Posts tagged Sophomore David Oraee
BUFF GOLFERS SLIP INTO SEVENTH AT PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 1st
Freshman Juel-Berg Continues To Lead Buffaloes
LOS ANGELES — The University of Colorado men’s golf team slipped a notch from a tie for sixth into one for seventh after a high-scoring third round saw team scores escalate as the Pac-12 Conference Championships head into the final day of competition Wednesday.
No. 1 California remained in the lead but saw it shrink from nine strokes down to two. The Bears own a 1,056 team score, 6-over par, which is just ahead of No. 3 and host UCLA (1,058), which shot one of the two low rounds for the day, a 4-over 354. No. 4 Washington held its third place position, but is well back of the leaders at 1,078; Arizona State used the other low round in the field to zoom into fourth (1,084), with No. 7 Stanford rounding out the top five (1,092).
The Buffaloes, ranked No. 60, didn’t have a great day, but didn’t shoot themselves out of a first division finish, either. Colorado turned in a 30-over par 380 score for a 1,110 overall total, which has it tied with No. 11 Southern California and No. 51 Oregon State.
All 12 schools shot over par – to the tune of a total of 235 strokes. Only three players in the field turned in under par rounds Tuesday, with just four others matching par as the average score in the 72-man field jumped from 73.29 in the first round to 74.69 in the third.
The Buffs collectively recorded just eight birdies Tuesday, with 58 pars, 39 bogeys, four doubles and a quadruple.
“The hole locations were much more difficult,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “It was really tough out there, really hard. This is a major championship test, and in fields like this on a course like this, it’s hard to play 72 holes straight without having some struggles. And everyone went through it, this is one of USC’s home courses and they’re dead even with us through three rounds. It’s just a big time challenge out there, but the truth is that it is very fair. The greens are very firm and very, very fast. This is a top 10 golf course in the world since they restored it three years ago.”
“I thought we did okay under the circumstances, and of course we wanted to play better,” Edwards added. “But we had way too many three-putts, my guess is somewhere around 20, 25. We were in pretty good spots for the most part, we only had a few bad approach shots, so for the most part things were in our control putting-wise. Much of the damage was early.”
CU’s six players were collectively 15-over par through just five holes, and also were 10-over the last three.
Freshman Philip Juel-Berg continued to pace the Buffaloes, though he shot a 7-over 77 in the third round; his 7-over 217 is tied for 20th on the 7,236-yard, par-70 Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course design. He had 11 pars and seven bogeys on his day, with his 39 pars tied for the most in the field and his 4.07 average on the par-4 holes is sixth best. Of the 16 freshmen in the field (including three redshirts), Juel-Berg is fifth among them heading into the last 18 holes.
Junior Johnny Hayes shot CU’s best round of the day, a 4-over 74, which gave him a 10-over 220 total that has him tied for 27th. He had two birdies, 10 pars and six bogeys for his round; he turned at 5-over but was one of the few players in the field to play either nine under par when he had both of his birds and just one bogey on the front side.
Senior Derek Fribbs turned in a 6-over 76 for a 221 score (11-over), as he had two birdies and eight pars against eight bogeys Wednesday. He was even though 10 holes but bogeyed six of the last eight holes coming into the clubhouse.
Fribbs and Juel-Berg have yet to have a score worse than a bogey.
Sophomore David Oraee fashioned a 5-over 75, which has him in as 12-over 222 for 54 holes; he had a birdie and 11 pars against six bogeys for his effort on the day. Like many of his teammates, he was over par early, in his case, 4-over seven holes in, but settled down and played the last 11 at just 1-over.
Redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo shot an 8-over 78 for a 233 score (23-over), as he had 10 pars against six bogeys and a double for the third round. Tied for 67th in the field, he opened with a double on No. 10 and then bogeyed the next three holes to stand 5-over just four holes in, but gathered himself to reel off eight straight pars.
Senior Jason Burstyn, CU’s No. 1 player and leader in stroke average (72.15), continued to struggle, though was playing a little better than he did Monday until he was derailed on his final hole of the day, the par-3 No. 9 where he scored a quadruple bogey after having some trouble in the bunker. He finished with a 9-over 79 for a 234 total (plus-24), which has him in 69th place entering the final round. He started the round well with a birdie, and had scored his third of the day right before the disaster on No. 9. Burstyn came into the meet with just one triple bogey in 34 rounds (and just three in 68 rounds dating to last year), but has had to endure a triple and a quad here this week.
Cal’s Max Homa is still riding his first round course record 61 and extended his individual lead to five strokes, as he shot a 71 in the third round for an 8-under 202. UCLA freshman Jonathan Garrick also shot a 71 for a 3-under 207 total, with four others six strokes back at 2-under 208.
The fourth and final round is set for Wednesday, with play beginning at 9 a.m. MDT off both the No. 1 and 10 tees; Colorado will be paired with USC and Oregon State and will begin play off the back nine on Wednesday in the first six groups to start the day.
“We’re hoping this was our ‘struggle’ round of the week and that we will finish strong and rebound Wednesday,” Edwards said.
NOTES: Through 54 holes, just six players are under par and two others at even … After six eagles were recorded on Monday, just one went into the books Tuesday … Fribbs (-4) and Hayes (-3) are two of just 18 players in the field to be more than 2-under par on the three par-5 holes … The Pac-12 Network will air highlights of the championship on Saturday, May 11, at Noon MDT.
LOS ANGELES — The University of Colorado men’s golf team slipped a notch from a tie for sixth into one for seventh after a high-scoring third round saw team scores escalate as the Pac-12 Conference Championships head into the final day of competition Wednesday.
No. 1 California remained in the lead but saw it shrink from nine strokes down to two. The Bears own a 1,056 team score, 6-over par, which is just ahead of No. 3 and host UCLA (1,058), which shot one of the two low rounds for the day, a 4-over 354. No. 4 Washington held its third place position, but is well back of the leaders at 1,078; Arizona State used the other low round in the field to zoom into fourth (1,084), with No. 7 Stanford rounding out the top five (1,092).
The Buffaloes, ranked No. 60, didn’t have a great day, but didn’t shoot themselves out of a first division finish, either. Colorado turned in a 30-over par 380 score for a 1,110 overall total, which has it tied with No. 11 Southern California and No. 51 Oregon State.
All 12 schools shot over par – to the tune of a total of 235 strokes. Only three players in the field turned in under par rounds Tuesday, with just four others matching par as the average score in the 72-man field jumped from 73.29 in the first round to 74.69 in the third.
The Buffs collectively recorded just eight birdies Tuesday, with 58 pars, 39 bogeys, four doubles and a quadruple.
“The hole locations were much more difficult,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “It was really tough out there, really hard. This is a major championship test, and in fields like this on a course like this, it’s hard to play 72 holes straight without having some struggles. And everyone went through it, this is one of USC’s home courses and they’re dead even with us through three rounds. It’s just a big time challenge out there, but the truth is that it is very fair. The greens are very firm and very, very fast. This is a top 10 golf course in the world since they restored it three years ago.”
“I thought we did okay under the circumstances, and of course we wanted to play better,” Edwards added. “But we had way too many three-putts, my guess is somewhere around 20, 25. We were in pretty good spots for the most part, we only had a few bad approach shots, so for the most part things were in our control putting-wise. Much of the damage was early.”
CU’s six players were collectively 15-over par through just five holes, and also were 10-over the last three.
Freshman Philip Juel-Berg continued to pace the Buffaloes, though he shot a 7-over 77 in the third round; his 7-over 217 is tied for 20th on the 7,236-yard, par-70 Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course design. He had 11 pars and seven bogeys on his day, with his 39 pars tied for the most in the field and his 4.07 average on the par-4 holes is sixth best. Of the 16 freshmen in the field (including three redshirts), Juel-Berg is fifth among them heading into the last 18 holes.
Junior Johnny Hayes shot CU’s best round of the day, a 4-over 74, which gave him a 10-over 220 total that has him tied for 27th. He had two birdies, 10 pars and six bogeys for his round; he turned at 5-over but was one of the few players in the field to play either nine under par when he had both of his birds and just one bogey on the front side.
Senior Derek Fribbs turned in a 6-over 76 for a 221 score (11-over), as he had two birdies and eight pars against eight bogeys Wednesday. He was even though 10 holes but bogeyed six of the last eight holes coming into the clubhouse.
Fribbs and Juel-Berg have yet to have a score worse than a bogey.
Sophomore David Oraee fashioned a 5-over 75, which has him in as 12-over 222 for 54 holes; he had a birdie and 11 pars against six bogeys for his effort on the day. Like many of his teammates, he was over par early, in his case, 4-over seven holes in, but settled down and played the last 11 at just 1-over.
Redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo shot an 8-over 78 for a 233 score (23-over), as he had 10 pars against six bogeys and a double for the third round. Tied for 67th in the field, he opened with a double on No. 10 and then bogeyed the next three holes to stand 5-over just four holes in, but gathered himself to reel off eight straight pars.
Senior Jason Burstyn, CU’s No. 1 player and leader in stroke average (72.15), continued to struggle, though was playing a little better than he did Monday until he was derailed on his final hole of the day, the par-3 No. 9 where he scored a quadruple bogey after having some trouble in the bunker. He finished with a 9-over 79 for a 234 total (plus-24), which has him in 69th place entering the final round. He started the round well with a birdie, and had scored his third of the day right before the disaster on No. 9. Burstyn came into the meet with just one triple bogey in 34 rounds (and just three in 68 rounds dating to last year), but has had to endure a triple and a quad here this week.
Cal’s Max Homa is still riding his first round course record 61 and extended his individual lead to five strokes, as he shot a 71 in the third round for an 8-under 202. UCLA freshman Jonathan Garrick also shot a 71 for a 3-under 207 total, with four others six strokes back at 2-under 208.
The fourth and final round is set for Wednesday, with play beginning at 9 a.m. MDT off both the No. 1 and 10 tees; Colorado will be paired with USC and Oregon State and will begin play off the back nine on Wednesday in the first six groups to start the day.
“We’re hoping this was our ‘struggle’ round of the week and that we will finish strong and rebound Wednesday,” Edwards said.
NOTES: Through 54 holes, just six players are under par and two others at even … After six eagles were recorded on Monday, just one went into the books Tuesday … Fribbs (-4) and Hayes (-3) are two of just 18 players in the field to be more than 2-under par on the three par-5 holes … The Pac-12 Network will air highlights of the championship on Saturday, May 11, at Noon MDT.
Buff golfers rise to the top of the heap
Apr 10th
BUFFs FINISH SECOND AT WYOMING COWBOY CLASSIC SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. —
The University of Colorado men’s golf team had quite the final tune-up for the Pac-12 Championship later this month, as the Buffaloes used near-record improvement from one round to the next to jump from seventh into a second place finish in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic here Tuesday.
Colorado turned in the low round of the wind-shortened tournament, a 6-under 274 for a two round total of 580, second only to Gonzaga, which turned a 275 in the second round for a 574 overall score. CU had opened with a 306 score in extremely windy conditions Monday, which forced the cancellation of the second round after a nearly six hour first round, in which only two of the 24 teams in the field broke 300; on Tuesday in much calmer weather, all but one shot better than 300. No. 22 St. Mary’s (Calif.) and No. 40 Tulsa tied for third at 582, with Pac-12 rival Arizona fifth at 584. First round leader Wichita State fell to sixth with a 587 count. The Buffs, ranked No. 64 by GolfStat and No. 74 by Golfweek, defeated five teams ranked ahead of them and improved their record against Division I competition this season to 96-53.
It’s the third time that Colorado has finished either first or second in a tournament five times in a season: in 1980-81, the Buffs won two and had three runner-up efforts as they have done this year, and in 2008-09, CU had one win and four seconds. The team’s 32-stroke improvement from one round to the next was the second best in school annals; in the 1985 Air Force Falcon Invitational, the Buffs shot a first round 414 and then a second round 381 for a 33-shot improvement. That was a six player-five scorer tournament; the previous best in the more common five-for-four was 29-strokes in the 2005 PING-Arizona Intercollegiate (312 to 283 between the first and second rounds). “A great job by the team today, and any time you shoot the low round of the day in a tournament you are excited,” head coach Roy Edwards said.
“To do it in a field of 24 teams and in the final round is particularly satisfying. We didn’t play very well yesterday, but the team really battled in very challenging conditions and was in position to shoot a low score.” All five CU designated scorers improved their scores Tuesday, led by junior Johnny Hayes, who rallied to fire a 1-under 69 after an 85 on Monday – the 16-stroke improvement tied for the fourth largest in CU history, trailing the top best of 18 (John Nyuli in the 1990 Miami-Doral Invitational, when he shot a second round 90 and a final round 72), and two 17 shot make ups (Rick Cramer at the 1989 New Mexico Tucker Invitational and Edward McGlasson in the 2002 Prestige at PGA West). Hayes vaulted from 116th place in the standings into a tie for 80th on the 7,133-yard, par-70 Talking Stick North Course layout with his 154, or 14-over par score. Senior Jason Burstyn lopped off nine strokes between rounds, with his 76-67—143 (3-over) effort tying him for 10th, as he moved up from 27th. He was among the leaders in par-3 (sixth) and par-4 (14th) scoring. Freshman Philip Juel-Berg did the same, as he fashioned a 79-70—149 scorecard here to tie for 40th, jumping 30 spots; his 25 pars were a team high and tied for the 14th most in the field. CU’s top finisher was senior Derek Fribbs, who tied for seventh. He had posted CU’s best first round score with a 4-over 74, and he managed to shave six strokes off that effort with a 2-under 68 for a 36-hole total of 142. He tied for the third most birdies in the field here with seven, played the two par-5 holes here at 3-under, tied for the best overall, and the 12 par-4 holes here at 4.08 per, sixth best. “Jason and Derek played really solid and Johnny did an awesome job of coming back from a poor first round,” Edwards said. “The team should be proud, but we need to continue to work and improve every day leading up to the Pac-12 Championship. We are fortunate to have a great group of guys who I know are very excited to keep getting better.” Sophomore David Oraee rounded out the CU scorers, finishing with a 77-76—153 (13-over) score, which tied him for 72nd. Redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo played as an individual here, and he tied for 95th (77-79—156). UC-Santa Barbara junior Glen Scher captured medalist honors with a 70-68—138, the only player under par in the tournament; there was a four-way tie for second with those players at an even par 140. The average score for 250 rounds here was almost six over par at 75.88, though it dropped from 78.64 to 73.06 between the two rounds. The Pac-12 Championships are in three weeks, set for April 29-May 1 at Los Angeles Country Club. Colorado appears to be peaking at the right time: the Buffs are 11-29 this year against Pac-12 opposition, but the bulk of that damage came in three tournaments, including the first two out of the chute this spring where the Buffs were 0-24; CU is 6-1 against league brethren in the last month.
by David Plati Associate AD/Sports Information University of Colorado Buffaloes 357 UCB / Fieldhouse Annex #50 Boulder, CO 80309-0357 303/492-5626 (office)
