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Yannik Paul turned in CU's best score of the regional an even par-72 Wednesday.
Golfers End Season With 12th Place Finish In NCAA Central Regional
May 17, 2017 | Men's Golf
Buffaloes Turn In Fifth-Best Final Round Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The University of Colorado men's golf team rebounded a bit here Wednesday in the final round of the NCAA Central/Purdue Regional, recording the fifth-best score which bumped up the Buffaloes into a 12th-place finish.
However, only the top five teams advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals in two weeks, thus the season for the 26th-ranked Buffaloes has come to a close.
No. 17 Nevada-Las Vegas won with an 8-over 872 score, finishing up with an 11-over 299 in the final round, which despite temperatures in the 70s was plagued by winds constant at 15-to-25 and gusting up to 40 miles per hour. No. 20 Auburn took second, three back at 875, with No. 8 Illinois moving into the top five with an 878 score after turning in the top final round score of 6-over 294. No, 44 New Mexico, the second round leader, finished fourth (880) after recording the second-highest score Wednesday (22-over 310), with No. 38 and host Purdue claiming the fifth and final spot with an 882 total.
The Buffs shot a 10-over 298 to close things out here, finishing with a 46-over par 910 total; it enabled CU to escape last place. How good a round was it? Top seeded and No. 5 Florida missed out on advancing after the Gators turned in the high single round of the tournament – a 24-over 312 – with three of their players shooting in the 80s.
Junior Yannik Paul recorded CU's best round of the tournament to close things out, as he turned in an even-par 72 on the 7,144-yard Kampen Course layout. That enabled him to finish 31st overall with a 9-over 225 total, as he a solid final round with a team-high four birdies and 10 pars against just four bogeys. He jumped up 22 spots over his second round standing, the fifth-best in the field.
No one shot a round in the 60s on Wednesday; five players recorded 2-under 70s and two others shot 71s; Paul was one of five players to equal par, while on the other side of the spectrum, 15 players shot 80 or higher.
Freshman Victor Bjorlow finished up with a 2-over 74 that moved him up 14 spots into a tie for 49th with a 13-over 229 score for 54 holes. He had three birdies and 11 pars against three bogeys and double to wrap his rookie season in the collegiate ranks. He was on an early roll, birdying three of his first six holes before the winds really picked up.
One of 12 freshmen that competed here, Bjorlow had the second-best score of the dozen Wednesday and was eighth overall. He tied for fourth in the field in par-3 scoring (he played the 12 par-3s even) and tied for eighth in pars with 35.
Senior Ethan Freeman tied for 59th after closing with a 7-over 79; he finished 16-over par with a 232 total. He had a birdie and 10 pars with six bogeys and a double.
Junior John Souza shot his best round here with a 1-over 73, as he finished tied for 63rd with a 17-over 233. He had two birdies and a team-high 13 pars with three bogeys, and spent much of his day hanging around 1-over par; he was 2-over just once, as after he bogeyed No. 6 he came right back with one of his birdies. He jumped up 12 positions in the final standings after starting the day last in the 75-man field. For the week, he was eighth in the field in pars (35) and par-3 scoring (+1).
For his credit Souza, who shot his career collegiate high score of 85 in the second round, rebounded with the best improvement from one round to the next in CU postseason history of 12 strokes. The previous best was 10 shots by Jack Manning in the NCAA Finals in 1964 (85 to 75), and in the regional, it had been eight strokes on three occasions.
Junior Spencer Painton closed with an 8-over 80 with an 18-over 234, as he tied for 67th. He had three birdies and six pars against seven bogeys and two doubles.
"It was a solid round and a nice way to finish off a difficult tournament," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "It was super windy, massive gusts – if you were off, you were going to get your you-know-what whipped. We were just a lot more competitive, and turned in a better round overall. We certainly didn't want to finish last, that's for sure.
"Yannik had a really nice round, eighth-best of the day, and Victor had a really nice day. For being in a tough position, he played really well. He had a lot good moments this week. And John, who played so poorly yesterday to come back today and shoot a really nice round is a testament to his character. He wanted to go out and prove that it was just an anomaly."
Medalist honors were shared by Illinois' Nick Hardy and New Mexico's Anrej Blevins, who both finished with 3-under par 213 totals. Illinois State's Trent Wallace, the second round leader, shot a 79 but still advanced to the Finals with a 1-over 217 as the best individual not attached to an advancing team.
"We're certainly disappointed with how we finished, as we were set to have one of our best seasons of all-time," Edwards said. "We'll probably look back at think of what could have been. But for the guys coming back, it's a great opportunity to look at where they need to improve and I expect our team to do just that."
NOTES: The Buffs finished with a 121-58-4 record against their Division I colleagues … Jeremy Paul, who turned professional on April 17, finished as the team's stroke average leader at 71.75; he led the team for four straight years and became just the third Buffalo to do so four times, joining Steve Jones (1978-81) and Knut Ekjord (1995-97, 1999) … Ethan Freeman and Yannik Paul were next with 72.43 averages; this is the third straight year the Buffaloes have had three players finish with sub-73 averages, the only three years it has occurred in school history … Colorado was second in the field in par-3 scoring (+11), but was last in par-4 scoring (+52) and tied for last on the par-5 holes (+10), usually one of its strengths … CU also made only 28 birdies, the fewest in the event, but did score 13 of them in the final round (fourth-most; Purdue, St. Mary's and UNLV had 14) … The top five teams at six regional sites and the top individual in each who is not a member of those squads advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals, set for May 26-31 in Sugar Grove, Ill. … Four of the six Pac-12 schools competing in regional play advanced to the finals: Stanford (won its own regional), Oregon (third Baton Rouge), Arizona State (fifth in Austin) and Southern California (won the Washington regional, where host UW placed seventh) … This marked just the second time in 29 years of regional play that a No. 1 seed did not advance.However, only the top five teams advanced to the NCAA Championship Finals in two weeks, thus the season for the 26th-ranked Buffaloes has come to a close.
No. 17 Nevada-Las Vegas won with an 8-over 872 score, finishing up with an 11-over 299 in the final round, which despite temperatures in the 70s was plagued by winds constant at 15-to-25 and gusting up to 40 miles per hour. No. 20 Auburn took second, three back at 875, with No. 8 Illinois moving into the top five with an 878 score after turning in the top final round score of 6-over 294. No, 44 New Mexico, the second round leader, finished fourth (880) after recording the second-highest score Wednesday (22-over 310), with No. 38 and host Purdue claiming the fifth and final spot with an 882 total.
The Buffs shot a 10-over 298 to close things out here, finishing with a 46-over par 910 total; it enabled CU to escape last place. How good a round was it? Top seeded and No. 5 Florida missed out on advancing after the Gators turned in the high single round of the tournament – a 24-over 312 – with three of their players shooting in the 80s.
Junior Yannik Paul recorded CU's best round of the tournament to close things out, as he turned in an even-par 72 on the 7,144-yard Kampen Course layout. That enabled him to finish 31st overall with a 9-over 225 total, as he a solid final round with a team-high four birdies and 10 pars against just four bogeys. He jumped up 22 spots over his second round standing, the fifth-best in the field.
No one shot a round in the 60s on Wednesday; five players recorded 2-under 70s and two others shot 71s; Paul was one of five players to equal par, while on the other side of the spectrum, 15 players shot 80 or higher.
Freshman Victor Bjorlow finished up with a 2-over 74 that moved him up 14 spots into a tie for 49th with a 13-over 229 score for 54 holes. He had three birdies and 11 pars against three bogeys and double to wrap his rookie season in the collegiate ranks. He was on an early roll, birdying three of his first six holes before the winds really picked up.
One of 12 freshmen that competed here, Bjorlow had the second-best score of the dozen Wednesday and was eighth overall. He tied for fourth in the field in par-3 scoring (he played the 12 par-3s even) and tied for eighth in pars with 35.
Senior Ethan Freeman tied for 59th after closing with a 7-over 79; he finished 16-over par with a 232 total. He had a birdie and 10 pars with six bogeys and a double.
Junior John Souza shot his best round here with a 1-over 73, as he finished tied for 63rd with a 17-over 233. He had two birdies and a team-high 13 pars with three bogeys, and spent much of his day hanging around 1-over par; he was 2-over just once, as after he bogeyed No. 6 he came right back with one of his birdies. He jumped up 12 positions in the final standings after starting the day last in the 75-man field. For the week, he was eighth in the field in pars (35) and par-3 scoring (+1).
For his credit Souza, who shot his career collegiate high score of 85 in the second round, rebounded with the best improvement from one round to the next in CU postseason history of 12 strokes. The previous best was 10 shots by Jack Manning in the NCAA Finals in 1964 (85 to 75), and in the regional, it had been eight strokes on three occasions.
Junior Spencer Painton closed with an 8-over 80 with an 18-over 234, as he tied for 67th. He had three birdies and six pars against seven bogeys and two doubles.
"It was a solid round and a nice way to finish off a difficult tournament," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "It was super windy, massive gusts – if you were off, you were going to get your you-know-what whipped. We were just a lot more competitive, and turned in a better round overall. We certainly didn't want to finish last, that's for sure.
"Yannik had a really nice round, eighth-best of the day, and Victor had a really nice day. For being in a tough position, he played really well. He had a lot good moments this week. And John, who played so poorly yesterday to come back today and shoot a really nice round is a testament to his character. He wanted to go out and prove that it was just an anomaly."
Medalist honors were shared by Illinois' Nick Hardy and New Mexico's Anrej Blevins, who both finished with 3-under par 213 totals. Illinois State's Trent Wallace, the second round leader, shot a 79 but still advanced to the Finals with a 1-over 217 as the best individual not attached to an advancing team.
"We're certainly disappointed with how we finished, as we were set to have one of our best seasons of all-time," Edwards said. "We'll probably look back at think of what could have been. But for the guys coming back, it's a great opportunity to look at where they need to improve and I expect our team to do just that."
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T31. | Yannik Paul | 75-78-72—225 |
| T49. | Victor Bjorlow | 77-78-74—229 |
| T59. | Ethan Freeman | 77-76-79—232 |
| T63. | John Souza | 75-85-73—233 |
| T67. | Spencer Painton | 78-76-80—234 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| T1. | Nick Hardy, Illinois | 71-72-70—213 |
| T1. | Andrej Bevins, New Mexico | 71-68-74—213 |
| T3. | Shintaro Ban, UNLV | 70-69-75—214 |
| T3. | Matt Gilchrest, Auburn | 74-70-70—214 |
| 5. | John Oda, UNLV | 67-73-75—215 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1. | UNLV | 287-286-299—872 |
| 2. | Auburn | 292-287-296—875 |
| 3. | Illinois | 288-296-294—878 |
| 4. | New Mexico | 288-282-310—880 |
| 5. | Purdue | 292-287-303—882 |
| Did Not Qualify For NCAA Finals | ||
| T6. | Augusta | 296-290-299—885 |
| T6. | St. Mary's | 294-296-295—885 |
| 8. | Florida | 292-287-312—891 |
| 9. | South Carolina | 291-302-302—895 |
| 10. | Campbell | 306-300-297—903 |
| 11. | Richmond | 297-306-303—906 |
| 12. | COLORADO | 304-308-298—910 |
| 13. | Cleveland State | 310-299-305—914 |
Players Mentioned
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