Men's Golfers Tied For Second In Wyoming Cowboy Classic

CHANDLER, Ariz. — The University of Colorado men's golf team, after a pedestrian morning round on Monday, answered with the school's third best single round score in the afternoon to stand in a second place tie through two rounds of the Wyoming Cowboy Classic.

The Buffaloes, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 61, own a team score of 14-under par 562, tied with host and No. 90 Wyoming and trailing Sam Houston State by four shots. Western Kentucky (571) and William & Mary (575) round out the top five.

Colorado was in eighth place after Monday's first round with a 4-over 290 score, but came out on fire in the second round, making the turn at 11-under par and finishing with a 16-under 272. That was CU's second best single round score this season, behind a 271 at Air Force last September, and tying the school's third best score ever for 18 holes.

Junior Jeremy Paul is tied for second after carding a 7-under-par 69-68—137 effort on the 7,334-yard, par-72 Cattail Courte at Whirlwind Golf Club configuration. He had a team-high 11 birdies, which were also the third-most in the 109-man field, and 21 pars as he had just four bogeys for the entire day. He actually started his day with a bogey on No. 1, but came back with four straight birdies and spent the rest of the day in red numbers.

Sophomore John Souza, playing in his native Phoenix area, opened with a 75, a round that featured an eagle but no birdies. He came back with eight birds in the second round, tying for the most by a Buff in a single round this season, en route to his collegiate best 6-under 66. It all added up to a 3-under 141, which has him tied for 12th. The 66 matched CU's best single round in relation to par this season and tied the second lowest gross score.

Freshman Ross Macdonald had a solid 72-69—141 performance, also tying him for 12th. He had eight birdies and 24 pars, with just three bogeys and a double, the latter two-thirds of the way through his second round; he managed one more birdie after that to stem the damage. The 3-under 141 is his best 36-hole score as a collegian, topping his old best by a shot.

Junior Ethan Freeman posted a 74-69—143 score, or 1-under par, as he is tied for 20th. He had eight birdies and 22 pars against five bogeys and a double for his day, as he started each round with a birdie on the par-4 No. 2 hole. And according to his season form, he shot a lower score in the second round than the first for the seventh time in 10 events, with his 71.33 middle round average tied for the best on the team.

Senior Philip Juel-Berg was a bit off his game, uncharacteristic for him this season; he shot a 76-75—151 (7-over) score that has him tied for 83rd. He avoided big numbers for the most part, but had five birdies and 21 pars against nine bogeys and a double in shooting over par two straight rounds in 10 tournaments.

"It was a tale of two rounds," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We got off to a pretty good start this morning, things were going really well, but we just didn't finish it out. I'm really proud of how we came back in the afternoon. John and Ross really responded, especially with Philip having an off day."

Colorado was 6-under par at one point in the first round, but eventually came back to even, losing five strokes over the last four holes to drop into eighth place. The hot start zoomed CU back up the leaderboard in a hurry."

The remaining three Buffaloes on the roster are all competing here as individuals, sophomore Kade Crossland and freshmen Pierce Aichinger and Wilson Belk. Aichinger turned in a 76-74—150 effort, the most consistent of the trio, as he is tied for 77th after scoring five birdies and 22 pars; a triple bogey helped inflate his morning score otherwise he had just five bogeys.

Belk was the story of the individuals: after opening with a 13-over 85, largely due to two double bogeys, a triple and a quadruple, he rallied with a 3-under 69, with five birdies and 11 pars. He finished up with a birdie on the par-3 16th to give him a 154 score, tied for 97th, but which meant a 16-stroke improvement from one round to the next, tied for the fourth-best in school history. The CU record is 18 (John Nyuli in 1990), with two others improving 17 shots; he is just the fourth player to accomplish the massive improvement with a score in the 60s after shooting in the 80s.

Crossland also improved nine shots in the afternoon, with his 84-75—159 scorecard having him tied for 106th. After opening 7-over through six holes and closing with a late quadruple bogey in his morning lap, he came back with four birdies and nine pars the second time around the Cattail track.

Sam Houston State's Jake McCrory owns the individual lead with a 66-68—134 score; that 10-under par effort is good for a three-stroke lead over a two others, one of whom is CU's Paul.

Colorado has been in this position a few times this season, that being in contention to win a tournament heading into the final round. Four times, to be exact, with the Buffs owning a shared title, two seconds and a fourth in those meets. Edwards said his teams knows what do, it just comes down to doing it.

"I think it comes down to a great mindset," he said. "You have to have a good plan and execute it. You have to compete all day long because you never know when a shot here or there might make the difference in the tournament. We have a bunch of competitive guys who will grind it out until the end, which is a strength of ours."

The final round is set for Tuesday, as the Buffs will tee off on No. 1 at 7:30 a.m., and will be paired with Sam Houston State, Wyoming and Western Kentucky. CU will then return to action two weeks later in The Maxwell in Ardmore, Okla., on April 16-17, the last tournament ahead of the Pac-12 Championships.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T2.	Jeremy Paul	69-68—137
T12.	John Souza	75-66—141
T12.	Ross Macdonald	72-69—141
T20.	Ethan Freeman	74-69—143
T77.	*Pierce Aichinger	76-74—150
T83.	Philip Juel-Berg	76-75—151
T97.	*Wilson Belk	85-69—154
T106.	*Kade Crossland	84-75—159
*--playing as an individual

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

1.	Jake McCrory, SHS	66-68—134
T2.	Jeremy Paul, Colorado	69-68—137
T2.	Brandon Dauman, UCSB	67-70—137
T4.	Jordan Gumberg, Arizona	68-70—138
T4.	Kamrin Allen, Wyoming	67-71—138

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	Sam Houston State	280-278—558
2.	COLORADO	290-272—562
2.	Wyoming	276-286—562
4.	Western Kentucky	286-285—571
5.	William & Mary	287-288—575
6.	UC Santa Barbara	287-289—576
7.	Arizona	291-286—577
7.	Utah	286-291—577
9.	Wichita State	291-289—580
9.	Utah State	296-284—580
11.	Gonzaga	286-295—581
11.	Grand Canyon	291-290—581
11.	Weber State	295-286—581
14.	Idaho	298-285—583
15.	San Francisco	296-294—590
16.	Southern Utah	298-293—591
17.	CSU-Northridge	301-291—592
18.	Air Force	299-294—593
18.	Houston Baptist	293-300—593