Colorado University Athletics
Golfers Slip Into Eighth At Pac-12 Championships
April 30, 2016 | Men's Golf
The men's golf team slipped two spots into eighth place Saturday after three rounds of the 57th Annual Pac-12 Conference Championships.
SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Colorado men's golf team struggled right off the bat here Saturday with seven of its first 12 collective holes over par as the Buffaloes slipped two spots into eighth place after three rounds of the 57th Annual Pac-12 Conference Championships.
No. 4 and two-time defending champion Stanford extended its lead, as the Cardinal turned in the only under par team score of the day in standing at 29-under par with a 1,034 overall score through 54 holes. No. 13 California is the only school within striking distance of the Cardinal, 12 strokes off the pace at 1,048.
Second-ranked Southern California is third (1,067), followed by No. 10 Arizona State and No. 24 Washington, both tied for fourth with 1,075 scores. Colorado fell from sixth to eighth in ending the day with a 1,094 total.
The third round is often referred to as "moving day" in golf tournaments, and in the past two Pac-12 Championships, the Buffaloes scored one of the better team scores in the field. However, that wasn't the case this year, as CU posted the third worst score of the day (16-over 371). The six Buffs competing here scored five bogeys and two doubles with four pars and a bogey on the first two holes, sending the Buffs to 5-over on the day when eliminating the highest score in the 6-for-5 scoring format. That put the Buffs behind the 8-ball from the get-go.
Gusting winds up to 20 miles per hour didn't help, though CU usually handles that well. But combined with tough pin placements, the Buffs could never get fully untracked, though did manage their games to the point where the team only had five holes worse than bogey (two doubles and three triples).
Junior Jeremy Paul entered the day in the hunt for medalist honors, but those likely have been sidetracked after he turned in a 3-over 74 which left him at 4-under 209 which has him tied for eighth. Three shots back at the start, he uncharacteristically opened with back-to-back bogeys on the 7,209-yard, par-71 Salt Lake Country Club Course layout and ended the round 11 out of the lead. He still very much has a chance to post the best individual finish by a Buff in the five years CU has been a member of the Pac-12.
Paul saw a couple if impressive streaks come to an end with the 74, including the school record for the most consecutive rounds in the 60s (seven), as well as the most in a row under par (also seven; he tied that one which he set himself as a sophomore). He also scored a double bogey on No. 16 – ending an incredible run of 202 holes without one, and still has only two holes worse than bogey in 17 rounds this spring.
Senior Philip Juel-Berg recorded CU's best score in the third round, a 1-under 70 that gave him a 219 total that has him tied for 34th. He was within a stroke of even par throughout his entire round, scoring three birdies and 13 pars against two bogeys, with his last birdie coming on No. 18 to get into red numbers for the day.
Sophomore John Souza turned in a 74 for a 220 total, which has him tied for 37th. He doubled bogeyed No. 2 and eventually turned at 3-over, and was 4-over after a bogey on No. 11. He then scored six straight pars and closed with a birdie, one of two he had on the day with 12 pars overall.
Junior Ethan Freeman is tied for 45th after posting a 5-over 76, which has him at 11-over 224 heading into the final round. He matched Juel-Berg with a team-best 13 pars Saturday, as was basically thwarted by a triple on No. 9, though he bounced right back with a birdie on No. 10.
CU's two freshmen competing here, Wilson Belk and Ross Macdonald, both were 8-over through 36 holes but struggled to high scores again.
Macdonald fired a 6-over 77 for a 226 score (13-over) that has him tied for 52nd; he had two birdies, nine pars, six bogeys and a double. His scorecard was a bit unusual, as he had just one par on his first 10 holes, but finished his round with eight in a row.
Belk only had three pars in his first 12 holes on his way to a 7-over 78, as he's in at 229, tied in 57th place. After scoring seven bogeys and a triple with a birdie, he played his last six at 2-under, birdying his last two holes.
"A really solid round by Philip," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "It was a tough day, especially the first 12 to 14 holes with some strong winds and tough hole locations. Everyone did a good job competing on a day that we just didn't seem to have our best stuff across the board.
"We are still in a good place, and with some good play tomorrow, we can have an important finish," he added. "We have to continue to be very disciplined in our decision making, especially when we make mistakes. If we do that then we will close out tomorrow on a positive note."
Edwards' assertion about the wind was backed up by the numbers. Colorado's sextet of players were 25-over par on the first 12 holes when the winds were at their worst, and collectively played the last six holes at 2-under.
Cal's K.K. Limbhasut maintained his lead for the third straight round with a third consecutive 66; his 198 total in 15-under par and good for a six-stroke lead over a trio of players all tied at 9-under 204.
The fourth and final round is set for an 8 a.m. MDT start on Sunday. Colorado will be paired with Oregon and Washington State and will tee off on No. 10 between 8 and 8:55.
|
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
|
T8. |
67-68-74—209 |
|
|
T34. |
72-77-70—219 |
|
|
T37. |
76-70-74—220 |
|
|
T45. |
75-73-76—224 |
|
|
T52. |
72-77-77—226 |
|
|
T57. |
74-75-78—227 |
|
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
|
1. |
K.K. Limbhasut, California |
66-66-66—198 |
|
T2. |
Jon Rahm, Arizona State |
70-66-68—204 |
|
T2. |
Jonathan Garrick, UCLA |
67-68-69—204 |
|
T2. |
David Boote, Stanford |
68-66-70—204 |
|
5. |
Franklin Huang, Stanford |
66-72-68—206 |
|
T6. |
Jordan Gumberg, Arizona |
68-71-69—208 |
|
T6. |
Sebastian Crampton, California |
67-71-70—208 |
|
T8. |
Jeremy Paul, Colorado |
67-68-74—209 |
|
T8. |
Maverick McNealy, Stanford |
69-71-69—209 |
|
T10. |
Justin Suh, USC |
70-69-71—210 |
|
T10. |
Corey Pereira, Washington |
72-69-69—210 |
|
TEAM STANDINGS |
|
1. |
Stanford |
352-336-348—1036 |
|
2. |
California |
350-343-355—1048 |
|
3. |
Southern California |
356-348-363—1067 |
|
4. |
Arizona State |
359-352-364—1075 |
|
5. |
Washington |
360-355-360—1075 |
|
6. |
UCLA |
358-365-360—1083 |
|
7. |
Oregon |
370-356-366—1092 |
|
8. |
COLORADO |
360-363-371—1094 |
|
9. |
Washington State |
380-365-357—1102 |
|
9. |
Arizona |
361-367-374—1102 |
|
11. |
Utah |
378-363-364—1105 |
|
12. |
Oregon State |
371-365-372—1108 |
