Colorado University Athletics
Bardgett Opens With A 76 In Regional Play
SANTEE, Calif. ? University of Colorado senior Justin Bardgett shot a 4-over par 76 here Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Southwest Men’s Golf Regional.
Bardgett is tied for 40th overall in the standings (a 75-player field). To advance to the NCAA Championship finals, he needs to be the top individual finisher not affiliated with the five teams that will automatically qualify; he is tied for 20th as of now if the process were to be applied, but that will radically change from hole-to-hole and as different teams float in and out of the top five. His opening round score, which featured nines of 39-37, was almost right on the average for the day for all players, which was 75.65.
His 15 pars were tied for the most in the field on the 7,360-yard, par-72 Carlton Oaks Golf Club layout, but he had no birdies, unusual for Bardgett, as it’s believed to be only his second round in 40 this season where he didn’t record at least one. He started his day on No. 1, parred the first two holes before bogeying No. 3 to go 1-over. After scoring par on No. 4, he hit his drive on No. 5 out of bounds, which led to a double bogey. He then played the last 13 holes of the day at 1-over, scoring a bogey on No. 11 before closing with seven straight pars.
Bardgett played the four par-3’s well, as none are considered easy; he was even for the day on the four, tied for sixth best in the meet. Only 26 birdies were scored on the four par-3’s (Nos. 2, 7, 12 and 17) against 94 scores of bogey or higher, the average score in the field for a par-3 being 3.31.
“It was just a so-so day for Justin, he was battling for the most part from start to finish,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “He did some good things to hang in there despite not clicking like he’s used to. He struggled to hit the ball consistently, and when you do that, you have to scramble. In light of that, he didn’t shoot his way out of it but needs to come back with a solid round tomorrow.”
“It was a little unusual, but it was like a regular (amateur) tournament, so I wasn’t out of my element,” Bardgett said of playing without other CU teammates in the field. “I just didn’t play very well, didn’t have much game today. I actually chipped and putted well, but the thing is I usually hit a lot of greens in regulation and I only had six out of 18 today. I probably only had two real good opportunities for birdies.”
UNLV’s Eddie Olson owns the individual lead with a 4-under 68, one of only two players who broke 70 in the first round. Four others bested par, while five others matched it. Oregon, California, UNLV and Tennessee were tied for the team lead with 6-over par 294 scores, with Central Florida (295) in the fifth and final qualifying position after 18 holes.
The second round is set for Friday (Bardgett tees off No. 10 at 10:50 a.m. MDT), with the third and final round Saturday.