Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Round One
Golfers In Eighth at UCLA's Gifford Collegiate
November 02, 2015 | Men's Golf
CARLSBAD, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team is tied for eighth but is very much in the hunt after the completion of the first round here Monday in UCLA's 11th Annual Gifford Collegiate.
Just nine strokes separate the top 10 teams, with No. 5 Stanford and Washington tied for the lead with 1-over par 285 team scores. No. 28 and host UCLA and No. 29 Oregon are tied for third, two back at 287; the Bruins are attempting to defend their title in their own meet. Three schools are tied for fifth at 290.
The Buffaloes are tied with No. 25 Texas A&M at 8-over 292 in the 15-team field which, all told, features nine teams in the nation's top 50. A good showing here in the final tournament of the fall season could propel the Buffaloes upward from their current No. 83 ranking.
Senior Philip Juel-Berg paced the Buffalo effort Monday with a 2-under par 69 on the 6,996-yard, par-71 La Costa Legends Course layout, as he had a team- and tournament-best six birdies along with eight pars. His 34th career subpar round moved him into third place all-time at Colorado, trailing only Kane Webber (35; 2000-04) and teammate Jeremy Paul (41). Juel-Berg also added to his school record for par-or-better rounds with his 56th as he is tied for fourth after 18 holes.
Paul, a junior, is tied for 10th as he carded an even-par 71; he was 3-under par through 10 holes but came back down to even with three bogeys over his next eight. He's chasing Juel-Berg and Webber (52) in recording his 46th collegiate effort of par or better. He played the 10 par-4 holes better than anyone else in the field Monday, doing so at 2-under (Juel-Berg tied for fifth in the same category).
Junior Ethan Freeman turned in a 4-over 75, scoring two birdies with 10 pars to end the day tied for 45th. He birdied two of his first seven holes but that would be it for red numbers on his day, scoring six bogeys in his last 11 holes. Freeman has played his best this fall from the second round on, as he owns a middle round average of 72.3 and a final round norm of 70.0.
Two true freshmen round of the CU contingent, with Ross Macdonald turning in a 77 and Wilson Belk firing a 78. Macdonald tied for the tournament lead in par-5 scoring (3-under) in posting three birdies and enters Tuesday tied for 65th, while Belk is in a tie for 69th; both had to endure to a pair of double bogey but otherwise played right around par.
"It was a solid day overall,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “We had a really good round from Phil, and Jeremy was pretty good; he did have it going but had to fight through the back half of his round. Overall, we were fairly consistent and across the board we avoided big numbers. The guys were smart and did a really good job of being patient. That's what we were focused on today, and they met the challenge.
Colorado was second to UCLA with the most birdies (16) and tied for third in playing the par-5 holes at 6-under.
“The course is not easy by any means, the hole locations are tough, where if you miss, you better hit it in the right location, and the greens are small,” he added. “You just have to stay patient and not let a bogey or two bother you. Things can get away from pretty quick if you're not patient.”
UCLA's Cole Madey is in sole possession of the lead after firing a 4-under par 67; that's good for a one-stroke lead over two others for a day that saw just six players shoot in the 60s and nine break par in an 81-man field.
The second round is set for Tuesday and the third and final round Wednesday. The Buffaloes will tee off beginning at 9 a.m. MST Tuesday and will be paired with Texas A&M and San Diego State.
|
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
|
T4. |
32-37—69 |
|
|
T10. |
33-38—71 |
|
|
T45. |
35-40—75 |
|
|
T65. |
38-39—77 |
|
|
T69. |
37-41—78 |
|
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
|
1. |
Cole Madey, UCLA |
32-35—67 |
|
2. |
Alvaro Ortiz, Arkansas |
33-35—68 |
|
2. |
Thomas Lim, Oregon |
33-35—68 |
|
4. |
Philip Juel-Berg, Colorado |
32-37—69 |
|
4. |
Richard Michelini, S.D. State |
33-36—69 |
|
4. |
Corey Pereira, Washington |
33-36—69 |
|
TEAM STANDINGS |
|
1. |
Stanford |
285 |
|
1. |
Washington |
285 |
|
3. |
Oregon |
287 |
|
3. |
UCLA |
287 |
|
5. |
South Florida |
290 |
|
5. |
Arkansas |
290 |
|
5. |
San Diego State |
290 |
|
8. |
COLORADO |
292 |
|
8. |
Texas A & M |
292 |
|
10. |
Wisconsin |
294 |
|
11. |
Tennessee |
296 |
|
12. |
Northwestern |
298 |
|
12. |
Harvard |
298 |
|
14. |
Marquette |
299 |
|
15. |
San Jose State |
306 |
