Colorado University Athletics
Golfers Open Spring Tied For 14th After One Round
February 01, 2012 | Men's Golf
WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i - The University of Colorado men's golf team opened the spring portion of its schedule here Wednesday, and while the Buffaloes didn't play great, they didn't play their way out of anything either as they are tied for 14th in the 22nd Annual Amer Ari Invitational.
No. 1-ranked Texas turned in an 18-under par 270 to take the early lead, with No. 4 UCLA and No. 10 Washington tied for second, five shots back at 275. No. 11 Southern California in fourth (276) and No. 9 Georgia Tech (278) rounding out the top five. The Buffaloes recorded a 3-over 291 team score, tying for 14th with TCU and Oregon State; the Buffs and Beavers ironically play in men's and women's basketball Thursday night.
This is likely the toughest field a Colorado team, if not most or all others, has ever participated in during the regular season: eight of the nation's top 14 teams are here (14 in the top 57), along with seven of the current top 10 ranked amateurs in the world. Colorado entered ranked No. 55.
"We got off to a bit of a slow start," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Statistically, we need to play the par 5s here much better. We played #4 all right (a collective 4-under) but we were pitiful on the other three (2-over). While we aren't where we want to be, if we play well Thursday and Friday we will be in a good position to get some high-quality wins.
"I expect the guys to come out tomorrow and really focus on doing the easy things better. If we do that, we will play more to our capability."
Juniors Jason Burstyn and Derek Fribbs led the way for the Buffaloes on Wednesday, each carding 1-under par 71s on the 7,074-yard, par-72 Waikoloa King's Course. Burstyn had a team-high four birdies and 11 pars en route to his posting, while Fribbs scored an eagle and two birdies with 12 pars to arrive at his score.
Freshman David Oraee continued his sensational rookie season with an even-par 72, scoring two birdies with 14 pars and two bogeys, though he did have it 2-under at one point.
Fribbs and Oraee were never over par at any point during their rounds, and Burstyn was 1-over for just a three hole stretch before closing with three birdies (and one bogey) in his final seven holes.
Senior Kevin Kring had a birdie-less round, one of just a handful in his career, but managed 15 pars as he was undone by a bogey and two doubles in shooting a 5-over 77; the doubles came back-to-back on Nos. 17 and 18 early in his round. Junior Beau Schoolcraft turned in a 6-over 78, with one birdie and 10 pars; he struggled down the stretch with four bogeys in his final six holes.
Junior Johnny Widmer, who is playing as an individual here this week, thus his score doesn't count toward CU's team total, rounded out the CU contingent Monday with a 7-over 79. His round included three birdies and seven pars, with most of the damage coming late as he played the last six holes at 4-over.
"David, Jason, and Derek all did a solid job with executing their game plans," Edwards noted. "Kevin and Beau were both very uncharacteristic in their play. We expect those two guys to come out and play well the rest of the week. Johnny didn't finish strong and I expect him to turn things around the next two days as well."
Three players are tied for the individual lead with 6-under 66 scores, all from Pac-12 schools, Patrick Grimes (Stanford), Pontus Widegren (UCLA) and Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington).
The second round is scheduled for Thursday and the final round for Friday; both will get underway at 10:30 a.m. MST.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS (*-playing as an individual)
T40. Derek Fribbs................................ 36-35-71
T40. Jason Burstyn............................. 36-35-71
T54. David Oraee................................. 36-36-72
T102. Kevin Kring................................... 37-40-77
T106. Beau Schoolcraft......................... 37-41-78
111. *Johnny Widmer........................ 40-39-79
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington.. 33-33-66
2. Pontus Widegren, UCLA............ 32-34-66
T3. Patrick Grimes, Stanford............ 33-33-66
T4. Seven tied................................... 67
TEAM SCORES
1. Texas....................................... 270
2. UCLA....................................... 275
2. Washington............................. 275
4. Southern California................. 276
5. Georgia Tech........................... 278
6. Stanford................................... 282
7. Oregon..................................... 284
8. Oklahoma State...................... 285
8. Texas Tech.............................. 285
8. San Francisco......................... 285
11. Arizona State........................... 286
12. Osaka Gakuin.......................... 288
13. Chico State.............................. 289
14. COLORADO............................. 291
14. Oregon State........................... 291
14. TCU.......................................... 291
17. Hawaii...................................... 293
17. San Jose State........................ 293
19. Hawai'i-Hilo............................. 294
20. UC-Davis................................. 299
