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CU men’s golf team wins championship
Mar 11th
The University of Colorado men’s golf team turned in one of its finest performances of the year in winning the Bandon Dunes Championship here Sunday.
The Buffaloes had four players finish in the top 17 in recording a 2-under par 862 team score, the only one in the 17-team field that was under par as CU posted two of its best single round scores this season the last two days to earn the win. Colorado spent the entire tournament in either first or second, and was never out of the lead the final 30 holes.
The Buffs, ranked No. 79 this week, defeated eight teams ranked ahead of them in going from worst to first in consecutive tournaments for the first time in program history; two weeks ago, CU was 15th out of as many teams in The Prestige at PGA West. That accomplishment topped the 1998-98 team, which opened the spring with a 17th place finish out of 18 teams in the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate but bounced back to win the Southwest Classic its next time out.
It was Colorado’s second major tournament win of the season, as the Buffs won the Air Force Falcon Invitational last September, and also enabled CU to climb back over the .500 mark against Division I teams, improving to 58-52. CU’s last spring tournament victories came in 2008, with wins in both the Louisiana Classics and the Ohio State Kepler Intercollegiate.
Fresno State zoomed into second place, but still finished five shots behind the Buffaloes (867) despite playing the last six holes at 11-under par. No. 3 Washington also turned in a 9-under par final round but couldn’t catch CU in taking third with an 873 score. Rounding out the top five were No. 49 Oregon (874) and No. 14 SMU (882).
It was CU’s first win over a Top 5 team since 2004, when it won the Western Intercollegiate over No. 4 Georgia Tech, and its first against a team ranked third or higher since the 1994 NCAA Central Regional, when the Buffaloes finished second, one spot ahead of No. 1 Oklahoma State.
“The credit really goes to the guys, they did a phenomenal job,” Colorado head coach Roy Edwards said. “Even though we finished where we did in Palm Springs, we played better (than in the spring opener at Hawai’i), we just had too many big numbers. From that standpoint, I definitely saw improvement. The guys were motivated to come out and compete this week and prove that they’re a good team and we definitely did that.”
This is just the fourth time in program history that the Buffaloes have won two major tournaments in the same season, and the first time they have one at least one in both the fall and spring seasons. Three of the four times have happened under Edwards, who is in his seventh year as head coach.
“I know the guys have been working on being more consistent, being generally smarter than they had been with their play,” Edwards said. “We were never too high or too low, the guys were calm this morning and they expected to do well, despite the last couple of tournaments.”
How consistent was CU this weekend? For the 15 rounds combined (270 holes), the five Buffaloes combined for only five double bogeys, zero in the last 179 holes, and no scores worse; they had 50 birdies and 53 bogeys in playing a season-best 79 percent of the holes at par or better.
Senior Jason Burstyn paced the Buffaloes for the seventh time in nine tournaments this season, closing with a second 1-under 71 on the 6,859-yard, par-72 Old Macdonald Course, giving him a 2-under 214 which tied for third, four strokes out of the lead. He flirted with medalist honors early after birdying two of his first five holes and went on to post his third top five finish this season, his fourth in the top 10.
Burstyn completed the tournament with 10 birdies and 37 pars against just six bogeys and a double. He lowered his team-leading stroke average to 71.9, as added to his bests of 15 rounds of par or better, including 12 subpar rounds.
“I felt like I made some pretty good par putts to keep my momentum going,” Burstyn said. “I had a few three putts, but I made a lot of lag putts from 50 feet or so. These greens are tough, big and have a lot of undulation. I have a new driver and I was able to keep it low, under the wind, and that’s been helping as well.”
He had some help for really just the second time this year, as CU had a season-best four players that counted toward the team score in the top 20, and matched best with three at par or better.
“It’s always great to see your teammates play well, and that definitely takes a little pressure off,” Burstyn said. “I still want to do my best no matter what, but it still makes things a little easier. I am proud of everybody.
“We still didn’t even get to practice that much for this tournament,” he added about preparing for Bandon Dunes. “We’ve seemed to be indoors forever. It’s almost like we play better when the conditions are worse. Even two years ago, our first time out here, we played pretty well. The warmer climate teams aren’t used to this, even though the last two days here weren’t bad at all, at least to us.”
Sophomore David Oraee got off to a hot start Sunday, birdying his first three holes (Nos. 2-4) en route to carding a 2-under 70, CU’s best score in the final round. That gave him a 1-under 215 overall, tying him for sixth place, his second best finish of the year. He had four birdies, 12 pars and two bogeys, giving him 11 birdies and 34 pars on the weekend, against just eight total bogeys and a double.
Freshman Philip Juel-Berg also posted his second best finish of the year, fashioning a 1-under 71 Sunday for an even-par 216 total, tying him for ninth place. He opened with a bogey, but after scoring a par reeled off three quick birdies in succession before playing the last 13 holes at 1-over; he had a team-best 12 birdies in the tourney and was the only Buff not score worse than a bogey.
Senior Derek Fribbs carded a 2-over 74, which gave him a 2-over 218, tying him for 17th. He had one of CU’s two low rounds of the tournament (a second round 70), wrapping things up Sunday with three birdies, 10 pars and five bogeys; he had 11 birdies and 31 pars on the weekend. He had one bad patch in the final round (bogeys on Nos. 9-10-11), otherwise would have also been under par for the meet.
Redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo closed strong, as he was playing in his first tournament where his scores counted toward the CU team total. His first two here did not, but his final round 1-over 73 did, as he cruised around with two birdies, 13 pars and just three bogeys to finish with a 15-over 231 total, tying him for 73rd. He birdied his first hole for the second straight day, and would have turned in an even-par effort had he not bogeyed his last hole (No. 2).
Fresno State’s Troix Tonkham claimed medalist honors, as he closed with a 69 for a 6-under 210 total, good for a three-shot win over teammate Rufie Fessler.
“This certainly is a confidence builder,” Edwards said. “I think everyone was frustrated because we knew we were a good team but we just weren’t showing it. It also shows the resolve of the team because it proved that they could come out and beat a lot of high quality teams. All we did was to just put things together a little bit better. College golf nowadays is so competitive, if that you are a little off, you will get beat and sometimes beat badly.”
This was the seventh tournament win under Edwards, snapping a tie with the late Les Fowler for the second-most in a coaches’ reign at CU; the late Mark Simpson’s teams won 16. Both coached at the school for 29 seasons.
The Buffaloes return to action in two weeks, when they will travel to California during CU’s spring break to participate in the Cal-Irvine Anteater Invitational (March 25-26) and the Stanford U.S. Intercollegiate (March 28-30).
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Trujillo ties for for 11th at Wyoming Cowboy Classic
Feb 25th
PALM DESERT, Calif. — University of Colorado redshirt freshman Drew Trujillo shined here this weekend, tying for 11th in the Wyoming Cowboy Golf Classic which was concluded on Sunday.
The second-year team member Montrose had his best career tournament to date, a 1-over 217 which included his first collegiate round in the 60s, a 3-under par 69 on Sunday. That was one of just five rounds in the 60s on Sunday, when the average score on the 7,305-yard, par-72 Classic Club course layout was 76.13.
He also “won” the tournament within the tournament, as he was the top individual among 15 playing here either without a full team or as an extra player for a team with more than five players. Trujillo was very consistent over the three day event, as he recorded his 76-72-69—217 scorecard by making eight birdies and 37 pars with only nine bogeys. He was one of only 18 players in the 100-man field to not record a single hole score worse than a bogey.
He was one of three CU individuals who participated in the meet.
Freshman Ross Thornton turned in a 76-75-80—231 effort, which tied him for 60th; he had 12 birdies, the most by a Buff this spring in a 54-hole tournament, but countered with just 23 pars to offset 14 bogeys, two doubles and three triples.
Junior Johnny Hayes improved a bit each day in fashioning an 80-78-74—232 score, tying him for 62nd. He effort this weekend included five birdies, 33 pars, 12 bogeys, three doubles and a triple.
“It was a great experience for all three guys,” CU head coach Roy Edwards said. “Even though Ross and Johnny didn’t play their best overall, they played some good golf in stretches. However, Drew Trujillo was solid all week an improved each day, and was particularly good in today’s final round. His bogeys were very small and correctable. I was very impressed with him the entire tournament.
TCU ran away with the team title, with its 19-under par 845 score good for a 19-stroke win over St. Mary’s, Calif. TCU’s Julien Brun claimed medalist honors with a 10-under par 206 score.
The entire Colorado team will return to action in two weeks, traveling to the Pacific Northwest to play in the Bandon (Ore.) Dunes Championship, March 8-10.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T11. Drew Trujillo…………………………. 76-72-69—217
T60. Ross Thornton………………………. 76-75-80—231
T62. Johnny Hayes……………………….. 80-78-74—232
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Julien Brun, TCU…………………….. 68-71-67—206
2. Eli Cole, TCU………………………….. 69-73-69—211
3. Finley Ewing, Texas Tech………….. 70-69-74—213
4. Jon De Los Reyes, St. Mary’s……. 69-70-75—214
5. Three tied……………………………… 215
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CU BUFF GOLFERS FINISH SECOND AT UNM TUCKER INVITATIONAL
Sep 29th
The Buffaloes entered the day in third place, 15 shots back of the Lobos, and pulled to within 11 strokes early; but the home team got hot in the middle of the round and pulled away, finishing with a 15-under par 848 team score for a 29-stroke victory over the Buffaloes. Colorado posted a 14-over team score of 878, while San Francisco, in second after two rounds, slipped to third with a 22-over 886 tally.
Colorado is one of three schools to have played in all 58 Tucker invitationals (along with host New Mexico and New Mexico State); the Buffs have never won here but did also finish second in 1956 and 1981.
Senior Jason Burstyn and sophomore David Oraee led the Buffaloes here, as both tied for seventh with 1-over par 217 scores on the 7,578-yard, par-72 UNM Championship golf course.
Burstyn closed his efforts with a 4-over 76, scoring two birdies and six bogeys with 10 pars; his 12 birdies led cu for the week as he posted his third top 10 finish in four meets this fall.
Oraee had three birdies, nine pars and six bogeys en route to his final round 75 (3-over), as he duplicated his finish earlier in the week at CU’s Mark Simpson Invitational. He also has three top 10 efforts this season.
Senior Beau Schoolcraft recorded the team’s best individual score for the second straight round, and was the only Buff under par in the final round with a 1-under 71; he played a solid 18 with three birdies and 13 pars against just bogeys to finish up with a 4-over 220 score which tied him for 13th place (his third top 20 finish this fall). He had eight birdies, a team-best 34 pars and 12 bogeys for the tourney.
Senior Derek Fribbs tied for 38th with a 75 Saturday for a 10-over 226 score. He wrapped things up with two birdies, 12 pars, three bogeys and a double. Freshman Philip Juel-Berg tied for 53rd after fashioning a 2-over 74 in the final round for a 14-over 230. He had two birdies, 12 pars and four bogeys Saturday.
Junior Johnny Hayes competed here as an individual, closing things out with a 5-over 77 (one birdie, 11 par, six bogeys). That also gave him a 14-over 230 total, thus tying Juel-Berg with a 53rd place finish. He had CU’s lone eagle here this weekend with four birdies and 30 pars.
“We got off to a good start and made up a couple of shots, but the New Mexico just hit the gas and ran away from everyone,” coach Roy Edwards said. “We knew the guys would be a little tired from a pretty long week (CU’s tournament was last Monday and Tuesday), and we kind of ran out of gas and didn’t play very well on the back nine. But it’s a credit to the guys to still go out there and shoot the fourth lowest round of the day and also move into second place. We still matched the highest we’ve ever finished here, and it had been three decades since we finished this high.
“I don’t think any team in the country would have beaten New Mexico today. So we’re excited about that.”
CU’s 7-over 295 score on Saturday trailed New Mexico’s 281, the best team round of the tournament, and Minnesota and UTEP’s rounds (294) by a single shot.
New Mexico’s Gavin Green recorded a final round 69 for a 7-under 209 total to win by one stroke over Minnesota’s Erik Van Rooyen, who closed with a 71 and a 210 score.
The Buffaloes, now 37-2 against Division I competition in three tournaments this fall, are off for two weeks until Oct. 8-9, when they will travel to Portland to take part in the Pac-12 Conference Fall Preview.
“Overall, it was a good, solid week for the Buffaloes,” Edwards added. “While we didn’t play our best today, Beau turned in a quality round and Jason and David had solid tournaments.”
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS (*—played as an individual)
T7. Jason Burstyn………………………………….. 68-73-76—217
T7. David Oraee……………………………………… 69-73-75—217
T13. Beau Schoolcraft……………………………… 77-72-71—220
T38. Derek Fribbs…………………………………….. 75-76-75—226
T53. Philip Juel-Berg………………………………… 79-77-74—230
T53. *Johnny Hayes………………………………… 75-78-77—230
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Gavin Green, New Mexico……………………. 71-69-69—209
2. Erik Van Rooyen, Minnesota……………….. 66-73-71—210
3. John Catlin, New Mexico……………………… 76-69-67—212
4. Cory McElyea, San Francisco……………… 69-69-75—213
5. Pete Fernandez, UC-Irvine…………………… 70-69-75—214
TEAM SCORES
1. New Mexico………………………………….. 283-285-281—849
2. Colorado…………………………………….. 289-294-295—878
3. San Francisco………………………………. 297-284-305—886
4. Brigham Young…………………………….. 298-293-299—890
4. Minnesota……………………………………. 288-308-294—890
4. Baylor………………………………………….. 296-290-304—890
7. Texas-El Paso………………………………. 299-298-294—891
8. UC-Irvine……………………………………… 287-301-304—892
9. Arizona…………………………………………. 293-299-303—895
10. Utah…………………………………………….. 303-297-302—902
11. Texas-San Antonio……………………….. 301-299-305—905
12. New Mexico State…………………………. 304-299-305—908
13. Wyoming………………………………………. 308-292-310—910
14. Pepperdine…………………………………… 310-300-308—918