Golfers Enjoy Solid Day, Finish 10th At Alister Mackenzie

Tuesday, October 13

Fairfax, Calif.

All Day

Colorado

Round Three

Golfers Enjoy Solid Day, Finish 10th At Alister Mackenzie

October 13, 2015 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

FAIRFAX, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team rallied from shooting the worst score in the second round to the second-best in the final one, and in the process the Buffaloes jumped four positions and finished 10th in Cal's 13th Annual Alister Mackenzie Invitational.

Host California won its own meet for the seventh straight year, turning in three of the five lowest single rounds here for what would add to a 42-under par score of 810. Arizona State and Pepperdine tied for second with 819 totals (33-under par), with San Diego State (821) and Michigan (824) rounding out the top five.

The Buffaloes entered the final round languishing in 14th place, but turned in an 11-under par 273 for the final 18 holes, which tied for the second-best final round score and the 10th overall. Colorado closed with a 7-under 845 score, it lowest gross score of the fall.

Juniors Ethan Freeman and Jeremy Paul once again paved the way for the Buffaloes, each carding a 4-under 67 to both finish at 4-under 209 for 54 holes on the 6,734-yard, par-71 Meadow Club course design. In tying for 26th, both did it with identical scorecards: eight birdies and six pars against four bogeys. Paul recorded the fifth-most birdies in the meet (16), while Freeman tied for the ninth-most (15). Freeman played the par-4s at 5-under and Paul the par-5s at 7-under – both eighth-best in the 80-man field.

Paul set a school record Tuesday as his 67 was his 41st subpar round of his career (out of 86); that broke a tie with David Oraee, who completed his Buff tenure with 40 last May. Paul's subpar round percentage of 47.7 is easily 10 points better than any other previous golfer in CU annals. He has 45 par- or better rounds, seven shy of Kane Webber's record of 52 he set from 2000-04.

Senior Philip Juel-Berg wrapped up his effort with a 3-under 68, giving him 1-over 214 for a 44th-place tie. He had four birdies and 13 pars in his final round and had the fewest holes by any Buff here – 7 – over par. His 37 pars over both days tied for the ninth-most overall.

Freshman Wilson Belk turned in an even-par 71 Tuesday to finish at 3-over 216, tying him for 55th. He opened up with a double-bogey on No. 10 but settled down right away, scoring four birdies and 11 pars over his next 17 holes. He also had CU's lone eagle in the tournament.

Completing the CU contingent here was freshman Ross Macdonald, who bounced back with a 1-over 72 after a 78 in the second round (after opening with a 68); he was 5-over for 54 holes (218), tying for 61st overall. He had CU's third-most birdies (nine), including three Tuesday with 12 pars.

"We are very proud of the guys,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “Today was a very important round and the guys responded very well. To move on after yesterday afternoon and shoot the second lowest final round score shows the quality character of our team. As we evolve and grow we will need to get more consistent but the low rounds are there and the consistency will come."

All five Buffaloes moved up in the standings the final day (a combined 57 positions), as collectively the quintet recorded 27 birdies, more than any other team on Tuesday.

San Jose State's Cody Blick led from start-to-finish in closing with a 67 for a 17-under 196 score, good for a one-stroke win over others; five players broke 200 in the tournament.

The Buffaloes have one more tournament remaining in their fall season, perennially one of the nation's toughest annually: UCLA's Gifford Intercollegiate, set for Nov. 2-4 in San Martin, Calif.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T26.	Jeremy Paul	68-74-67—209
T26.	Ethan Freeman	71-71-67—209
T44.	Philip Juel-Berg	71-70-68—214
T55.	Wilson Belk	70-75-71—216
T61.	Ross Macdonald	68-78-72—218

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

1.	Cody Blick, San Jose State	64-65-67—196
2.	Jon Rahm, Arizona State	68-63-66—197
2.	Frederick Wedel, Pepperdine	64-67-66—197
4.	Kyle Mueller, Michigan	69-64-65—198
5.	Ryann Ree, San Diego State	66-65-68—199

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	California	268-270-272—810
2.	Pepperdine	267-278-274—819
2.	Arizona State	277-269-273—819
4.	San Diego State	277-270-274—821
5.	Michigan	272-277-275—824
6.	San Jose State	272-272-281—825
7.	Fresno State	274-279-282—835
8.	San Francisco	273-276-288—837
9.	Minnesota	277-277-290—844
10.	COLORADO	277-295-273—845
11.	Brigham Young	290-278-279—847
12.	Nevada	276-282-290—848
13.	Oregon State	274-283-292—849
14.	UC Davis	280-288-287—855
15.	San Diego	280-291-280—861
16.	Hawai'i	293-284-295—872