Colorado University Athletics
Men's Golf 2017 In Review
December 28, 2017 | Men's Golf
The Buffs also earned an NCAA Tournament invitation for the fifth straight season, traveling to the Central/Purdue Regional, where they finished 12th.
There were a number of other individual and team moments that deserved a share of the spotlight.
- In February, the Buffs shot a 22-under par 266 in the second round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, the lowest single round in relation to par in the NCAA for the entire season. Senior Jeremy Paul fired a 64 and senior Ethan Freeman a 66 to lead the way.
- Three Buffs — Jeremy Paul, Ethan Freeman and Yannik Paul — all finished the regular season with stroke averages under 73, with Freeman becoming the 24th player in CU history to play in four conference tournament championships. Late in the season, Jeremy Paul announced that he would turn pro immediately, finishing his CU career with 24 school records.
- Freshman Victor Bjorlow became the third Buff to win a tournament as a freshman when he won the Colorado Mines-Bob Writz Invitational in March; he joined Tobias Forsgren (1999) and Jeremy Paul (2014) in doing so.
- Spencer Painton and John Souza both earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention honors.
- Colorado opened the season ranked in the mid-40s but quickly moved into the top 25; the Buffaloes' peak ranking came in early March at No. 18 – the second highest known rank in program history (the 1981 team was No. 14 in the coaches' poll late in the season). CU was No. 25 prior to hosting the Pac-12 Championships and finished No. 38.
- The Buffaloes had the low single round in the nation in relation to par for the 2016-17 season in the NCAA, a school record 22-under 266 in the second round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in February.
- Three Buffs (Jeremy Paul, Ethan Freeman and Yannik Paul) all had stroke averages under 73; it marked the third straight season that Colorado had a trio of scorers accomplish that feat (the only three times in school history), and if all finish under 72, that would be a school first.
- Ethan Freeman became the 24th player in school history to play in four conference championship tournaments.
- Those same three players spent most of the year ranked in the top 150 in all of college golf (out over 2,700 golfers).
- Under Coach Roy Edwards, the Buffs qualified for the NCAA regionals a fifth straight season, and for the eighth time in his 11 years as head coach
- Senior Jeremy Paul announced that he was turning professional on April 17; he finished his CU career with at least 24 records and could join Steve Jones and Knut Ekjord as the only players to lead the team in scoring for four seasons.
- Freshman Victor Bjorlow became the third Buffalo to win a tournament as a freshman when he won the Colorado Mines-Bob Writz Invitational in March; he joined Tobias Forsgren (1999) and Jeremy Paul (2014) in doing so.
- In September, the Buffs won their own Mark Simpson CU Invitational for the sixth time in the eight years it has been held.
- Sophomore transfer Daniel O'Loughlin led the team in the fall with a 71.00 stroke average.
Sport Supervisor JT Galloway On Men's Golf:
"It was an interesting year for the men's golf program. The spring saw the men climb to their second highest ranking in school history when they reached #18 in March. April saw us host the Pac-12 championships out at Boulder Country Club and our conference visitors experienced some wild weather swings. The entire CU and Boulder community pitched in on the last day to make sure the golfers were able to get out and finish the third and final round. It was an amazing effort by everyone involved. With their participation in the NCAA regionals for the fifth straight season, they kept the second longest streak of postseason play alive in program history."
"This fall we really saw flashes of how talented this team is. Coach Edwards has done a great job of bringing in players who are contributing immediately and have made the overall team much better. I think everyone is excited to get back to work after the break and make the push for a conference and national championship!"
