CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team opened strong but couldn't keep up the pace, ending up in ninth place after the first two rounds of the Lamkin San Diego Classic, both of which were completed here Monday.
 
San Francisco used the afternoon's best score to take the lead with a 1-under par team score of 575, as the No. 53 Dons lead No. 3 Arizona State and No. 31 Tennessee by one shot.  Lurking back are No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 33 California, tied for fourth with 3-over 579 totals.
 
The Buffaloes, ranked No. 84 led for a decent portion of the first round, eventually ending the first 18 holes tied for second with a 3-under par score of 285, which was 3-under par on the 7,033-yard, par-72 San Diego Country Club course layout. However, CU struggled the second time around the course, turning in an 11-over 299 and finished the day in ninth at 8-over 584, yet still only nine strokes out of the lead.
 
Colorado did essentially hang in, as the winds really picked up during the second round, drying out the greens and making things much more challenging than in the morning.  Six teams shot 300 or higher, and six teams ranked in top 42 shot over par after lunch.
 
CU sophomore John Paterson continued his stellar play this spring as he put up a 70-73—143 scorecard Monday, which has him tied for 12th.  The owner of CU's best average thus far this spring (71.4), enjoyed a consistent day with seven birdies, 23 pars and six bogeys.  He's played the par-4 holes even (tied for 10th best) and the par-5 holes at 3-under (tied for 13th).  He was 1-under with four holes to play but would score two of his bogeys in that span to close his day.
 
"As a group, I thought we played solid today," Paterson said.  "We got off to a nice start, but struggled a little bit at the end.  We finished on some tough holes during the windiest part of the day and that showed up in our scores.  We're still in a good spot for a top finish as a team, and we're all looking forward to another opportunity (Tuesday).
 
 "I thought I played nicely all day," he added.  "I gave myself a lot of opportunities to make birdies, but didn't make as many as I should have.  I'm still in good position to make a move, especially with more tough weather expected."
 
Senior Victor Bjorlow is tied for 27th after a 72-75—147 (3-over) performance, as he made six birdies with 22 pars against seven bogeys and a double.  He spent the entire first round either 1-under, even or at 1-over, and held things together in the afternoon after an early double bogey on the par-3 11th hole, but which he came right back with a birdie on the par-4 12th.
 
Senior Daniel O'Loughlin and sophomore Kristoffer Max are tied for 31st after fashioning 4-over 148 scores.  Max had a team-high nine birdies Monday, including six in the first round when he put a 2-under 70 into the books.  He had a little less success in round two, with seven pars to go against seven bogeys and a double in finishing with a 78.
 
O'Loughlin had rounds of 75 and 73, as he opened his day with back-to-back bogeys.  He actually was 3-over for his first two holes and 5-over on his last five holes, but on the 11 holes in-between, he was 4-under.  He had four birdies and a team-best 24 pars (sixth in the field) with those eight bogeys.
 
Senior Ross Macdonald is tied for 63rd with a 73-78—151 effort (7-over par), though he did manage to record CU's lone eagle on the day when he scored a 3 on the 485-yard par-5 14th in the morning.  Otherwise, he had two birdies and 22 pars opposite 11 bogeys.
 
Arizona State's Tim Widing used the low round of the day – a 5-under 67 – to vault into the individual lead, finishing the day with a 6-under 138; that leads a pair of San Francisco Don players by one stroke.  There are 26 players within seven strokes of the lead heading into the final 18 holes.
 
The third and final round is scheduled for Tuesday with a 9:30 a.m. MDT shotgun start.  The Buffaloes will be paired with St. Mary's, Mississippi and Long Beach State and will start on holes 8 through 10.  Light rain began to fall overnight and the weather forecast called for rain throughout Tuesday morning into the afternoon, though the winds aren't expected to reach 10 miles per hour.