Monday, May 15
TBA
All Day
Colorado
vs
NCAA Regionals
John Souza recorded one of two 75s by CU golfers Monday to lead the Buffalo attack.
Buff Golfers In 11th At NCAA Central/Purdue Regional
May 15, 2017 | Men's Golf
CU Struggles With Rare High Opening Round Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The University of Colorado men's golf team didn't start here as hoped in the first round of the NCAA Central/Purdue Regional, ending the first round in 11th place.
Colorado, ranked No. 32 in the nation (GolfStat; No. 26 Golfweek) and the No. 6 seed in the 13-team field, started on No. 10 and was even through six holes. But the Buffaloes went eight straight holes without a birdie while collectively playing those at 14-over (9-over by the eventual scorers). CU finished the day at 16-over 304.
No. 17 Nevada-Las Vegas recorded the only subpar round Monday, a 1-under 287, which leads No. 8 Illinois and No. 44 New Mexico by one shot. No. 28 South Carolina is fourth (291), with No. 5 Florida and the regional's top seed in a three-way tie for fifth with No. 20 Auburn and No. 38 Purdue at 292.
The top five teams and top individual who is not a member of those squads will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, scheduled for May 26-31 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
In 21 regional appearances, the Buffaloes have now turned in a score of 300-plus 11 times, but had not broached that number the last five outings. CU had been averaging a shade under 288 for its 12 first rounds this season with the 304 its highest opening 18 for the year.
Juniors Yannik Paul and John Souza paced the CU attack in the opening round, as both carded 3-over par 75s, tying them for 37th overall. Both arrived at their total in nearly identical fashion, with Paul scoring two birdies and 11 pars against five bogeys while Souza had one birdie and 13 pars while netting four bogeys on the 7,411-yard, par-72 Kampen Course layout.
Paul played the tough par-4s here fairly well, as was 1-under on the 10 combined, tied for eighth-best in the field; he also played what turned out to be the nine toughest holes Monday at just 1-over. Souza bogeyed four of his first eight holes but bounced back to play his last 10 at 1-under.
Senior Ethan Freeman and freshman Victor Bjorlow recorded 5-over par 77s as both are tied for 53rd. Freeman, the active team stroke average leader (72.0), was even through seven but closed the back nine with two bogeys, which he also did on the front side. He managed a single birdie with 11 pars that were countered by six bogeys. He did play the par-3s even, eighth-best in the field, which was no easy chore.
Bjorlow opened with 11 straight pars until encountering some struggles down the stretch, scoring four bogeys and double over his next six holes, though he managed a birdie in the midst of that run and closed with par. One of 12 freshmen competing here this week, he's tied for seventh among the rookie group after 18 holes.
Junior Spencer Painton fired a 6-over 78 to round out the CU contingent; he's tied for 60th after matching Paul with a team-best two birdies along with 10 pars (with four bogeys and two doubles). He was closing strong, with birdies on Nos. 6 and 8, but ended his day with a double.
"Just a bad day, didn't play well overall," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We actually were doing a decent job of hanging in there, but then played the par-5 4th hole poorly (four bogeys) and then just didn't finish well. A disappointing start, really because of a combination of things. We didn't make many birdies early, couldn't get putts to fall, and overall just didn't do anything well. We couldn't get anything going."
Edwards has been around long enough to know the Buffaloes aren't out it; CU also owns the low round in college golf this season, a 22-under par 266, which it recorded in the second round of Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate back in February.
"We're absolutely still in it," he said. "A good round tomorrow will get us back in it, and there's really no way around it, we have to play better so are backs aren't totally against the wall come Wednesday. The weather for the final round is going to pose a challenge with heavy winds in the forecast.
"We just simply must move on from this, remain focused on having a good practice session (later Monday) and then playing our best Tuesday. We can't sit around and dwell on how poorly today went, that won't help us tomorrow or Wednesday."
UNLV's John Oda is the individual leader through 18 holes, as he carded a 5-under 67; that's good for a one-shot lead over a pair of players, including Illinois' Edoardo Lipparelli, who scored a 30 on his front nine before coming back to Earth a bit.
Colorado, ranked No. 32 in the nation (GolfStat; No. 26 Golfweek) and the No. 6 seed in the 13-team field, started on No. 10 and was even through six holes. But the Buffaloes went eight straight holes without a birdie while collectively playing those at 14-over (9-over by the eventual scorers). CU finished the day at 16-over 304.
No. 17 Nevada-Las Vegas recorded the only subpar round Monday, a 1-under 287, which leads No. 8 Illinois and No. 44 New Mexico by one shot. No. 28 South Carolina is fourth (291), with No. 5 Florida and the regional's top seed in a three-way tie for fifth with No. 20 Auburn and No. 38 Purdue at 292.
The top five teams and top individual who is not a member of those squads will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, scheduled for May 26-31 in Sugar Grove, Ill.
In 21 regional appearances, the Buffaloes have now turned in a score of 300-plus 11 times, but had not broached that number the last five outings. CU had been averaging a shade under 288 for its 12 first rounds this season with the 304 its highest opening 18 for the year.
Juniors Yannik Paul and John Souza paced the CU attack in the opening round, as both carded 3-over par 75s, tying them for 37th overall. Both arrived at their total in nearly identical fashion, with Paul scoring two birdies and 11 pars against five bogeys while Souza had one birdie and 13 pars while netting four bogeys on the 7,411-yard, par-72 Kampen Course layout.
Paul played the tough par-4s here fairly well, as was 1-under on the 10 combined, tied for eighth-best in the field; he also played what turned out to be the nine toughest holes Monday at just 1-over. Souza bogeyed four of his first eight holes but bounced back to play his last 10 at 1-under.
Senior Ethan Freeman and freshman Victor Bjorlow recorded 5-over par 77s as both are tied for 53rd. Freeman, the active team stroke average leader (72.0), was even through seven but closed the back nine with two bogeys, which he also did on the front side. He managed a single birdie with 11 pars that were countered by six bogeys. He did play the par-3s even, eighth-best in the field, which was no easy chore.
Bjorlow opened with 11 straight pars until encountering some struggles down the stretch, scoring four bogeys and double over his next six holes, though he managed a birdie in the midst of that run and closed with par. One of 12 freshmen competing here this week, he's tied for seventh among the rookie group after 18 holes.
Junior Spencer Painton fired a 6-over 78 to round out the CU contingent; he's tied for 60th after matching Paul with a team-best two birdies along with 10 pars (with four bogeys and two doubles). He was closing strong, with birdies on Nos. 6 and 8, but ended his day with a double.
"Just a bad day, didn't play well overall," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "We actually were doing a decent job of hanging in there, but then played the par-5 4th hole poorly (four bogeys) and then just didn't finish well. A disappointing start, really because of a combination of things. We didn't make many birdies early, couldn't get putts to fall, and overall just didn't do anything well. We couldn't get anything going."
Edwards has been around long enough to know the Buffaloes aren't out it; CU also owns the low round in college golf this season, a 22-under par 266, which it recorded in the second round of Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate back in February.
"We're absolutely still in it," he said. "A good round tomorrow will get us back in it, and there's really no way around it, we have to play better so are backs aren't totally against the wall come Wednesday. The weather for the final round is going to pose a challenge with heavy winds in the forecast.
"We just simply must move on from this, remain focused on having a good practice session (later Monday) and then playing our best Tuesday. We can't sit around and dwell on how poorly today went, that won't help us tomorrow or Wednesday."
UNLV's John Oda is the individual leader through 18 holes, as he carded a 5-under 67; that's good for a one-shot lead over a pair of players, including Illinois' Edoardo Lipparelli, who scored a 30 on his front nine before coming back to Earth a bit.
The second round is set for Tuesday, with Colorado starting on the No. 10 tee at 6:55 a.m. MDT and paired with Richmond and Campbell. The third and final round is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
NOTES: CU alum Sebastian Heisele, who turned professional in the winter of 2013 immediately after graduating, recorded his best finish on the European Tour on Sunday: he tied for fourth in the Open de Portugal, turning in a 64-70-71-72—207 scorecard (-15; the course was a par-73). He won approximately 25,250 for his effort … The average score for the 75-man field Monday was 74.81 (76.5 for the 12 freshmen competing, with the top scores a pair of 72s) … As a team, Colorado played the par-3s fifth-best in the field (+5); the Buffs logged 57 pars (third-most, Florida led with 62), but their seven birdies were next to last … Five players recorded scores in the 60s with 13 posting subpar rounds and another 11 equaling par; on the other end of the spectrum, eight players shot in the 80s … Other than the possibility of the winds picking up, the weather forecast looks good: temperatures should climb into the lows 80s both days with minimal chances of precipitation.
| BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
| T37. | Yannik Paul | 39-36—75 |
| T37. | John Souza | 35-40—75 |
| T53. | Ethan Freeman | 39-38—77 |
| T53. | Victor Bjorlow | 41-36—77 |
| T60. | Spencer Painton | 38-40—78 |
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
| 1. | John Oda, UNLV | 35-32—67 |
| T2. | Edoardo Lipparelli, Illinois | 30-38—68 |
| T2. | Trent Wallace, Illinois State | 33-35—68 |
| T4. | Keenan Huskey, South Carolina | 35-34—69 |
| T4. | Peyton White, Ohio | 35-34—69 |
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1. | UNLV | 287 |
| T2. | Illinois | 288 |
| T2. | New Mexico | 288 |
| 4. | South Carolina | 291 |
| T5. | Purdue | 292 |
| T5. | Auburn | 292 |
| T5. | Florida | 292 |
| 8. | St. Mary's | 294 |
| 9. | Augusta | 296 |
| 10. | Richmond | 297 |
| 11. | COLORADO | 304 |
| 12. | Campbell | 306 |
| 13. | Cleveland State | 310 |
Players Mentioned
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