Buffs Finish 13th In Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The University of Colorado men's golf team couldn't gain any ground in the final round, thus finished 13th in the fifth annual Puerto Rico Classic which was completed here Tuesday.
Oklahoma State shot the low round of the tournament, a 6-under par 282, to leap from third to first in winning by 10 strokes, as the Cowboys were the only team under par (-2) for the tournament with a 562 total. No. 1 Clemson, defending national champ and No. 10 Minnesota and No. 11 Texas all tied for second with 572 team scores.
The Buffaloes were in 13th place after two rounds and remained there, finishing with a 907 score. Colorado, playing with three freshmen, hung tough in the meet, which was one of the toughest to date this year, including eight of the nation's top 15 teams.
Sophomore Mike Brenneman matched his season best with a 2-over 74 Tuesday on the 6,954-yard, par-72 Westin Rio Mar Country Club layout. That gave him a three round total of 224, tying him for 35th place. Freshman Edward McGlasson tied for 45th with a 226 score after recording a second straight 75, while senior captain Stephen Carroll also scored a 75 to close out with a 228 (tying for 53rd). Freshmen Derek O'Neill (76-230) and Shaun Justice (77-236) rounded out the CU scoring.
North Carolina State's Justin Walters and Texas' Jason Hartwick shared medalist honors as both finished at 5-under 211; Hartwick scored the day's best round of 67 in catching Walters, who was in second heading into the final round. Only seven golfers were under par for the tournament with just one more at even par out of the 90 players in the field, a low number considering the number of ranked teams and individuals that competed.
"We didn't make up any ground, but no one played poorly, either, so all-in-all this will be a good learning experience for the younger guys," CU head coach Mark Simpson said. "It was a good field, a tough golf course, and the weather conditions bounced around from day-to-day. Those are all things young guys have to get acclimated with, because there are so many factors that go into putting up a good score. For the most part, when someone got in trouble here, they rebounded and played smart golf.
"We're off and running," Simpson said of the spring start, which included an eighth place finish in the Matlock Collegiate last Tuesday. "I saw a lot of good things, and we know we're a talented bunch. This team is just going to get better and better each time out."
The Buffs will resume action in two weeks, as Colorado makes its annual sojourn to the Lafayette for the Louisiana Classics.
Buffalo Individuals
T35. Mike Brenneman.......... 75-75-74--224
T45. Edward McGlasson........ 76-75-75--226
T53. Stephen Carroll......... 81-72-75--228
T56. Derek O'Neill........... 79-75-76--230
T73. Shaun Justice........... 80-79-77--236
Team Scores
1. Oklahoma State........ 291-289-282--862
2. Clemson............... 293-293-286--872
2. Minnesota............. 291-286-295--872
2. Texas................. 296-291-285--872
5. Florida............... 300-291-283--874
6. North Carolina State.. 288-286-301--875
7. Georgia Tech.......... 301-289-292--882
8. Oklahoma.............. 316-288-291--895
9. East Tennessee State.. 300-301-295--896
9. Northwestern.......... 300-297-299--896
11. Georgia............... 305-293-299--897
12. Duke.................. 304-301-299--904
13. COLORADO.............. 310-297-300--907
14. Kent State............ 311-303-295--909
15. Purdue................ 316-299-299--914
16. Illinois.............. 316-306-306--928
17. Virginia.............. 325-313-311--949
18. Michigan.............. 325-313-313--960