Buffaloes Now 11th At US Intercollegiate

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The University of Colorado men's golf team inched up a notch into 11th place here Saturday in the 44th Annual U.S. Intercollegiate, on a day where heavy rains and gusting winds at the onset made it little fun for the participants.

No. 12 Oregon extended its lead, as the Ducks have four players in the top 15 including three in the top four; they are the only team under par heading into the final round with a 4-under 556 score. No. 5 Southern California moved into second place with a 4-over 564, with Friday's second place team, No. 4 UCLA slipping to third in a tie with No. 11 and host Stanford, 12 strokes back at 568.

The Buffaloes shot the seventh lowest score in the second round, a 20-over par 300, though were on pace most of the day to post one of the best four numbers. Faltering a bit down the stretch, Colorado played the last three at 7-over, causing the team to drop back into 11th with a 32-over 592 score after spending most of the day in either seventh or eighth place.

On Friday, CU's four scorers played the last two holes, Nos. 17 and 18, collectively at 7-over par, but reduced that to 2-over in the second round on those same holes. But with the Buffs starting Saturday on the back nine, CU's same ugly habit of not finish haunted the team a second straight day.

The 16-team field battled rain and wind for the early portion of the second round, with play suspended a third of the way through for about two hours when conditions reached their worst and standing water on the greens developed. The conditions made for much higher scores Saturday; Friday's average score was 72.7, whereas on Saturday it was 74.1 as only four players broke par with three others matching it. The tournament is practically a practice event for next month's Pac-12 Championships with nine league schools competing, and is the second toughest Colorado, ranked No. 71, is participating in thus far this season with six teams ranked in the nation's top 13.

Senior Kevin Kring and junior Beau Schoolcraft continue to lead the way for CU, with their identical 72-73-145 (5-over par) scorecards on the 6,727-yard, par-70 Stanford Golf Course layout tying them for 25th individually.

Kring, tied for the team lead in birdies this season going into Saturday with 66, did not score one of only the second time in 23 rounds this season. He did, however, eagle No. 1, a 526-yard, par-5, one of just four eagles on the day. He otherwise had a team-best 13 pars (25 in two days, also a team high), with three bogeys and a double.

Schoolcraft scored three straight birdies (Nos. 15 through 17) and made the turn at 2-under, but scored bogeys on the back, including four in the last six holes. He has a CU-best five birdies here, with 21 pars and 10 bogeys as he is the only CU player and just one of 18 in the entire field to avoid a score higher than a bogey through two rounds.

Junior Derek Fribbs turned in a 6-over 76 after bogeying two of his last three holes, with his 9-over 149 score tying him for 49th entering the final round. He had two birdies and nine pars against six bogeys and a double Saturday, with his five birdies in two days tying Schoolcraft for the most by a Buff.

Junior Jason Burstyn shot an 8-over 78, giving him a 36-hole score of 153, or 13-over and in 68th place. He turned the back nine at 5-over and settled in with six straight pars on Nos. 1 through 6, but unfortunately closed his round with three straight bogeys. He had 10 pars and eight bogeys for his round, and though has avoided big numbers here (just one double), he has just one birdie as well.

Freshman David Oraee struggled for a second straight day, also carding a 78, though he did knock seven strokes off his first round effort. He has been unable to get on track here, with more bogeys (16) than pars (13), but did finish up with a 2-over 37 on the front side, his second nine on Saturday. He escaped last place, but his 163 score (23-over) still has him next-to-last in the field in 89th, but he is within five strokes of moving up 10 notches.

"It was a really tough day out there and the guys battled well," head coach Roy Edwards said. "Overall, I thought we turned a good round into an okay one at the end. We played the five-to-seven hardest holes in the worst weather prior to the delay and to be where we are considering that is really pretty good. As I have said we do need to finish better but I am starting to see improvements in that area.

"These are the kinds of days you find out the kind of guys you have, especially in the character department," he added. "I couldn't be more excited and impressed with how our attitude and effort was today. It shows the kind of character our guys have."

Stanford's Patrick Rodgers assumed the individual lead after firing the day's low round of 67, giving him a 5-under 135 through 36 holes. That's good for a two stroke lead over Oregon's Eugene Wong, who turned in a 68 for a 137 total. First round leader, Fresno State's Rufie Fessler with a 5-under 65, shot a 77 in the second round and is now 14th.

The final round is set for Sunday, as teams will tee off both Nos. 1 and 10 beginning at 9:00 a.m. MDT. Colorado is paired with San Francisco and Washington State in the second round and will tee off on No. 10.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T25.	Kevin Kring	72-73--145
T25.	Beau Schoolcraft	72-73--145
T49.	Derek Fribbs	73-76--149
T68.	Jason Burstyn	75-78--153
89.	David Oraee	85-78--163

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1.	Patrick Rodgers, Stanford	68-67--135
2.	Eugene Wong, Oregon	69-68--137
T3.	Daniel Miernicki, Oregon	66-72--138
T3.	Robbie Ziegler, Oregon	68-70--138
T5.	Nick Chianello, Oregon State	66-73--139
T5.	Sam Smith, USC	70-69--139

TEAM STANDINGS
1.	Oregon	272-284--556
2.	Southern California	279-285--564
3.	UCLA	277-291--568
3.	Stanford	284-284--568
5.	San Diego State	285-293--578
6.	Washington	280-300--580
7.	Nevada	287-303--590
8.	Oregon State	287-303--590
9.	San Francisco	285-306--591
9.	Washington State	294-297--591
11.	COLORADO	292-300--592
12.	Fresno State	285-308--593
13.	San Jose State	294-303--597
14.	UC-Davis	287-314--601
14.	Pepperdine	295-306--601
16.	Utah	304-313--617

Colorado University Athletics