Golfers Open Season In Fourth At Air Force

Friday, September 6

Colorado Springs, Colo.

All Day

Colorado

First Round

Paterson recorded a 2-under par 70 to pace the Buffaloes Friday,

September 06, 2019 | Men's Golf

Sophomore Paterson Tied For 10th Individually

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

USAFA, Colo. — The University of Colorado men's golf team opened the 2019-20 season here Friday afternoon in fourth place after the first round of the 51st Annual Gene Miranda Air Force Falcon Invitational.

Host Air Force turned in the best score of the first 18 holes, a 9-under par 279, which was good for a three-shot advantage over Wyoming (282). Northern Colorado followed in third (284), followed by the Buffaloes (an even par 288) and Weber State (290) to round out the top five.

The Buffs were sailing along, reaching 8-under par about two-thirds of the way into the round on USAFA's Eisenhower Blue course, a par-72 layout that spans some 7,511 yards. But the winds rapidly picked up and CU's five designated scorers did their best to hang on, scoring 12 bogeys rivaled by four birdies down the stretch.

Colorado is the defending champion in the tournament.

"We got off to a steady start and kept it going through most of the round," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.. "The wind really picked up mid-round and made our last 5-6 holes pretty tough coming in. I felt like we did a good job overall."

Sophomore John Paterson recorded CU's top score Friday, a 2-under 70 that has him tied for 10th overall. He had five birdies, which tied for the sixth-most in the field, and three bogeys for his round, which unfortunately saw he score two of those bogeys over the final four holes.

Junior Cole Krantz is tied for 19th with after an even-par 72 to open the year. He had three birds countered by three bogeys on his day; two of the birdies came on par-3 holes, as he tied for second playing the short holes at 2-under.

Senior Daniel O'Loughlin, the tournament's defending champion, started strong but would finish with a 1-over 73; he had four birdies and five bogeys, but three of those came down the stretch over the final four holes.

Senior Ross Macdonald and sophomore Kristoffer Max are competing here as individuals, and both recorded even-par 72s to open their seasons after starting on the 10th tee. Macdonald's round was highlighted by an eagle on the 568-yard, par-5 11th hole, while Max made the turn at 3-over par but would close hot as could be with four straight birdies to get back to even (he matched Paterson with five birdies overall).

Senior Victor Bjorlow fashioned a 1-over 73, tying him for 31st, as he was 3-over with three bogeys when the winds revved up but he came through with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to get back down to a single shot over par.

Redshirt freshman Adam Matteson, playing his first collegiate round, wrapped the CU contingent here, as he shot a 4-over 76, which has him tied for 70th. He was just 1-over with five holes to play, but bogeyed four of those though he did manage a birdie on the par-3 17th.

Wyoming's Carl Underwood shot the low round of the day, turning in a 7-under par 65 that featured a sizzling 31 on the front nine.

The second round is set for a 7:30 a.m. shotgun Saturday morning; the Buffaloes will be paired with Weber State, Valparaiso and Utah State and will start on the 10th tee. The third and final round is scheduled for Sunday.

NOTES: The average score for Friday's first round was 74.3 for the 104 players competing here … Colorado played the par-3 holes the best in the field Friday (a collective 2-under), and was minus-5 on the par-5s (tied for fifth); the Buffs were 12th on the par-4 holes at 11-over … The seven Buffs here combined for an eagle, 22 birdies, 75 pars and 27 bogeys with just one hole worse than a bogey (a double) … This is the 37th time the Buffaloes are competing in this tournament. Colorado has won the event seven times, along with five runner-up finishes and five third-place efforts.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T10.	John Paterson	33-37—70
T19.	Cole Krantz	37-35—72
T19.	*Ross Macdonald	37-35—72
T19.	*Kristoffer Max	33-39—72
T31.	Daniel O'Loughlin	35-38—73
T31.	Victor Bjorlow	38-35—73
T70.	Adam Matteson	36-40—76

*--competing as an individual.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

1.	Carl Underwood, Wyoming	31-34—65
T2.	Joshua Wu, Air Force	34-33—67
T2.	Isaac Layne, Air Force	33-34—67
T4.	Kirby Coe-Kirkham, Wyoming	33-35—68
T4.	Jake Vincent	34-34—68

TEAM STANDINGS

1.	Air Force	279
2.	Wyoming	282
3.	Northern Colorado	284
4.	COLORADO	288
5.	Weber State	290
6.	Cal State Northridge	291
7.	UC Davis	292
7.	Southern Utah	292
7.	Utah State	292
10.	Boise State	293
11.	UTEP	294
12.	Texas State	296
12.	Drake	296
12.	Valparaiso	296
15.	New Mexico State	300
16.	Utah Valley State	301
17.	Cal Baptist	303
18.	SIU-Edwardsville	304