Colorado University Athletics
Thursday, February 2
Waikoloa, Hawaii
All Day
Colorado
vs
First Round
Ethan Freeman opened up spring play with a 4-under 68 to pace the Buffaloes.
Photo by: J and L Photo
Golfers Open Spring Season With Solid Performance
February 02, 2017 | Men's Golf
Buffs Log Second-Best Spring Opener Score Into The Books
WAIKLOA, Hawai'i — The University of Colorado men's golf team came out blazing here Thursday, as the Buffaloes posted their second-best score in their history in a spring season opening round and stand in a tie for fourth place in Hawai'i-Hilo's Amer Ari Invitational.
Colorado, ranked 24th by Golfweek and 28th by GolfStat, turned in a 7-under par 281 score, its second-best ever to open the spring season, and the best since a 9-under score in this same tournament in 2007. It was just the eighth time the Buffs scored an under par round in its first round of the spring.
No. 18 Texas Tech is the first round leader with an 18-under 270 score, with No. 7 Southern California second (274) and No. 6 Stanford third (278). CU and TCU are tied for fourth at 281, as 10 of the 21 teams in the field are under par. The Buffs bested eight other Top 50 teams Thursday, including five ranked ahead of them in what is considered annually to be one of the toughest tournaments in collegiate golf.
The Buffaloes No. 24 ranking is the highest by the school entering the spring season since the current computer rankings were introduced in the mid-90s. CU has often been ranked in the Top 50, but often has had a disappointing opening round that stalled any fall momentum. The last three years in this same event to open the spring, Colorado was a collective 14-over par in the first round but 50-under par for the second and third rounds combined.
Senior Ethan Freeman paced the Buffaloes Thursday with a 4-under par score of 68 on the 7,074-yard, par-72 Waikoloa King's Course. He had seven birdies, tie for the third-most in the field, with eight pars and three bogeys. Tied for eighth individually, he had a hot run of four birdies in a six-hole span before cooling off a bit with a bogey and two par saves on his last three holes.
Senior Jeremy Paul fired a 2-under 70 to tie for 22nd, as he had one of 13 eagles in the field, his 17th of his career but the first this season. He otherwise had four birdies, nine pars and four bogeys, unfortunately two of those coming after his eagle to close his round.
Freshman Morten Toft Hansen turned in a 1-under 71, tying him for 30th, as he was steady with two birdies, one bogey and 15 pars – the latter tied for the second-most in the field.
Junior Yannik Paul fashioned an even-par 72, also with fairly steady round that featured three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys, despite being ill the last few days and could have been a near scratch without a good recovery in the preceding 24 hours. He is tied for 43rd.
Junior John Souza rounded out CU's contingent here, recording a 1-over 73 score that has him tied for 58th. He had four birdies, 10 pars, three bogeys and a double, CU's only score worse than a bogey on the day. However, he finished up 2-under after scoring the double.
"It was a really nice start to the tournament," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "Ethan had a really good day and was in complete control of his long-game. He had two really nice saves on his last two holes (6 and 7) to cap off his round. Morten was really consistent throughout his round and he hit lots of good shots. Jeremy was kind of up and down but 70 is a nice score at Waikoloa and he is in a good position. Yannik's 72 comes after battling strep throat so he was a little rusty but his game is sharp and I'm confident he will have a good final two rounds. And John did a nice job coming back after being three-over to compete to be our final counting score.
"Overall, it was a nice start, especially after the last two years here, and we look forward to coming out tomorrow and really getting it going."
Arizona State's Jared duTout and USC's Kyle Suppa are tied for the individual lead with 8-under par 64s. Forty-two players in the 120-man field were under par for the first round, with the average score being 72.83.
The second round will again feature a 10:30 a.m. MST shotgun start; the Buffs will be paired with No. 25 Georgia Tech, No. 38 UCLA and a group of individuals playing that aren't scoring for their teams (a unique pairings format here).
Colorado, ranked 24th by Golfweek and 28th by GolfStat, turned in a 7-under par 281 score, its second-best ever to open the spring season, and the best since a 9-under score in this same tournament in 2007. It was just the eighth time the Buffs scored an under par round in its first round of the spring.
No. 18 Texas Tech is the first round leader with an 18-under 270 score, with No. 7 Southern California second (274) and No. 6 Stanford third (278). CU and TCU are tied for fourth at 281, as 10 of the 21 teams in the field are under par. The Buffs bested eight other Top 50 teams Thursday, including five ranked ahead of them in what is considered annually to be one of the toughest tournaments in collegiate golf.
The Buffaloes No. 24 ranking is the highest by the school entering the spring season since the current computer rankings were introduced in the mid-90s. CU has often been ranked in the Top 50, but often has had a disappointing opening round that stalled any fall momentum. The last three years in this same event to open the spring, Colorado was a collective 14-over par in the first round but 50-under par for the second and third rounds combined.
Senior Ethan Freeman paced the Buffaloes Thursday with a 4-under par score of 68 on the 7,074-yard, par-72 Waikoloa King's Course. He had seven birdies, tie for the third-most in the field, with eight pars and three bogeys. Tied for eighth individually, he had a hot run of four birdies in a six-hole span before cooling off a bit with a bogey and two par saves on his last three holes.
Senior Jeremy Paul fired a 2-under 70 to tie for 22nd, as he had one of 13 eagles in the field, his 17th of his career but the first this season. He otherwise had four birdies, nine pars and four bogeys, unfortunately two of those coming after his eagle to close his round.
Freshman Morten Toft Hansen turned in a 1-under 71, tying him for 30th, as he was steady with two birdies, one bogey and 15 pars – the latter tied for the second-most in the field.
Junior Yannik Paul fashioned an even-par 72, also with fairly steady round that featured three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys, despite being ill the last few days and could have been a near scratch without a good recovery in the preceding 24 hours. He is tied for 43rd.
Junior John Souza rounded out CU's contingent here, recording a 1-over 73 score that has him tied for 58th. He had four birdies, 10 pars, three bogeys and a double, CU's only score worse than a bogey on the day. However, he finished up 2-under after scoring the double.
"It was a really nice start to the tournament," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "Ethan had a really good day and was in complete control of his long-game. He had two really nice saves on his last two holes (6 and 7) to cap off his round. Morten was really consistent throughout his round and he hit lots of good shots. Jeremy was kind of up and down but 70 is a nice score at Waikoloa and he is in a good position. Yannik's 72 comes after battling strep throat so he was a little rusty but his game is sharp and I'm confident he will have a good final two rounds. And John did a nice job coming back after being three-over to compete to be our final counting score.
"Overall, it was a nice start, especially after the last two years here, and we look forward to coming out tomorrow and really getting it going."
Arizona State's Jared duTout and USC's Kyle Suppa are tied for the individual lead with 8-under par 64s. Forty-two players in the 120-man field were under par for the first round, with the average score being 72.83.
The second round will again feature a 10:30 a.m. MST shotgun start; the Buffs will be paired with No. 25 Georgia Tech, No. 38 UCLA and a group of individuals playing that aren't scoring for their teams (a unique pairings format here).
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T8. | Ethan Freeman | 32-36—68 |
| T22. | Jeremy Paul | 37-33—70 |
| T30. | Morten Toft Hansen | 35-36—71 |
| T43. | Yannik Paul | 35-37—72 |
| T58. | John Souza | 34-39—73 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Jared duToit, Arizona State | 31-33—64 |
| 2. | Kyle Suppa, USC | 33-31—64 |
| 3. | Stefano Mazzoli, TCU | 33-32—65 |
| T4. | Fredrik Nilehn, Texas Tech | 32-34—66 |
| T4. | Federico Zucchetti, Texas Tech | 34-32—66 |
| TEAM STANDINGS |
| 1. | Texas Tech | 270 |
| 2. | Southern California | 273 |
| 3. | Stanford | 278 |
| T4. | COLORADO | 281 |
| T4. | TCU | 281 |
| 6. | Texas | 284 |
| T7. | UCLA | 285 |
| T7. | Oregon | 285 |
| T9. | Arizona State | 286 |
| T9. | Oklahoma State | 286 |
| 11. | Georgia Tech | 288 |
| 12. | Auburn | 290 |
| T13. | Oregon State | 292 |
| T13. | Chico State | 292 |
| T13. | San Jose State | 292 |
| 16. | Hawai'i | 294 |
| 17. | UC Davis | 295 |
| T18. | Osaka Gakuin | 298 |
| T18. | Pacific | 298 |
| 20. | St. Mary's | 300 |
| 21. | Hawai'i-Hilo | 304 |
Players Mentioned
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