Golfers Second, Remain in Title Hunt At Big 12's
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - The University of Colorado men's golf team dueled throughout the day with top-ranked Oklahoma State, and at the end of three rounds the Cowboys broke the previous day's tie with the Buffaloes in taking a three stroke lead in the 13th Annual Big 12 Conference Championship.
Colorado, ranked No. 47 by Golfweek, led by one or two strokes at various junctures Tuesday, with OSU doing the same, once being ahead by as many as five, that is when the two weren't deadlocked. The Cowboys played the last five holes at 4-under to take the lead with an 868 team score (28-over par), though CU was right there, 2-under in the same span to close at 871.
No. 12 Texas A&M remained in third (881), with No. 46 Baylor (883) fourth; Kansas and Kansas State are tied for fifth with 894 scores.
The last time CU was in serious contention heading into the final round to win a league title came in 1981, when the Buffs trailed OSU by one shot; the Cowboys went on to defeat the Buffs by seven. That team featured Steve Jones, a future U.S. Open winner, that year's Big Eight champion, Terry Kahl, and Rick Cramer. CU's best finish in the Big 12 meet has been third place, which it did in 1998 and 2000.
Baylor's Bill Allcorn remained in the individual lead for the third straight round, carding an even-par 70 to finish 54 holes at 1-under par 209. Oklahoma State's Morgann Hoffman put a 68 in the books for a 210 total to stand alone in second, with the rest of the 58-man field over par. Kansas State's Robert Streb shot the tournament's best round, a 67, to move into third at 211.
Colorado has played toe-to-toe with the number one team in the country through three rounds, and when asked if he would have been happy being in second place, three strokes out with 18 holes left, CU head coach Roy Edwards pondered it for a second.
"I'd have said I'd love to be in first, but three strokes on this course is almost like a tie with one round to go, so we're right there," he answered. "If we can keep doing what we're doing and compete, we're going to be right there at the end when this get sorted out."
Without scoreboards on the course, it's hard to tell, especially in team golf, where one might stand. Edwards had a feeling his team remained in solid contention throughout the day.
"I was a little bit aware of the fact we were in and out of first place all day, but the guys did a good job of competing in general," he said. "Playing with Oklahoma State you have a sense if things are tight or not, and I was really proud of the way we've kept to our game plan and have done exactly what we've talked about in team meetings."
CU continued to be paced by its senior duo of Derek Tolan and Patrick Grady. Tolan was tied for the lead after 36 holes, and spent the first portion of the day ahead by a stroke or tied for the top spot. A triple bogey on No. 9, and then a bogey on No. 17, a hole he had birdied the two previous rounds, were the main reasons he shot a 4-over 74 on the 6,701-yard, par-70 Prairie Dunes Country Club course Tuesday. It left him with a 213 total for three rounds, four back of the lead in sixth place.
Grady snuck ahead of Tolan in the standings, with an even-par 70 maintaining his score at a 2-over 212, tying him for fourth. He overcame a rough patch where he went double-bogey-bogey by scoring two birdies in his final three holes, which also enabled the Buffs to keep nipping at the heels of the nation's No. 1-ranked team.
Grady likened his 71-71-70 scorecard on this course to shooting three straight rounds in the 60s on an easier test.
"It definitely feels the same, but it's all relative. If you're in the top five, you're doing well," he said. "I haven't been hitting the ball that well this week, but I've been able to keep the ball in front of me and keep it in play. My greens in regulation have been horrible, but I've been putting well. I'm not missing by far, I'm either on the fringes or just off the green, and I've made a lot of good chips."
"This course is tough to start with, and we're going to have tough pin placements tomorrow," Grady added. "If we can shoot around par, we're going to have a great chance to win. Just get it in the fairway and then the fat side of the greens and get it down in two putts."
Freshman Kevin Kring opened with four pars but then scored a triple bogey on the par-4 No. 5, then closed his front nine with back-to-back double bogeys, turning at 42. However, he came back and played the back nine even to post a 77, which gave him a 226 total (+16) for 54 holes which has him tied for 20th in the standings. His 13 pars for the round were the most by a Buffalo on Tuesday.
Junior Luke Symons posted a second straight 73 after a tough luck opening 85 to for a 231 total, tying him for 37th. He had two birdies, 11 pars and five bogeys on the day; he was 1-under through four holes but bogeyed four of his next six before recording pars on his last eight holes of the day.
Freshman Johnny Widmer shot his best round of the event, posted a 3-over 73 to give him a 232 total (+22), which has him tied for 42nd. He was 2-over par through five holes, came back and birdied No. 6, then would par the next two holes and bogey the third three straight times before scoring par on Nos. 16 and 17 and closing the day with a birdie on 18.
CU has two freshmen participating in the Big 12's for the first time since 2000 (when Kane Webber and Stephen Carroll tied for 11th). Edwards is pleased that Kring and Widmer combined have contributed scores of 78, 71 and 73 that have counted toward team scoring, key performances needed from the fourth and fifth men in the lineup.
"I'm very happy with that. The freshmen are very capable of playing well," Edwards said. "Both Kevin and Johnny have done a great job all year of just trying to get better, and to do what is under their control. They've both improved throughout the season and that has continued here in what you could call their first collegiate postseason. Johnny played a little steadier today, and of course Kevin had a near record performance for a freshman yesterday. I'm very pleased with what they've done here."
The final round Wednesday will see Colorado paired once again with Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. The three will tee off on No. 1 between 7:50 and 8:30 a.m. MDT. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
"The guys are generally excited about getting out there and playing and competing," Edwards said about his team's frame of mind going into the final round. "We've been in the lead group several times this season, so they know what it's about. The golf course is very difficult and you can over analyze it, so we just need to go out there and play and see where things end up at the end of the day."
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T4. Patrick Grady.................................. 71-71-70-212
6. Derek Tolan.................................... 71-68-74-213
T20. Kevin Kring..................................... 78-71-77-226
T37. Luke Symons.................................. 85-73-73-231
T42. Johnny Widmer................................ 78-81-73-232
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Bill Allcorn, Baylor.......................... 68-71-70-209
2. Morgan Hoffman, Oklahoma State...... 71-71-68-210
3. Robert Streb, Kansas State............... 69-75-67-211
4. Patrick Grady, Colorado................ 71-71-70-212
4. Bronson Burgoon, Texas A & M......... 72-68-72-212
TEAM SCORES
1. Oklahoma State........................... 293-288-287-868
2. COLORADO............................... 298-283-290-871
3. Texas A&M................................. 301-284-296-881
4. Baylor........................................ 297-293-293-883
5. Kansas....................................... 298-306-290-894
5. Kansas State.............................. 304-301-289-894
7. Texas Tech................................. 295-304-300-899
8. Missouri..................................... 310-307-290-907
9. Iowa State.................................. 306-308-295-909
10. Nebraska.................................... 319-293-300-912
11. Texas......................................... 303-305-306-914
12. Oklahoma................................... 310-301-306-917