Sunday, March 24
Denver, Colo.
All Day
Colorado
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Colorado Mines Bob Writz Invitational
Bjorlow has now mastered Bear Creek twice in his career for both his collegiate wins.
Bjorlow Claims Medalist Honors At Colorado Mines Writz Invite
March 24, 2019 | Men's Golf
Second Career win; Paterson Takes Runner-Up Honors
DENVER — University of Colorado junior golfer Victor Bjorlow shot the low score of the day and in the process rallied to win the Colorado Mines Bob Writz Invitational here Sunday.
Bjorlow shot a 1-under par 71 for a 143 total on the 7,141-yard, par-72 Bear Creek Golf Course track to finish under par in a tournament for the fourth time in his career. He had 10 birdies and 18 pars for the event, opposite seven bogeys and a double. He had four birdies and 11 pars in Sunday's final round. It was Bjorlow's second career victory, as he won this very same tournament as a freshman in 2017.
CU freshman John Paterson finished as the runner-up with a 70-76—146 scorecard (2-over par); he was the first day leader with the 2-under 70, which was the best individual round this weekend of the 137 recorded. He had a solid weekend with five birdies and 24 pars against seven bogeys.
Bjorlow trailed Paterson by one entering the final round, and was trailing by three after 25 holes. He picked up a stroke when Paterson bogeyed No. 8 when he scored par, and then pulled even with six holes to go after birdying Nos. 10 and 12. Bjorlow then took the lead for good with birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, en route to shooting a 33 on the back nine.
Bjorlow led the 69-man field in birdies with his 10 as well as par-4 scoring, playing the 20 of those combined at 1-under par, and also tied for second in par-5 scoring (4-under).
"He was pretty exceptional out there," assistant coach Patrick Grady said of Bjorlow. "If you know Bear Creek, you know there's not a lot of opportunities to make birdies out here. There are just two reachable par-5s, the greens have a lot of severe undulations and a few holes you have to lay up on your tee shots. So you're going to make bogeys out there, especially when it was super windy like it was this weekend.
"Victor put together a great round today, and John's 70 yesterday was equally if not more impressive as he only had one practice round to survey the course," he added. "Bear Creek is difficult to learn how to play with that minimal experience, so he really played solid as well. He just got cold with his putter on the back nine today."
"It was great to get a win again, and having won this tournament two years ago, I felt I had a great opportunity to win here again on a very demanding golf course which I like," Bjorlow said. "I thought I had a very good game plan and adjusted well through the round to the conditions and my shot dispersion.
"I played okay on the front nine today, just didn't hold any putts and it's very easy to make bogeys out there," he continued. "Going up to the 10th tee, I said to Pat (Grady), 'I'll take it low on the back nine.' I started playing a little more aggressive and started rolling some putts in, and it resulted in a good back nine. Overall, it was a great weekend and I've very happy to win this event again."
Grady marveled on how Bjorlow played the 541-yard, par-5 14th hole, which requires target golf in a sense. "He teed off with 6-iron and hit it about 220 yards, then hit a 3-wood into the wind and flew it on to green some 311 yards later and then two-putted for birdie. Not many players can do that."
Two other Buffaloes competed here, also as individuals, with junior Andre Leveque tying for 19th with a 76-77-153 (9-over) performance, and senior Wilson Belk tying for 28th after posting an 81-75—156 (12-over) effort. Leveque had two birdies and 25 pares for the weekend, while Belk had three and 20, respectively.
The Buffaloes as a team return to action this Thursday, as they will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., to participate in Stanford's "The Goodwin." It's the 50th annual edition of the event which will feature 26 competing schools with 18 holes of play each day (March 28-30).
NOTES: It was the third win by a Buffalo this season; junior Daniel O'Loughlin won the Air Force-Miranda Invitational to open the year, and sophomore Trevor Olkowski claimed a share of medalist honors in CU's Simpson Invitational later that same month … Paterson and Leveque tied for fourth in par-4 scoring (plus-3); Paterson also tied for fifth in par-3 scoring (even) and Leveque for third in pars (25) … The four Buffs here made 20 birdies, which would have tied for the lead among the 11 teams that competed here … Colorado Mines won the team competition with a 605 score (29-over par), with Colorado Mesa (610) and CSU-Pueblo (611) rounding out the top three.
Bjorlow shot a 1-under par 71 for a 143 total on the 7,141-yard, par-72 Bear Creek Golf Course track to finish under par in a tournament for the fourth time in his career. He had 10 birdies and 18 pars for the event, opposite seven bogeys and a double. He had four birdies and 11 pars in Sunday's final round. It was Bjorlow's second career victory, as he won this very same tournament as a freshman in 2017.
CU freshman John Paterson finished as the runner-up with a 70-76—146 scorecard (2-over par); he was the first day leader with the 2-under 70, which was the best individual round this weekend of the 137 recorded. He had a solid weekend with five birdies and 24 pars against seven bogeys.
Bjorlow trailed Paterson by one entering the final round, and was trailing by three after 25 holes. He picked up a stroke when Paterson bogeyed No. 8 when he scored par, and then pulled even with six holes to go after birdying Nos. 10 and 12. Bjorlow then took the lead for good with birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, en route to shooting a 33 on the back nine.
Bjorlow led the 69-man field in birdies with his 10 as well as par-4 scoring, playing the 20 of those combined at 1-under par, and also tied for second in par-5 scoring (4-under).
"He was pretty exceptional out there," assistant coach Patrick Grady said of Bjorlow. "If you know Bear Creek, you know there's not a lot of opportunities to make birdies out here. There are just two reachable par-5s, the greens have a lot of severe undulations and a few holes you have to lay up on your tee shots. So you're going to make bogeys out there, especially when it was super windy like it was this weekend.
"Victor put together a great round today, and John's 70 yesterday was equally if not more impressive as he only had one practice round to survey the course," he added. "Bear Creek is difficult to learn how to play with that minimal experience, so he really played solid as well. He just got cold with his putter on the back nine today."
"It was great to get a win again, and having won this tournament two years ago, I felt I had a great opportunity to win here again on a very demanding golf course which I like," Bjorlow said. "I thought I had a very good game plan and adjusted well through the round to the conditions and my shot dispersion.
"I played okay on the front nine today, just didn't hold any putts and it's very easy to make bogeys out there," he continued. "Going up to the 10th tee, I said to Pat (Grady), 'I'll take it low on the back nine.' I started playing a little more aggressive and started rolling some putts in, and it resulted in a good back nine. Overall, it was a great weekend and I've very happy to win this event again."
Grady marveled on how Bjorlow played the 541-yard, par-5 14th hole, which requires target golf in a sense. "He teed off with 6-iron and hit it about 220 yards, then hit a 3-wood into the wind and flew it on to green some 311 yards later and then two-putted for birdie. Not many players can do that."
Two other Buffaloes competed here, also as individuals, with junior Andre Leveque tying for 19th with a 76-77-153 (9-over) performance, and senior Wilson Belk tying for 28th after posting an 81-75—156 (12-over) effort. Leveque had two birdies and 25 pares for the weekend, while Belk had three and 20, respectively.
The Buffaloes as a team return to action this Thursday, as they will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., to participate in Stanford's "The Goodwin." It's the 50th annual edition of the event which will feature 26 competing schools with 18 holes of play each day (March 28-30).
NOTES: It was the third win by a Buffalo this season; junior Daniel O'Loughlin won the Air Force-Miranda Invitational to open the year, and sophomore Trevor Olkowski claimed a share of medalist honors in CU's Simpson Invitational later that same month … Paterson and Leveque tied for fourth in par-4 scoring (plus-3); Paterson also tied for fifth in par-3 scoring (even) and Leveque for third in pars (25) … The four Buffs here made 20 birdies, which would have tied for the lead among the 11 teams that competed here … Colorado Mines won the team competition with a 605 score (29-over par), with Colorado Mesa (610) and CSU-Pueblo (611) rounding out the top three.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
1. Victor Bjorlow................................... 72-71—143
2. John Paterson.................................. 70-76—146
T19. Andre Leveque................................. 76-77—153
T28. Wilson Belk....................................... 81-75—156
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
2. John Paterson.................................. 70-76—146
T19. Andre Leveque................................. 76-77—153
T28. Wilson Belk....................................... 81-75—156
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
1. Victor Bjorlow, Colorado................ 72-71—143
2. John Paterson, Colorado................ 70-76—146
3. Alan Berry, Colorado Mines............. 72-75—147
T4. Tim Amundson, Colorado Mines..... 71-77—148
T4. Nathan McCann, CSU-Pueblo.......... 72-76—148
2. John Paterson, Colorado................ 70-76—146
3. Alan Berry, Colorado Mines............. 72-75—147
T4. Tim Amundson, Colorado Mines..... 71-77—148
T4. Nathan McCann, CSU-Pueblo.......... 72-76—148
Players Mentioned
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