KOHALA COAST, Hawai'i — The University of Colorado men’s golf team opened the spring portion of its season here Wednesday, and in the middle of paradise the Buffaloes find themselves about in the middle of the pack of highly ranked teams in standing in a 10th-place tie after the first round of the Amer Ari Mauna Lani Invitational.
The 6,913-yard, par 72 Mauna Lani North Course claimed victory over those who played it Wednesday, surrendering no rounds in the sixties, the six subpar rounds and only five at even par. Otherwise, 109 of the 120 rounds were over par, including 34 rounds of 80 or higher. And this from a field which includes six top 10 teams and 13 in the nation’s top 29.
No. 14 UCLA managed to turn in an even-par 288 team score to take a three stroke lead on the strength of all four of its scorers ending the day in the top 12. No. 12 Washington and No. 29 Oregon are tied for second at 291, with No. 21 Southern Cal (293) and No. 19 Texas Tech (296) rounding out the top five.
Colorado, entering the spring ranked No. 83, turned in a 304 score, right in the middle of the six teams ranked in the top 10, as at least after one round, the Buffs have the edge on No. 4 Florida State (306), No. 7 TCU (310) and No. 6 Arizona State (313).
In the fall, CU bounced back with lower scores in the second round than it record in the first four times in five tournaments. Wednesday, the Buffs weren’t horrible despite posting a team score of 16-over par; the CU quintet had 62 pars in 90 holes, collectively no one really caught fire. The Buffs had five birdies, but those were undone by 19 bogeys, three doubles and a triple.
Sophomore Kevin Kring paced the Buffs in the opening round, as his 1-under 71 has him sixth in the standings and was one of just six subpar rounds recorded Wednesday. He was in and out of the lead much of the day after scoring birdies on three of his first seven holes, but bogeys on two of his last three cost him a share of the lead. He is behind a quintet of golfers who scored 2-under 70s for a five-way tie for first.
“We had a few big numbers, and lost some shots late, or else we could have been around 10-over,” CU head coach Roy Edwards. “We have to do a better job of just saving shots. But that’s part of the deal this time of year. No one is in peak form, and you have to be disciplined in making good decisions, and do the easy things well. The team that does that he best is going to win. As was the case with many teams, we made things difficult today.
“The hole locations were very difficult, and some of the teams were hurt when the winds turned about five holes into the round,” Edwards added. “It was very challenging from that standpoint. But it’s a hard golf course. If there is little or no wind, you can score out here. But when the wind picks up, look out. The greens are fair, but the pins were tucked away in several hard spots, making it very tough to get it close.”
Senior Justin Bardgett and junior Michael Imperato posted CU’s next best efforts with 5-over 77s. Bardgett had CU’s other two birdies, but five bogeys and a double helped keep him in black numbers. Imperato had a team-best 14 pars, with three bogeys and a double.
Sophomores Sebastian Heisele and Derek Fribbs rounded out Colorado’s day with 7-over 79s. Heisele had 12 pars, five bogeys and a double, while Fribbs had 13 pars, four boges and a triple.
The second rounds will commence at 10:30 a.m. mountain time Thursday, with the final round set for the same time on Friday.
T6. Kevin Kring................................... 35-36—71
T50. Justin Bardgett........................... 40-37—77
T50. Michael Imperato........................ 39-38—77
T74. Sebastian Heisele....................... 39-40—79
T74. Derek Fribbs................................ 38-41—79
1. Nils Floren, Texas Tech ............. 36-34—70
2. Bobby Hudson, Texas................. 35-35—70
T3. Alex Kim, UCLA.......................... 36-34—70
T3. Nick Taylor, Washington............ 36-34—70
T3. Andrew Vijarro, Oregon.............. 34-36—70
1. UCLA....................................... 288
2. Oregon..................................... 291
2. Washington............................. 291
4. Southern California................. 293
5. Texas Tech.............................. 296
6. Stanford................................... 297
6. Texas....................................... 297
8. Oklahoma State...................... 299
9. Oregon State........................... 302
10. COLORADO............................. 304
10. Georgia Tech........................... 304
12. UC-Davis................................. 306
12. Florida State............................ 306
14. San Jose State........................ 308
15. TCU.......................................... 310
16. Hawai'i..................................... 311
17. San Francisco......................... 312
18. Arizona State........................... 313
19. CSU-East Bay.......................... 316
19. Hawai'i-Hilo............................. 316
21. Rhode Island............................ 324
22. Sonoma State......................... 331
