Yannik Paul led the Buffaloes in stroke average in the fall with a 71.0 mark.
Photo by: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.
24th-ranked Buffaloes To Open Spring Season In Hawai'i
January 30, 2017 | Men's Golf
Highest ranking entering the spring in team history
WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i — The University of Colorado men's golf team will open the spring portion of its 2016-17 schedule for the 12th straight year here Thursday in the 26th annual Amer Ari Hawaii-Hilo Invitational.
The tournament, which runs this Thursday through Saturday, is one of many that open the spring collegiate season and will no doubt provide an indication of where the No. 24 Buffaloes stand nationally right out of the chute. And once again, not just nationally as with seven other Pac-12 schools competing, the Buffs will get an early idea of where they stand in the conference.
Annually, the field competing here is one of the strongest in the spring, and it's again no exception this year, as four of the top 10, eight of the top 25 and 12 top 50 schools will be represented in the field. It's thus loaded individually, with 26 of the nation's top 100 individuals, including 12 of the top 27 and six of the top eight.
Colorado, ranked 24th by Golfweek and 28th by GolfStat, will be joined in the field by league counterparts Southern California (ranked No. 6 and 7 respectively by the aforementioned), Stanford (8, 6), Oregon (17, 20), Arizona State (30, 33), UCLA (38, 42), Washington (41, 50) and Oregon State (77, 63). Other top schools competing include Auburn (7 GW, 12 GS), Texas (12, 10), Texas Tech (15, 19), Georgia Tech (26, 25) and St. Mary's (48, 54).
The Buffaloes No. 24 ranking is the highest by the school entering the spring season since the current computer rankings were introduced in the mid-90s. The previous best came in 2003-04, when CU was ranked No. 34 (Golfweek) and No. 39 (GolfStat) under then-head coach, the late Mark Simpson.
The three-day tournament is a real treat for the participants, as the tournament will be played on the renowned 7,074-yard, par-72 Waikoloa King's Course on Hawai'i's Big Island, a Scottish links-style layout with fairways interspersed between ancient lava fields, along with numerous lakes and pot bunkers. The teams will play 18 holes each day in a shotgun start format at 10:30 a.m. MST in weather expected to be near-perfect with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s with little chance of precipitation, though the trade winds can often kick up on occasion.
Colorado head coach Roy Edwards was pleased with his team's effort in the fall, as once again the challenge from the start was blending together a good number of veterans (six) and newcomers (four). The Buffs again won two fall tournaments, the two CU hosts (Ballyneal Challenge, CU's own Mark Simpson Invitational) and finished second in DU's Paintbrush Invitational and third in the Air Force Falcon Invitational, along with two other top five finishes.
"We are ready to get the spring season started this Thursday," Edwards said. "We had a good weekend in Arizona even though the weather was bad a couple of weekends ago, and good practices in Boulder last week. The guys have been working really hard on their own during the offseason and we have high expectations for the spring.
"This tournament has consistently been ranked as one of the top 10 amateur tournaments in the world, not just in college golf, due to the players it attracts," Edwards added. "It's ranked right there with all six regionals, maybe even higher than a couple, and the competition here serves as great motivation for our guys to go out and perform well. It's a great tournament in a special place to start the spring season."
Six Buffaloes are on trip: seniors Ethan Freeman (71.8 fall stroke average) and Jeremy Paul (72.3); juniors Spencer Painton (73.6), Yannik Paul (71.0, the team leader) and John Souza (73.6) and freshmen Morten Toft Hansen (72.9). Painton will most likely be playing as an individual while the other five will count toward CU's team scoring total in the event; Freeman, Hansen, Painton and Yannik Paul played in all six fall tournaments, while Jeremy Paul and Souza competed in five.
CU finished 11th in a field of 19 last year, for the second straight year struggling in the first round (an 8-over 296 that tied the Buffs for 17th) though rallying to play the next two rounds at 8-under, seventh-best in the field. Jeremy Paul topped CU's individual efforts, tying for 30th with a 73-73-68—214 scorecard.
The tournament, which runs this Thursday through Saturday, is one of many that open the spring collegiate season and will no doubt provide an indication of where the No. 24 Buffaloes stand nationally right out of the chute. And once again, not just nationally as with seven other Pac-12 schools competing, the Buffs will get an early idea of where they stand in the conference.
Annually, the field competing here is one of the strongest in the spring, and it's again no exception this year, as four of the top 10, eight of the top 25 and 12 top 50 schools will be represented in the field. It's thus loaded individually, with 26 of the nation's top 100 individuals, including 12 of the top 27 and six of the top eight.
Colorado, ranked 24th by Golfweek and 28th by GolfStat, will be joined in the field by league counterparts Southern California (ranked No. 6 and 7 respectively by the aforementioned), Stanford (8, 6), Oregon (17, 20), Arizona State (30, 33), UCLA (38, 42), Washington (41, 50) and Oregon State (77, 63). Other top schools competing include Auburn (7 GW, 12 GS), Texas (12, 10), Texas Tech (15, 19), Georgia Tech (26, 25) and St. Mary's (48, 54).
The Buffaloes No. 24 ranking is the highest by the school entering the spring season since the current computer rankings were introduced in the mid-90s. The previous best came in 2003-04, when CU was ranked No. 34 (Golfweek) and No. 39 (GolfStat) under then-head coach, the late Mark Simpson.
The three-day tournament is a real treat for the participants, as the tournament will be played on the renowned 7,074-yard, par-72 Waikoloa King's Course on Hawai'i's Big Island, a Scottish links-style layout with fairways interspersed between ancient lava fields, along with numerous lakes and pot bunkers. The teams will play 18 holes each day in a shotgun start format at 10:30 a.m. MST in weather expected to be near-perfect with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s with little chance of precipitation, though the trade winds can often kick up on occasion.
Colorado head coach Roy Edwards was pleased with his team's effort in the fall, as once again the challenge from the start was blending together a good number of veterans (six) and newcomers (four). The Buffs again won two fall tournaments, the two CU hosts (Ballyneal Challenge, CU's own Mark Simpson Invitational) and finished second in DU's Paintbrush Invitational and third in the Air Force Falcon Invitational, along with two other top five finishes.
"We are ready to get the spring season started this Thursday," Edwards said. "We had a good weekend in Arizona even though the weather was bad a couple of weekends ago, and good practices in Boulder last week. The guys have been working really hard on their own during the offseason and we have high expectations for the spring.
"This tournament has consistently been ranked as one of the top 10 amateur tournaments in the world, not just in college golf, due to the players it attracts," Edwards added. "It's ranked right there with all six regionals, maybe even higher than a couple, and the competition here serves as great motivation for our guys to go out and perform well. It's a great tournament in a special place to start the spring season."
Six Buffaloes are on trip: seniors Ethan Freeman (71.8 fall stroke average) and Jeremy Paul (72.3); juniors Spencer Painton (73.6), Yannik Paul (71.0, the team leader) and John Souza (73.6) and freshmen Morten Toft Hansen (72.9). Painton will most likely be playing as an individual while the other five will count toward CU's team scoring total in the event; Freeman, Hansen, Painton and Yannik Paul played in all six fall tournaments, while Jeremy Paul and Souza competed in five.
CU finished 11th in a field of 19 last year, for the second straight year struggling in the first round (an 8-over 296 that tied the Buffs for 17th) though rallying to play the next two rounds at 8-under, seventh-best in the field. Jeremy Paul topped CU's individual efforts, tying for 30th with a 73-73-68—214 scorecard.
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