Tuesday, May 15
Stockton, Calif.
All Day
Colorado
vs
Second Round
Daniel O'Loughlin carded a 3-under 69 Tuesday to help the Buffaloes move into a tie for sixth place.
CU Golfers Move Into Sixth Place At NCAA Regionals
May 15, 2018 | Men's Golf
Three Buffs In Top 18
STOCKTON, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team rode the proverbial rollercoaster here Tuesday, but at the end of the day, the Buffaloes posted the second-best score in moving up a notch into a tie for sixth through two rounds of the NCAA West/Stockton Regional.
No. 42 Colorado recorded a 6-under par 282 score, but things didn't start off well. At one point, the Buffs were 2-over and had slipped from a tie for seventh into one for 11th in the 13 team field. But a strong back nine, including playing the last three holes at 4-under, thrusted CU up into a tie for sixth with a 4-under 572 total through 36 holes, one spot back of the last qualifying spot for the NCAA Championship Finals later this month.
No. 7 Alabama and No. 55 Iowa State, the latter the first round leader, are tied atop of the standings at 14-under 562, with No. 43 Kansas one back in third (563). No. 5 Stanford moved up a spot into fourth (568) with No. 31 TCU dropping a spot to fifth (569). The Buffs are tied with Pac-12 rival and No. 30 Oregon in sixth, just three strokes out of the all-important fifth position.
It's the usual tight battle for those five spots, with six teams within 11 strokes of fourth place and five within 10 of fifth. And overall, 17 strokes separate first and 10th; only the regional in Norman are things tighter – 14 shots – among the top 10.
"The round was a little bit like yesterday, kind of struggling a bit here and there, but we really played a good final nine holes to get back in it," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "The guys did a really good job of competing and fighting.
"You don't play as well as you want all the time, and this is a good, solid golf course," he continued. "We were a little out of position, just sort of hanging around, but got things going on those final nine holes. They do a really good job of not getting too far ahead of themselves. If they make a mistake, they move on. They don't dwell on them because that's when you can shoot a really big number. They just kept plugging along and finally good things happened."
Alabama and Colorado are the only schools with three players in the top 18. This is also the 22nd regional Colorado is participating in since the format began in 1989, and Tuesday's 6-under 282 is the fifth-best round by the Buffaloes among 65 played; it was the best second round score, eclipsing the 288 in 1993-94 when CU finished second overall.
Senior Yannik Paul is pacing the Buffaloes after recording a second round 3-under 69 on the 7,239-yard, par-72 Reserve at Spanos Park course layout, boosting him overall to 4-under 140 that has him tied for 10th place. His only blemish on the day was a double bogey on the par-3 No. 8, which is playing as the second toughest hole in the meet through 36 holes. He was 3-under at that point, but closed out with two more birdies and nine pars.
Paul is just one of 11 players in the 75-man field that isn't play a hole configuration over par; he's even on the par-3's and 4's, and is 4-under on the par-5s. His 11 birdies are tied for the third-most.
Senior Spencer Painton fashioned a 2-uner 70 that moved him to 3-under 141, tying him for 14th place. He's been right around par both days, as he now has seven birdies, 25 pars and only four bogeys, only one of the latter on Tuesday. He's played the par-3's at 3-under, second-best in the field, and his par count is tied for 11th.
Sophomore Daniel O'Loughlin matched Paul's 3-under 69 and moved into the top 20, tied for 18th place at 2-under 142. After opening with seven pars, he bogeyed the tough par-3 No. 8 and made the turn at 1-over. That's when he caught fire, birdying three of the first holes. After bogeying No. 15, he eagled the par-5 16th to get to 3-under on the day. He then finished birdie-bogey. He has played the par-5s at 5-under, tied for fifth-best in the field.
It marked just the third time that three or more Buffaloes shot subpar scores in a regional round, the last time coming in the first round of the 2015 Central in Noblesville, Ind., when four did it, including Paul. The only other time was in the final round in 2009.
Senior John Souza carded a 2-over 74, as he is tied for 61st with a 5-over 149 total. He spanned the range from an eagle (on No. 11) to two double bogeys (on Nos. 4 and 13). After opening with a birdie, a par and a bogey, the rest of his round he was either even, 1- or 2-over. He also had three birdies, nine pars and three bogeys.
Sophomore Ross Macdonald hasn't been able to catch fire like he did in last month's Pac-12 Championships, when he tied for second with four straight rounds in the 60s. After an 8-over 80 on Tuesday, he finds himself in 73rd place with an 11-over 155 score. He was hanging on until the par-4 17th hole, when he scored a quadruple bogey, the first of his collegiate career. He felt he hit his drive okay, just a little to the left, but no one could find his ball and had to take the penalty. Otherwise, he had 13 pars and four bogeys.
Stanford's Brandon Wu shot a second consecutive 67 for a 10-under 134 total, which has him in the individual lead by one stroke over Oregon sophomore Norman Xiong (68-67—135); Xiong has announced his intention to turn professional after the NCAA's are over.No. 42 Colorado recorded a 6-under par 282 score, but things didn't start off well. At one point, the Buffs were 2-over and had slipped from a tie for seventh into one for 11th in the 13 team field. But a strong back nine, including playing the last three holes at 4-under, thrusted CU up into a tie for sixth with a 4-under 572 total through 36 holes, one spot back of the last qualifying spot for the NCAA Championship Finals later this month.
No. 7 Alabama and No. 55 Iowa State, the latter the first round leader, are tied atop of the standings at 14-under 562, with No. 43 Kansas one back in third (563). No. 5 Stanford moved up a spot into fourth (568) with No. 31 TCU dropping a spot to fifth (569). The Buffs are tied with Pac-12 rival and No. 30 Oregon in sixth, just three strokes out of the all-important fifth position.
It's the usual tight battle for those five spots, with six teams within 11 strokes of fourth place and five within 10 of fifth. And overall, 17 strokes separate first and 10th; only the regional in Norman are things tighter – 14 shots – among the top 10.
"The round was a little bit like yesterday, kind of struggling a bit here and there, but we really played a good final nine holes to get back in it," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "The guys did a really good job of competing and fighting.
"You don't play as well as you want all the time, and this is a good, solid golf course," he continued. "We were a little out of position, just sort of hanging around, but got things going on those final nine holes. They do a really good job of not getting too far ahead of themselves. If they make a mistake, they move on. They don't dwell on them because that's when you can shoot a really big number. They just kept plugging along and finally good things happened."
Alabama and Colorado are the only schools with three players in the top 18. This is also the 22nd regional Colorado is participating in since the format began in 1989, and Tuesday's 6-under 282 is the fifth-best round by the Buffaloes among 65 played; it was the best second round score, eclipsing the 288 in 1993-94 when CU finished second overall.
Senior Yannik Paul is pacing the Buffaloes after recording a second round 3-under 69 on the 7,239-yard, par-72 Reserve at Spanos Park course layout, boosting him overall to 4-under 140 that has him tied for 10th place. His only blemish on the day was a double bogey on the par-3 No. 8, which is playing as the second toughest hole in the meet through 36 holes. He was 3-under at that point, but closed out with two more birdies and nine pars.
Paul is just one of 11 players in the 75-man field that isn't play a hole configuration over par; he's even on the par-3's and 4's, and is 4-under on the par-5s. His 11 birdies are tied for the third-most.
Senior Spencer Painton fashioned a 2-uner 70 that moved him to 3-under 141, tying him for 14th place. He's been right around par both days, as he now has seven birdies, 25 pars and only four bogeys, only one of the latter on Tuesday. He's played the par-3's at 3-under, second-best in the field, and his par count is tied for 11th.
Sophomore Daniel O'Loughlin matched Paul's 3-under 69 and moved into the top 20, tied for 18th place at 2-under 142. After opening with seven pars, he bogeyed the tough par-3 No. 8 and made the turn at 1-over. That's when he caught fire, birdying three of the first holes. After bogeying No. 15, he eagled the par-5 16th to get to 3-under on the day. He then finished birdie-bogey. He has played the par-5s at 5-under, tied for fifth-best in the field.
It marked just the third time that three or more Buffaloes shot subpar scores in a regional round, the last time coming in the first round of the 2015 Central in Noblesville, Ind., when four did it, including Paul. The only other time was in the final round in 2009.
Senior John Souza carded a 2-over 74, as he is tied for 61st with a 5-over 149 total. He spanned the range from an eagle (on No. 11) to two double bogeys (on Nos. 4 and 13). After opening with a birdie, a par and a bogey, the rest of his round he was either even, 1- or 2-over. He also had three birdies, nine pars and three bogeys.
Sophomore Ross Macdonald hasn't been able to catch fire like he did in last month's Pac-12 Championships, when he tied for second with four straight rounds in the 60s. After an 8-over 80 on Tuesday, he finds himself in 73rd place with an 11-over 155 score. He was hanging on until the par-4 17th hole, when he scored a quadruple bogey, the first of his collegiate career. He felt he hit his drive okay, just a little to the left, but no one could find his ball and had to take the penalty. Otherwise, he had 13 pars and four bogeys.
Going into Wednesday's third and final round, the Buffaloes are in much better position to advance to the NCAA Championship Finals than the previous two years, when they were pretty much out of contention. CU was in last place last year, 33 strokes back of the fifth spot, and two years ago were 18 out. In 2015, Colorado was second heading into the last round but slipped to a sixth place finish.
"It's going to be really important to focus on our own games, the process, and taking it one shot at a time," Edwards said of the team's mantra for the final round. "It's going to be very important for everyone to do that for 18 holes. When you look at the overall standings, it's nuts how close this thing is – we're three out of the last qualifying spot but also just 10 strokes out of the lead."
Colorado will be paired with LSU and UNC-Greensboro for the final round, and will for the third straight day tee off in the second wave beginning at 9:25 a.m. MDT off the first tee. In addition to the top five teams advancing to the finals, the top individual not on one of those teams will also do so.
NOTES: Colorado is trying to return to the NCAA Finals for the first time since 2002 … The Stockton Regional is by far the most competitive of the six, as just 29 strokes separate first-to-last place; the average for the other five is 54 strokes (from 46 to 64); the West is also the only region where at least one team scored one round in the 300s … The Buffaloes added to their school record with their 25th subpar team round this season (old mark was 16) … Paul added to three of the 15 school records he owns or shares with his 69: it was his 10th consecutive round under par, along with his 24th round under par and 25th of par or better this year (it was his 16th in the 60s) … The average score for the 75 individual rounds Tuesday was over half a stroke lower than Monday (72.16 as compared to 72.83); combined, it stands at 72.49 … Colorado has played the par-5 holes at 15-under (third-best), the par-4s at 6-over (tied for fourth-best), but the par-3s at 16-over (last in the field) … CU is also tied for first in eagles (2), is fourth in birdies (37) and last in pars (103) … Freshman Trevor Olkowski is the alternate here for the Buffaloes, as this is the first year the NCAA is allowing substitutes at regional competitions; Edwards said he would only activate him in the case of illness or injury.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T10. | Yannik Paul | 71-69—140 |
| T14. | Spencer Painton | 71-70—141 |
| T18. | Daniel O'Loughlin | 73-69—142 |
| T61. | John Souza | 75-74—149 |
| 73. | Ross Macdonald | 75-80—155 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| 1. | Brandon Wu, Stanford | 67-67—134 |
| 2. | Norman Xiong, Oregon | 68-67—135 |
| 3. | Daniel Ieremia, Iowa State | 68-68—136 |
| T4. | Wilson Furr, Alabama | 73-64—137 |
| T4. | Hayden Springer, TCU | 70-67—137 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1. | Iowa State | 278-284—562 |
| 1. | Alabama | 282-280—562 |
| 3. | Kansas | 281-282—563 |
| 4. | Stanford | 285-283—568 |
| 5. | TCU | 283-286—569 |
| 6. | COLORADO | 290-282—572 |
| 6. | Oregon | 289-283—572 |
| 8. | LSU | 293-283—576 |
| 8. | UNC-Greensboro | 293-283—576 |
| 10. | Southern California | 295-284—579 |
| 11. | Kennesaw State | 292-290—582 |
| 12. | UC Irvine | 290-293—583 |
| 13. | North Dakota State | 297-294—591 |
Players Mentioned
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