Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Round Two
Golfers Zoom Into 12th At Amer Ari Invitational
February 05, 2016 | Men's Golf
WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i — The University of Colorado men's golf team rallied from a poor opening day and turned in a solid second round score here Friday to jump into a 12th-place tie as the 25th annual Amer Ari Invitational heads into its final round of play.
The Pac-12 Conference continued to dominate the leaderboard, as the top six teams all hail from the league. No. 23 UCLA turned in the best single round of the tournament, a 16-under par 272, to take over the lead with a 551 team score (25-under par). No. 7 Southern California is just two back at 553, with No. 82 Oregon State a surprising third at this point, matching UCLA's effort Friday to end the day with a 558 score.
No. 30 Oregon and No. 10 Arizona State are tied for fourth (561) and No. 5 Stanford holds sixth (562). Colorado, ranked No. 68, tied for the eighth-best score for the second round, a 4-under 284, which enabled the Buffaloes to jump from 17th into 12th with a 4-over 580 total.
All the Pac-12 schools are ahead of top ranked Auburn, which could only move from 15th into 14th as the Buffaloes bypassed the Tigers early in the second round.
Freshman Wilson Belk carded a 5-under par 67, his best round as a collegian, as he closed his round with four birdies in his last five holes. In at 2-under 142 on the 7,074-yard, par 72 Waikoloa King's Course, he's tied for 27th individually, jumping up some 72 spots in the standings. He had a team-high six birdies overall, with 11 pars and just a single bogey.
Juniors Ethan Freeman turned in a 1-under 71 to get back to even par (144) for the tournament and is tied for 39th. He has been fairly consistent here, with three birdies, 13 pars and two bogeys Friday after three, 11 and four, respectively, in the first round. He never strayed more than a stroke from par all through his second 18.
Junior Jeremy Paul recorded a second straight 1-over 73 for a 146 total, tying him for 61st. He recorded his team-best third eagle of the season, driving to within 20-feet of the 327-yard, par-4 fifth hole and then nailed the putt. Otherwise he scored a birdie, 12 pars and four bogeys. He uncharacteristically has just three birdies in 36 holes here as he came in with a team-best 72 in 17 rounds.
Senior Philip Juel-Berg shot a 1-over 73 in round two for a 4-over 148 total, which has him tied for 81st. He had an up and down round, scoring five birdies but saw those negated by four bogeys and a double; he scored pars on his other eight holes. He was 2-under through eight but a back-to-back double and a bogey on Nos. 16 and 17 threw his round into the black.
Sophomore John Souza started off well for the second straight day, as he was even par through 11 holes before a run of four bogeys and a double over his next six holes. He finished up with a 77 for an 11-over 155 to stand tied for 106th. He was 1-under through 11 in his first round, meaning he's 1-under for his first 22 holes each day combined and 12-over for the last 14.
Freshman Pierce Aichinger is competing as an individual, and has had some struggles getting to a good rhythm here. His scores Friday ranged from an eagle on the short par-4 No. 5 (he, like Paul, drove the green) to a pair of double bogeys, with a birdie, seven pars and seven bogeys in-between; he wrapped the day with an 8-over 80 for a 36 holes total of 14-over 158, placing him 110th.
“It was a much better day overall today,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “Wilson had a fabulous round with a great finish. Ethan did a really nice job hanging in there to shoot 71 and help us a bunch. Philip and Jeremy have been off their games but they are not far away from playing some good golf. I expect them to come out competing hard tomorrow to move both themselves and the team up the leaderboard.”
Colorado's five designated scorers scored two eagles, nearly doubled their birdie count from the first round (17 from 9) and cut double bogeys down to two (from five). The Buffs are tied for third in total pars (117) and are fourth in par-3 scoring.
The Pac-12 continued to dominate the individual standings, with a pair of UCLA Bruins, Jonathan Garrick and Cole Madey, atop the leaderboard with 9-under 135 totals. Pac-12 golfers occupy the top four spots and 12 of the top 14.
The final round is set for Saturday morning with a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. mountain time. Colorado will be paired with Texas Tech, San Jose State and Georgia Tech and will start on holes 7 through 9.
|
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
|
T27. |
75-67—142 |
|
|
T39. |
73-71—144 |
|
|
T61. |
73-73—146 |
|
|
T81. |
75-73—148 |
|
|
T106. |
78-77—155 |
|
|
110. |
78-80—158 |
|
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
|
1. |
Jonathan Garrick, UCLA |
69-66—135 |
|
1. |
Cole Madey, UCLA |
70-65—135 |
|
3. |
Maverick McNealy, Stanford |
68-68—136 |
|
3. |
Aaron Wise, Oregon |
69-67—136 |
|
3. |
Rico Hoey, USC |
68-68—136 |
|
3. |
Zachary Olsen, Oklahoma State |
69-67—136 |
|
TEAM STANDINGS |
|
1. |
UCLA |
279-272—551 |
|
2. |
Southern California |
278-275—553 |
|
3. |
Oregon State |
286-272—558 |
|
4. |
Arizona State |
290-271—561 |
|
4. |
Oregon |
282-279—561 |
|
6. |
Stanford |
278-284—562 |
|
7. |
Oklahoma State |
282-283—565 |
|
8. |
TCU |
286-283—589 |
|
9. |
Texas Tech |
284-286—570 |
|
10. |
San Jose State |
285-291—576 |
|
11. |
Georgia Tech |
290-289—579 |
|
12. |
COLORADO |
296-284—580 |
|
12. |
Hawai'i |
289-291—580 |
|
14. |
Auburn |
293-290—583 |
|
15. |
Osaka Gakuin |
288-296—584 |
|
15. |
Pacific |
294-290—584 |
|
17. |
Hawai'i-Hilo |
290-299—589 |
|
18. |
UC Davis |
296-299—595 |
|
19. |
CSU-Monterey Bay |
297-305—602 |
