Monday, September 24
Erie, Colo.
All Day
Colorado
at
First Two Rounds
Trevor Olkowski is tied for the lead at 5-under as he is in search of his first collegiate win.
Photo by: Dan Madden
Golfers Leading Own Simpson-CU Inviational
September 24, 2018 | Men's Golf
Buffs bring a 3-stroke lead into Tuesday's final round
ERIE — The University of Colorado men's golf team battled back from a poor showing a week ago and then against the wind and ended Monday in the lead after two rounds of the school's own Mark Simpson-CU Invitational.
The Buffaloes used the best team score in the afternoon after the winds accelerated to take a three stroke lead over Pac-12 conference rival Utah. The Buffs are in at 8-under par 568 through 36 holes, while the Utes are in at 5-under 571. The two pulled away from the rest of the 16-team field a bit, as CSU-Fullerton (582), Houston Baptist (586) and Grand Canyon (588) round out the top five.
Colorado and Utah were tied for the lead after the first round, recording 9-under 279 scores; only Utah Valley was also under par (2-under 286), as those were the only three rounds out of 32 on the day that were not at par or higher.
Junior Daniel O'Loughlin and sophomore Trevor Olkowski both are in at 5-under par 139 scores, two of five players in red numbers after 36 holes on the 7,703-yard, par-72 Colorado National Golf Club layout. The CU duo is tied with Utah's Kyler Dunkle for the individual lead.
Dunkle is trying to win his second straight tournament after claiming Utah's Showdown in the Rockies last week, and is also the defending champion here as he is attempting to become the first repeat titlist in the Simpson. He turned in rounds of 66 and 73 for his 5-under performance Monday; he won by two strokes last year with a 14-under 202 score.
Both Buffs arrived at their scores in the same fashion – putting 4-under 68s in the books for the a.m. round, and following up with 1-under 71s in the afternoon, which tied for the fourth-best second round scores around the CNGC track. O'Loughlin had a team-high 10 birdies, tied for second-most in the field, while Olkowski had seven birdies and 27 pars, the latter second-most among the 96 golfers competing here.
"I thought it was really good today, and was really pleased with the team's response after last week," CU head coach Roy Edwards said in referring to the Buffs' eighth place finish in Utah's tournament. "I thought we played solid all day long as a team in general, and the guys playing as individuals had some good rounds.
"The wind ratcheted up early in the second round, really picked up and started blowing up to 30 miles per hour from the west," Edwards noted. "It was a little windy in the morning, but not crazy, and once it was magnified it stayed that way the rest of the afternoon. So most of the scores were higher, but that's also what made our afternoon score was a very good round.
"But when the weather got tough, I was really impressed with how the guys kept their composure," Edwards added. "They stayed true to their game plans, played smart and thee end result was posting some good rounds. That's how were able to break from the field a bit."
Junior Ross Macdonald and freshman John Paterson are tied for 12th, as each fashioned 1-over par 145 scores. Macdonald had a consistent day with six birdies, 23 pars and seven bogeys in shooting rounds of 72 and 73, while Paterson scored rounds of 71 and 74 by virtue of six birdies, 24 pars, five bogeys and a double.
Sophomore Cole Krantz was CU's fifth and final designated scorer, and he opened with a 1-over 73 but ran into some trouble in the afternoon in recording an 8-over 80. He's in at 9-over 153 and is tied for 63rd, but wasn't along in his second round misery, as 21 players, or over a fifth of the field, turned in scores in the 80s.
Four other CU team members are competing here as individuals, meaning their scores don't count toward the CU team total, and as Edwards pointed out, there were some good rounds among them. Junior Victor Bjorlow (70-77) and freshman Kristoffer Max (74-73) are tied for 20th overall with 3-over 147 totals, and right behind them are senior Wilson Belk (73-75) and junior Andre Leveque (70-78) at 4-over 148, tying them for 27th. Max had the best individual stat in the field among the quartet, playing the par-3 holes even, tied for third-best overall.
Colorado will be paired with Utah, CSU-Fullerton and Houston Baptists for the third and final round, with tee times commencing off the No. 1 tee at 7:55 a.m. The remainder of the field tees off at 8:15 a.m. in a shotgun format.
"I would expect us to get off to a fast start to keep the pressure on Utah, they have a really good team," Edwards concluded. "So I expect us to play well, but we'll need to if we want to beat those guys. If we stick to our game plans, we'll be good."
NOTES: The average score for the day was 75.55, as the morning norm was 74.39 but 76.72 in the afternoon after winds wreaked some havoc … The par-3 holes here add to 879 yards, with three of those holes 209 yards or longer (including a 257-yard monster on No. 14, which played as the toughest hole Monday) … Olkowski is bidding for his first collegiate win, while O'Loughlin is looking for his second after opening the season with a win at Air Force … The tournament is named in honor of the late Mark Simpson, who served as Colorado's head coach for 29 years (1977-2005), until he passed away at the age of 55 on Dec. 5, 2005; he was inducted earlier that year into the GCAA Hall of Fame. Edwards created this tournament in 2010 in his honor.
*--competing as an individual.
TEAM STANDINGS
The Buffaloes used the best team score in the afternoon after the winds accelerated to take a three stroke lead over Pac-12 conference rival Utah. The Buffs are in at 8-under par 568 through 36 holes, while the Utes are in at 5-under 571. The two pulled away from the rest of the 16-team field a bit, as CSU-Fullerton (582), Houston Baptist (586) and Grand Canyon (588) round out the top five.
Colorado and Utah were tied for the lead after the first round, recording 9-under 279 scores; only Utah Valley was also under par (2-under 286), as those were the only three rounds out of 32 on the day that were not at par or higher.
Junior Daniel O'Loughlin and sophomore Trevor Olkowski both are in at 5-under par 139 scores, two of five players in red numbers after 36 holes on the 7,703-yard, par-72 Colorado National Golf Club layout. The CU duo is tied with Utah's Kyler Dunkle for the individual lead.
Dunkle is trying to win his second straight tournament after claiming Utah's Showdown in the Rockies last week, and is also the defending champion here as he is attempting to become the first repeat titlist in the Simpson. He turned in rounds of 66 and 73 for his 5-under performance Monday; he won by two strokes last year with a 14-under 202 score.
Both Buffs arrived at their scores in the same fashion – putting 4-under 68s in the books for the a.m. round, and following up with 1-under 71s in the afternoon, which tied for the fourth-best second round scores around the CNGC track. O'Loughlin had a team-high 10 birdies, tied for second-most in the field, while Olkowski had seven birdies and 27 pars, the latter second-most among the 96 golfers competing here.
"I thought it was really good today, and was really pleased with the team's response after last week," CU head coach Roy Edwards said in referring to the Buffs' eighth place finish in Utah's tournament. "I thought we played solid all day long as a team in general, and the guys playing as individuals had some good rounds.
"The wind ratcheted up early in the second round, really picked up and started blowing up to 30 miles per hour from the west," Edwards noted. "It was a little windy in the morning, but not crazy, and once it was magnified it stayed that way the rest of the afternoon. So most of the scores were higher, but that's also what made our afternoon score was a very good round.
"But when the weather got tough, I was really impressed with how the guys kept their composure," Edwards added. "They stayed true to their game plans, played smart and thee end result was posting some good rounds. That's how were able to break from the field a bit."
Junior Ross Macdonald and freshman John Paterson are tied for 12th, as each fashioned 1-over par 145 scores. Macdonald had a consistent day with six birdies, 23 pars and seven bogeys in shooting rounds of 72 and 73, while Paterson scored rounds of 71 and 74 by virtue of six birdies, 24 pars, five bogeys and a double.
Sophomore Cole Krantz was CU's fifth and final designated scorer, and he opened with a 1-over 73 but ran into some trouble in the afternoon in recording an 8-over 80. He's in at 9-over 153 and is tied for 63rd, but wasn't along in his second round misery, as 21 players, or over a fifth of the field, turned in scores in the 80s.
Four other CU team members are competing here as individuals, meaning their scores don't count toward the CU team total, and as Edwards pointed out, there were some good rounds among them. Junior Victor Bjorlow (70-77) and freshman Kristoffer Max (74-73) are tied for 20th overall with 3-over 147 totals, and right behind them are senior Wilson Belk (73-75) and junior Andre Leveque (70-78) at 4-over 148, tying them for 27th. Max had the best individual stat in the field among the quartet, playing the par-3 holes even, tied for third-best overall.
Colorado will be paired with Utah, CSU-Fullerton and Houston Baptists for the third and final round, with tee times commencing off the No. 1 tee at 7:55 a.m. The remainder of the field tees off at 8:15 a.m. in a shotgun format.
"I would expect us to get off to a fast start to keep the pressure on Utah, they have a really good team," Edwards concluded. "So I expect us to play well, but we'll need to if we want to beat those guys. If we stick to our game plans, we'll be good."
NOTES: The average score for the day was 75.55, as the morning norm was 74.39 but 76.72 in the afternoon after winds wreaked some havoc … The par-3 holes here add to 879 yards, with three of those holes 209 yards or longer (including a 257-yard monster on No. 14, which played as the toughest hole Monday) … Olkowski is bidding for his first collegiate win, while O'Loughlin is looking for his second after opening the season with a win at Air Force … The tournament is named in honor of the late Mark Simpson, who served as Colorado's head coach for 29 years (1977-2005), until he passed away at the age of 55 on Dec. 5, 2005; he was inducted earlier that year into the GCAA Hall of Fame. Edwards created this tournament in 2010 in his honor.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T1. | Daniel O'Loughlin | 68-71—139 |
| T1. | Trevor Olkowski | 68-71—139 |
| T12. | Ross Macdonald | 72-73—145 |
| T12. | John Paterson | 71-74—145 |
| T20. | *Victor Bjorlow | 70-77—147 |
| T20. | *Kristoffer Max | 74-73—147 |
| T27. | *Wilson Belk | 73-75—148 |
| T27. | *Andre Leveque | 70-78—148 |
| T63. | Cole Krantz | 73-80—153 |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
| T1. | Daniel O'Loughlin, Colorado | 68-71—139 |
| T1. | Trevor Olkowski, Colorado | 68-71—139 |
| T1. | Kyler Dunkle, Utah | 66-73—139 |
| 4. | Dalton Daniel, CSU-Fullerton | 73-69—142 |
| 5. | Filip Lundell, Grand Canyon | 67-76—143 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1. | COLORADO | 279-289—568 |
| 2. | Utah | 279-292—571 |
| 3. | CSU-Fullerton | 292-290—582 |
| 4. | Houston Baptist | 292-294—586 |
| 5. | Grand Canyon | 292-296—588 |
| 6. | Cal-Baptist | 288-304—592 |
| 7. | Wyoming | 289-304—593 |
| 8. | Utah Valley State | 286-311—597 |
| 9. | UC Riverside | 298-300—598 |
| 10. | Utah State | 296-308—604 |
| 11. | Pacific | 295-311—606 |
| 12. | Gonzaga | 296-311—607 |
| 13. | Northern Colorado | 296-314—610 |
| 14. | CSU-Northridge | 303-308—611 |
| 14. | Southern Utah | 304-307—611 |
| 16. | Stephen F. Austin | 310-312—622 |
Players Mentioned
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