Men's Golf: Buffs Move Into Fifth At Bandon Dunes

      BANDON, Ore. - The University of Colorado men's golf team shot the fourth best team score here Saturday and in the process jumped up two notches in the standings into a tie for fifth place after two rounds of the 3rd Annual Bandon Dunes Championship.

      No. 3 Washington extended its first round lead from three to seven strokes, posting a 3-over 571 score through 36 holes.  Long Beach State is in second at 578, followed by No. 9 Oregon (584), Oregon State (585) and then a three-way tie for fifth between Colorado, British Columbia and San Jose State, all at 19-over 587.

      The Buffs played the front nine and the last three holes even, with the par-4 No. 10 (4-over) and the par-4 No. 14 (2-over) accounting for the bulk of CU's numbers in the black.

      Junior Derek Fribbs recorded CU's best individual round thus far this spring, as he fashioned a 3-under 68 for a 1-over 143 overall score, which has him tied for seventh place on the 6,178-yard, par-71 Bandon Trails Black Course.  He scored six birdies and nine pars with just three bogeys, shooting 34 on each nine and closing with two birdies on his final three holes.  The 68 was one of four in the 60s recorded on Saturday (six total in the meet), tied for the second lowest in the field overall.

      Senior Kevin Kring fired a 4-over 75 for a 6-over 148, tying him for 28th place.  He was even at the turn after an adventurous start which saw him record three birdies over the last five holes.  But he doubled the par-4 10th before scoring six straight pars and then closed with back-to-back bogeys.

      Two other Buffs are also tied for 28th; junior Jason Burstyn shot a 4-over 75 as he had one birdie, 12 pars and five bogeys on the day.   Junior Beau Schoolcraft shot a 2-over 73 on the strength of a birdie and 14 pars, with three bogeys; he played the last five holes at 1-under par.  He has a team-best 25 pars in two days here.

      Freshman David Oraee was cruising along, standing at even par through 11 holes before he endured a wild ride over his last seven holes.  After birdying No. 12, he scored a double bogey, then a bogey before recording a par and then a birdie on No. 16 to get back to just 1-over.  But he closed with a double on No. 17 and a bogey on No. 18 for a second straight 75 here and an 8-over 150 total through 36 holes, tying him for 42nd.  He wound up with three birdies, 10 pars, three bogeys and those two doubles on the round.

      "Overall, it was a much better day and we're in good position going into the final round," head coach Roy Edwards said.  "Course management is very important here; it's a 'position' golf course for sure.  The way the hole locations were today, if you hit it in the wrong place, you're going to make a bogey or worse.  But if you hit it in the right place, you had a real good chance at birdie.

      "The weather was incredibly perfect," Edwards added, referring to the downpour most of the teams in the field had to endure to finish the first round.   "Derek played really well, very solid.  He did a lot of really good things.  We've harped on course management all year, and he did a really good job today of just that, of putting himself in the right place.   He's really starting to come into his own."  

      Washington's Chris Williams shot a tournament-best 4-under 67 to give him a 36-hole total of 138, as he owns the individual lead by two strokes over Oregon's Rak Cho (68-140).

      The third and final round is set for 9:30 a.m. MDT on Sunday.