--1183 |
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8. Nebraska................................. 286-303-297-308--1194 |
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9. Kansas..................................... 290-303-286-317--1196 |
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10. COLORADO.................... 291-307-293-317--1208 |
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11. Kansas State.......................... 296-306-298-320--1220 |
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11. Iowa State............................... 302-305-293-320--1220 |
Players Mentioned
