Golfers Tied For Second At Wyoming Cowboy Classic

Monday, April 6

Talking Stick North Golf Club: Scottsdale, Ariz.

All Day

Colorado

Wyoming Cowboy Classic

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

April 06, 2015 | Men's Golf

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

CHANDLER, Ariz. — The University of Colorado men's golf team is in position for its second win of the season, as the Buffaloes are tied for second and just two shots out of the lead through two rounds of the 13th annual Wyoming Cowboy Classic.

UC Davis turned in a pair of 10-under rounds for a team score of 556, or 20-under par, to hold a two stroke lead over the Buffaloes and McNeese State, both in at 18-under 558. Gonzaga is lurking three strokes back at 559 to hold fourth, with Idaho rounding out the top five at 562. Twelve teams are under par overall, six within eight shots of the top.

Colorado, ranked No. 47, is the only team competing here in the top 50. CU was in second after the morning round with an 8-under 280 score, trailing UC Davis by two shots, as the Aggies, the second highest-ranked school in the field at No. 57, had a 10-under 278. The Buffaloes collectively had 21 birdies and an eagle to open the tournament, and came back with 23 birdies in the second round (44 overall, 37 by the designated scorers, whose 120 pars led the 18-team field through two rounds).

It's been a very competitive tournament so far – at one point near the middle of the second round, there was a four-way tie for the team lead at 13-under, and then with about six holes left, three remain tied with two others two back.

Senior David Oraee is tied for the individual lead through 36 holes, as he carded a pair of 4-under par 68s for an 8-under 136 on the 7,334-yard, par-72 Whirlwind Golf Club course layout. He had an eagle, four birdies and 11 pars against two bogeys in his morning round, and in the afternoon, he scored his team-best fourth bogey free round of the season, scoring four birdies and 14 pars. He's played the par-3s the best in the 100-man field (2-under), and he's tied for fourth in par-5 scoring (4-under).

Sophomore Yannik Paul had steady day, using a team-high 26 pars for a 3-under 141 total, which has him tied for 16th. He had five birdies on the red side, against four bogeys and a double, the latter his only non-par in his second round. He's tied for the third best performance on the par-4s here, playing them collectively at 4-under, with his 26 pars the seventh most overall.

Sophomore Ethan Freeman is in at 2-under 142, tying him for 32nd, including a 3-under 69 in his second round, his first round in the 60s this season. A double bogey in the first round kept him from scoring back-to-back subpar rounds, as he otherwise had seven birdies, 25 pars and three bogeys.

Sophomore Jeremy Paul, CU's stroke average leader (71.8) is still just a tad off his game, but has managed things well enough to still come in at 1-under par (143) through 36 holes. He had six birdies, 25 pars and five bogeys Monday in ending the day tied for 40th.

Junior Philip Juel-Berg is in at an even-par 144, tying him for 46th; he opened with stellar round of 69, which featured six birdies, the second most in the field in the morning, but came back with a 75 the second time around the Whirlwind track. He scored one of just three double bogeys by the Buffs on the 599-yard, par-5 No. 7 hole that threw him off a bit early in his second round and was never able to fight back to get it down to par.

Junior Drew Trujillo is playing as an individual (his score does not count toward the CU team total), is also tied for 46th after rounds of 73-71 for his even par score. He had seven birdies, 22 pars and seven bogeys in his first tournament action this spring.

“It was tight all day. We didn't get off to the greatest starts in each round, they were kind of similar, but then we got things going,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “Dave obviously played the best, he was really consistent and played solid all around, but we didn't have a lot of big numbers. The other guys did a good job of hanging in there all day, especially Ethan who had a good finish in the afternoon.

“I'm really happy with Drew's effort today, he's really been battling though some struggles with his game and he's worked extremely hard to improve. He had a solid all-around day.”

CU's 18-under par day helped erase some of the bad taste gnawing at the team after last week's dismal 21st place finish in Stanford's meet.

“We've been working really hard on having a smile on our face, even when things haven't gone our way,” he said. “We all expect things to be very good tomorrow.”

UC Davis' Mike Brockington is tied with Oraee for the lead, with two others just one shot back.

Edwards knows this is a good final round test for the Pac-12 Championships, which are three weeks from now in Pullman, Wash. In team golf, with six teams within eight shots of the lead heading into the last 18 holes, every shot counts.

“This is a good reminder for the guys,” he said. “I told the team that you never know which shot you might save that could win the tournament. You challenge them to make good decisions, and staying positive will be crucial.”

The final round is set for an 8:30 a.m. shotgun Tuesday, and Colorado will paired with the other three leaders, UC Davis, McNeese State and Gonzaga, off the No. 1 through 4 tees.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T1.	David Oraee	68-68—136
T16.	Yannik Paul	70-71—141
T32.	Ethan Freeman	73-69—142
T40.	Jeremy Paul	73-70—143
T46.	Philip Juel-Berg	69-75—144
T46.	*Drew Trujillo	73-71—144
*—playing as an individual.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

T1.	David Oraee, Colorado	68-68—136
T1.	Mike Brockington, UC Davis	65-71—136
T3.	J.J. Holen, Long Beach St.	66-71—137
T3.	Robert MacIntyre, McNeese St.	70-67—137
T5.	James Fahy, Gonzaga	69-70—139
T5.	Luke Vivolo, UC Davis	68-71—139
T5.	Devon Purser, Weber State	70-69—139
T5.	David Kim, UC Irvine	71-68—139
T5.	Ragnar Gardarsson, McNeese	71-68—139

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	UC Davis	278-278—556
2.	COLORADO	280-278—558
2.	McNeese State	283-275—558
4.	Gonzaga	282-277—559
5.	Idaho	281-281—562
6.	San Francisco	282-282—564
7.	UC Irvine	284-284—568
8.	Weber State	282-287—569
9.	James Madison	283-288—571
10.	Long Beach State	283-291—574
10.	Southern Utah	289-285—574
12.	Santa Clara	291-284—575
13.	CSU-Northridge	294-285—579
13.	Utah State	293-286—579
15.	Wyoming	291-291—582
16.	UC Santa Barbara	287-296—583
17.	Air Force	295-293—588
18.	Western Kentucky	299-294—593