Golfers Struggle On First Day Of Big 12's
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - The University of Colorado men's golf team had aspirations of doing extremely well when it made the trek over the weekend, but the Buffaloes find themselves in 11th place after the first two rounds were played Monday in the 11th Annual Big 12 Conference Championships.
Sixth-ranked Oklahoma State owns the lead with a 579 score (19-over par), as the Cowboys have a five-shot edge over No. 12 Texas A & M, the first round leader. No. 27 Texas is in third (591), with No. 40 Texas Tech a distant fourth (595).
While temperatures were pleasant (upper 60s to mid 70s all day), winds fairly calm early on eventually reached persistent gusts of 18 to 25 miles per hour around midday before subsiding. And substantial wind of any kind always makes a tough 6,611-yard, par-70 Prairie Dunes Country Club course even tougher, though the winds had died down considerably from what the teams experienced while practicing here over the weekend. There were just two subpar and one even par round recorded out of 120 scores posted Monday.
"It's basically the only golf course most of us will play in any year where you have to be a good at every part of your game," CU head coach Roy Edwards said of Prairie Dunes. "We didn't hit it well off the tee, or into the greens, and once on, we didn't putt well. At some courses, you can hide the deficient parts of your games, but not here. Things add up quickly here, and it's not the kind of course where you have a lot of chances to make up those lost strokes. This is not what we envisioned in the least."
The Buffs started on the back nine and struggled to a 313 team score in the opening round (33-over par), as junior Patrick Grady posted CU's best morning score, a 6-over 76. Collectively, none of the Colorado quintet could get much going, as the group recorded just four birdies against 32 bogeys, eight doubles and two triples, with pars on the other 44 holes. Grady was 3-over on each side, as was junior Michael Baird on the front nine, otherwise it was battle to break 40 with four of the 10 nine hole scores recorded 41 or higher.
Baird was Colorado's top performer Monday, as he recorded a 77-73?150 performance, which has him tied for 19th. He had a couple of double bogeys on the front side of his second round, and stood 5-over through 11, but bounced back with two birdies over the last seven holes to wrap the day with the 3-over 73.
Senior Blake Moore rebounded from a first round 80 to match CU's best single round of the day with a 73 in the afternoon, as he closed strong with two birdies in his last three holes and played the back nine at 1-under. He is tied for 31st with a 13-over 153. Grady posted an afternoon 78 to close with a 154 score, tying him for 36th.
"The course is really hard, there's just no other way to put it," Moore said. "Every shot can get away from you. It was a long frustrating day and you had to be able to grind it out. Mike and I were able to do that on our last nines, but everyone had their struggles. Honestly, we're disappointed right now because we thought we were going to do well coming into this tournament.
"We're fortunate that we can still catch a lot of the teams ahead of us," he added. "Tomorrow is an important round for a lot of different reasons, so we're all going to have to step it up." Moore alluded to the fact that the Buffs postseason chances could hinge on what the team accomplishes in the final round.
With junior Tom Gempel struggling to post a pair of 88s, and sophomore Derek Tolan recording identical 80s for his two rounds, the Buffaloes were forced to count the latter into their team score.
"Nothing against Tom, but things get really tough when it becomes apparent that you're automatically playing with just four scores counting," Edwards lamented. We've been struggling to find both a number four and number five guy all year long. We haven't had any margin for error once one guy started to struggle, or even if someone made a couple of mistakes. That's why it's so important to have everyone competing for fourth place on the roster instead of fifth. Those schools that didn't have someone post a flashy number played steadier in those four and five spots.
"That being said, Blake and Michael played really good on the back nine, both had it under par so they proved we could do it," he added. Moore and Baird posted 1-under 34 on the tougher back nine, tied with three others for the best effort out of 120 attempts on the day. Seven players were under par on the front side, including a pair of 2-under 33s.
The only players to break par Monday are 1-2 on the leaderboard, as Texas Tech's Oscar Floren owns the individual lead after a 72-69?141 effort, while Texas A&M's Robert Gates is one back after recording a 69-73?142 scorecard.
The final round is set for Tuesday, with tee times beginning at 7:00 through 8:30 a.m. MDT; Colorado will be paired with Nebraska and Iowa State for the final 18 holes.
"We're certainly looking to try and catch those fifth place teams, and that's a lot of teams to jump," Edwards said. "But that has to be our mindset, and if we play the way we know we're capable of and have shown at times, I think we have a chance of doing it."
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T19. Michael Baird............................. 77-73?150
T31. Blake Moore............................... 80-73?153
T36. Patrick Grady.............................. 76-78?154
T54. Derek Tolan................................ 80-80?160
60. Tom Gempel.............................. 88-88?176
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
1. Oscar Floren, Texas Tech................ 72-69?141
2. Robert Gates, Texas A&M............... 69-73?142
3. Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State......... 70-73?143
3. Brady Schnell, Nebraska................. 72-71?143
5. Tyler Leon, Oklahoma State ........... 72-72?144
TEAM SCORES
1. Oklahoma State..................... 290-289?579
2. Texas A & M.......................... 285-299?584
3. Texas..................................... 293-298?591
4. Texas Tech............................ 303-292?595
5. Oklahoma.............................. 303-301?604
5. Missouri................................ 304-300?604
7. Kansas State.......................... 304-301?605
7. Baylor.................................... 302-303?605
9. Kansas................................... 302-311?613
10. Nebraska............................... 313-303?616
11. COLORADO.......................... 313-304?617
12. Iowa State.............................. 311-311?622