Golfers Slip To 22nd At NCAA Central Regional
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SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - By the time the University of Colorado men's golf team teed off Friday, it was apparent that the scores by the 15 teams playing in the morning round were much lower than the previous day, and the Buffaloes had hopes of doing the same.
But when the day came to a close, CU nipped just five strokes off its Thursday total and slipped from 13th to 22nd place after two rounds of the 19th Annual NCAA Central Regional. The end result is that the Buffaloes are now in a precarious position to extend their season, as only the top 10 teams will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals in two weeks; Colorado is 18 strokes out of the 10th and final qualifying spot.
No. 21 Tulsa wrestled the lead away from No. 23 Louisville, as the Golden Hurricane turned in the best single round of the regional Friday, an 8-under par 280, for a 585 team score through 36 holes. That enabled Tulsa to jump from fourth to first in the standings, scooting past the Cardinals, the first day leader which ended the day seven shots back at 592 after a round of 10-over. No. 7 Lamar recorded a 7-under 281 to move from eighth to third with 594, while No. 3 Alabama put a 1-under round into the books and finished the day in fourth at 596.
Colorado, ranked No. 66, posted a 22-over par team score of 310, giving the Buffaloes a total of 625, or 49-over par. But more importantly, the Buffs lost 16 strokes on the last qualifying position, as CU entered the day just two shots out of 10th.
"We really struggled, and it was a tough day for us, especially since several teams were able to post low scores, but unfortunately we were not able to shoot one of them," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.
"Each one of us needs to finish a little bit better and adjust to the difficulty of the golf course. We hurt our position, and it will take a near perfect round to come back, but we have to come back with a new attitude."
The Buffaloes own the second largest final day comeback in the previous 18 NCAA Central regionals, having rallied from 18 strokes out the final day in 1999 in Columbus, Ohio, and then winning a playoff against Kent State to advance. CU will have to do the same if it hopes to advance to the NCAA Finals for the first time since 2002.
Colorado started on the front nine on the 7,214-yard, par-72 Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club course and made the turn at 9-over par, thanks to a couple of birdies on the ninth hole. All five Buffs parred No. 10 with sophomore Derek Tolan, who had one of the birds on No. 9, scoring another par on No. 11. But the wheels came off at that point, as junior Michael Baird doubled the hole right after Tolan was through, and then the Buffs collectively scored two bogeys and two doubles on the 192-yard, par-3 No. 12, starting the slide down the standings.
The Buffs had been anywhere from 11th to 16th for most of the front nine on the live leaderboard.
That started a stretch of five holes where Baird, CU's No. 1 man, scored two doubles and a bogey, though he closed the day on a positive note with a birdie on 18 to finish with a 5-over par 77 ? one of three Buffs to record that figure Friday. That was a seven-shot improvement over his first round Thursday, giving him a 161 total through 36 holes.
Tolan fired a 79, as he had two bogeys and four pars after doubling No. 12; his two day total stands at 12-over 156, tying him for 74th in the standings.
Junior Patrick Grady continued to pace the Buffaloes, as he had a fairly steady round with a birdie and six bogeys o his way to a 5-over 77. His two round total of 153 has him tied for 48th individually; the top two individuals from teams that do not advance will also qualify for the NCAA Finals, but at this point, it appears Grady will have his work cut out for him either way as he is nine shots back of the second player in the standings not belonging to a team in the top 10.
Freshman Luke Symons, just the eighth freshman in CU history to play in the NCAA's, shot a 5-over 77 in the second round to join Tolan with a 36-hole total of 156; after opening with three bogeys in the first five holes, he settled down and played the remainder of his round just 2-over par. Only one frosh has ever been under par through 36 holes in an NCAA tournament for the Buffaloes, that coming in 1995 when Knut Ekjord was 2-under after two rounds of the Central Regional in Montgomery, Texas.
Senior Blake Moore had bounced back from an 83 Thursday to play the front side even, as he had two birdies and two bogeys, and opened with a pair of pars on the back nine. Then disaster struck, as he closed the round with a bogey, two doubles and a triple to shoot 80 one the day, giving him a 163 total.
The weather improved Friday, with little wind and temperatures in the 60s, though play was delayed for an hour at the start due to frost. It was a far cry from the wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour for the first round, and what a difference it made. There were just four subpar scores (none in the 60s) and one even par round Thursday, whereas on Friday, 26 players bested par, including 10 rounds in the 60s, with nine equaling par.
Lamar's Dawie Van Der Walt assumed the individual lead, as he carded a 3-under 69 for a 140 total, good for a one stroke edge over Louisville's Daryl Fathauer, who shot a 2-under 70 for his 141. They are the only two players under par in the meet, with two others matching par.
The Central Regional remained the toughest challenge of the three regionals, as its leader (Tulsa) was at 9-over par; in the East, Georgia leads with a 2-under total, while out west, UCLA is ahead of the pack at 35-under par (21 of the 27 teams competing in Tempe are under par, 19 more than the other regionals combined).
The third and final round is Saturday, with the top 15 teams teeing off first, to be followed by the last 12 and the six individuals competing here without a team. Colorado will be paired with Oklahoma and Purdue and starts play at 11:59 a.m. MDT. The top 10 teams here will join 10 from both the East and West regions in advancing to the NCAA Championship Finals, set for May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.
IRISH OPEN?Former CU golfer Matthew Zions and the entire field battled horrible conditions, about the worst possible without play being cancelled. Rain, wind gusts from 43 to 59 miles per hour and temperatures in the 40s plagued the second round, which ended with Padraig Harrington in the lead at 3-under 141. Matt shot a 6-over par 78 for a two-day total of 149, good enough to make the cut as he is tied for 43rd place, eight out of the top spot, heading into the weekend.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T48. Patrick Grady................................ 76-77?153
T74. Derek Tolan.................................. 77-79?156
T74. Luke Symons................................ 79-77?156
T107. Michael Baird................................ 84-77?161
T118. Blake Moore.................................. 83-80?163
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Dawie Van Der Walt, Lamar............. 71-69?140
2. Daryl Fathauer, Louisville................ 71-70?141
3. Tim Streng, Western Illinois............. 74-70?144
3. Dan Woltman, Wisconsin................. 73-71?144
5. Ryan Henry, Tulsa........................... 77-68?145
5. Brett Myers, Tulsa........................... 71-74?145
5. Andrew Landry, Arkansas............... 74-71?145
TEAM SCORES
1. Tulsa........................................ 305-280?585
2. Louisville................................. 294-298?592
3. Lamar...................................... 313-281?594
4. Alabama.................................. 309-287?596
5. Tennessee............................... 314-289?603
6. Minnesota............................... 314-290?604
7. Texas....................................... 303-302?605
8. Oklahoma State..................... 306-300?606
8. Texas Tech............................. 315-291?606
10. Texas A & M............................ 320-287?607
11. Michigan State....................... 319-290?609
11. Northwestern......................... 316-293?609
11. Wisconsin............................... 304-305?609
14. SE Louisiana........................... 319-294?613
15. Illinois State............................ 317-297?614
16. Western Illinois...................... 313-304?617
17. Wichita State.......................... 331-287?618
18. Baylor...................................... 309-311?620
19. SMU......................................... 317-306?623
20. Kansas..................................... 313-311?624
20. Nebraska................................. 319-305?624
22. COLORADO................... 315-310?625
23. Oklahoma............................... 320-306?626
24. Purdue.................................... 320-310?630
25. TCU.......................................... 332-315?647
26. Siena....................................... 351-306?657
27. Texas Southern...................... 357-330?687