Paul Fires 67; Golfers Tied For Seventh In Oregon

Monday, March 24

Eugene, OR

All Day

Colorado

Rounds One & Two

Golfers Ready For Pac-12 Championship Test

March 25, 2014 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

CRESWELL, Ore. — The University of Colorado men's golf team had its worst day in quite some time here Monday, but is still in the hunt for top honors as the Buffaloes are tied for seventh in the 25th Annual Oregon Duck Invitational.

No. 62 Oregon State holds a two-shot lead over rival No. 45 and host Oregon through two rounds. The Beavers have a 6-over par 582 team score, with the Ducks in at 584 and Loyola-Marymount third with 585. Colorado is tied for seventh with Idaho, 13 strokes back at 19-over 595.

There was a three-way tie at 4-over 292 after the first round between Loyola-Marymount, Oregon and Oregon State; in what was likely one of the tightest rounds in college golf this season, just three strokes separated the top 10 teams. Colorado was in fourth after the morning round with a 6-over 294 score.

"Today was a poor day by the team overall,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. We had a good team meeting at dinner. We have to remember to continuously focus our energies on things we have control over and not let bad breaks or poor shots affect us too much as the round progresses. We are in seventh, but we know we can still win the tournament. Results-wise, that is our focus, and we will do it by playing with great energy and for each other."

Colorado has fared well against the teams competing here, having been in a tournament at least once with all other 15 schools and owning a 28-5-3 record head-to-head coming in.

Freshman Jeremy Paul opened with a 4-over 76 in the morning, but then exacted his revenge on the 7,165-yard, par-72 Emerald Valley Golf Club course layout in the afternoon. He blistered it with a 5-under 67, the only score in the 60s in the second round, and his 143 (1-under) total for 36 holes is good for a third place tie and just two strokes off the lead.

He could have shot lower; after scoring an eagle on the par-5 13th, he double bogeyed No. 14 to fall back to 3-under; but he persevered down the stretch and scored birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 to get back to 5-under for the round, one of just five under par – the other four were all 1-under 71s. Paul is tied for the lead in par-5 scoring (minus-4 on the eight combined over two rounds), and is tied for sixth in birdies with seven; the latter were hard to come by as the leaders only have nine total.

Freshman Andrew Bonner turned in a 70-81—151 scorecard (plus-6), and stands tied for 48th. He was tied for third after the first round, as he carded one of just eight under par scores in the morning thanks to a round that included five birdies and 10 pars; but he had some struggles his second time around the Emerald Valley track. He again had 10 pars and three bogeys, but managed just two birdies while posting two doubles and a triple as much of the damage came in a five hole stretch he played 7-over on holes 6 through 10. He is tied for second in the field in par-3 scoring, playing the eight combined Monday at 2-under par.

Sophomore Philip Juel-Berg is also tied for 48th with a 73-78—151 performance. Both his rounds featured four bogeys and one double (each time on the par-4 No 14), but in the morning he tied for the team-best with five birdies to go with eight pars; in his second round, he had 13 pars but no bogeys. He did tie for the 12th-best showing on the par-5 holes, playing those eight Monday at 2-under par.

Junior David Oraee is tied for 59th after recording a 75-78—153 effort; he got off to poor starts in both rounds, 4-over after eight holes in the morning and 5-over through nine in the afternoon, but then settled down each time to keep things reined in. He only had two double bogeys on the day, but was more hindered by eight bogeys offset by just three birdies.

Freshman Yannik Paul scored back-to-back rounds of 2-over par or more for just the second time this season, and thus career, posting a 77-78—155 total which has him tied for 65th. He had just eight holes worse than bogey in 21 rounds prior to Monday, but had four such ones over the two rounds (three doubles and a triple) that accounted for nine strokes over par; he did have five birdies and 20 pars.

“Andrew had a really good round this morning, and Jeremy's effort in the afternoon was phenomenal,” Edwards said of the best scores posted by his players on Monday.

Pacific's Byron Meth rode a tie for the low first round score, a 3-under 69, to the individual lead, as he scored par in the second round for a 3-under 141 total, good for a one shot lead over Minnesota's Jose Mendez.

The average score in each round was three-and-a-half strokes over par, or 75.5; of the 176 combined rounds Monday, there were just 13 under par (three in the 60s) and another 13 scored at even.

The third and final round is set for Tuesday with a 9:30 a.m. (MDT) shotgun start, with CU to be paired with Nevada, Boise State and Idaho on holes 5 through 8. While the weather was near perfect Monday with temperatures warming into the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies, Tuesday's forecast called for it to be 20 degrees cooler with a 50 percent chance of rain.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T3.	Jeremy Paul	76-67—143
T48.	Philip Juel-Berg	73-78—151
T48.	Andrew Bonner	70-81—151
T59.	David Oraee	75-78—153
T65.	Yannik Paul	77-78—155

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

1.	Byron Meth, Pacific	69-72—141
2.	Jose Mendez, Minnesota	69-73—142
T3.	Jeremy Paul, Colorado	76-67—143
T3.	Sulman Raza, Oregon	70-73—143
5.	Alex Franklin, Oregon State	72-72—144

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	Oregon State	292-290—582
2.	Oregon	292-292—584
3.	Loyola-Marymount	292-293—585
4.	Minnesota	294-294—588
5.	Nevada	295-295—590
6.	Boise State	295-299—594
7.	COLORADO	294-301—595
7.	Idaho	295-300—595
9.	Utah	295-301—596
10.	Air Force	295-303—598
11.	St. Mary's	298-301—599
12.	Wyoming	304-296—600
13.	Santa Clara	301-300—601
13.	Pacific	306-295—601
15.	Gonzaga	302-301—603
16.	San Jose State	306-301—607