Buff Golfers Crack National Rankings

BOULDER  — The University of Colorado men’s golf team has entered the Top 25 in the national rankings for the first time in three years, as the Buffaloes appeared in the first regular season rankings of all three organizations that closely follow college golf which were released Wednesday.

The Buffaloes are No. 10 in the GolfStat and No. 14 in the Golfweek rankings, both computer models including performance, head-to-head competition, etc., and are No. 24 in the Golf World / NIKE Golf Coaches poll.  CU has opened the 2011-12 season with a pair of victories, winning its own Mark Simpson Invitational and then tying for the title in the Gene Miranda Air Force Invitational.  It’s the first time in school history that the Buffs have won back-to-back major tournaments.

It’s also the first time since the inception of the Golf World coaches balloting over a decade ago that the Buffaloes received enough votes to crack the Top 25.  Colorado was also ranked No. 10 (by Golfweek) early in the 2008-09 season after opening with a win and a runner-up finish. 

"It is an honor our players' performance to date has been recognized by the coaches who vote in this poll,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said.  “Our guys have done outstanding job thus far in the season.  Historically, northern teams rarely get ranked in the coaches’ poll so this is a nice accomplishment."

CU’s is joined by new conference mates Stanford, Oregon, USC, Washington and California in the various Top 25’s, as the Pac-12 is generally considered one of, if not the, strongest leagues annually in men’s golf.