Men's Golf: Buffs In Seventh At Oregon Duck Invite

         EUGENE, Ore. - The University of Colorado men's golf team returned to the Beaver State for its second tournament in six days, where the Buffaloes find themselves seventh after two rounds of the Oregon Duck Invitational.

         No. 12 and host Oregon used the best single round of the tournament, a 9-under 279 in Monday's afternoon round, to take a one-shot leading heading into Tuesday's final 18 holes.  The Ducks have an overall team score of 563, or 13-under par, with first round leader No. 49 Long Beach State on their heels at 564.  No. 38 St. Mary's is in third at 576, followed by No. 42 Oregon State in fourth (584) and No. 48 San Francisco in fifth (588).

        Just nine strokes separate fifth through 10th place, with the Buffaloes' 594 team score nearly wedged in the middle of that pack.  Colorado finished a spring-best sixth last week in the Bandon Dunes Championship, held about two hours to the southwest on the Oregon coast.

        Senior Kevin Kring, CU's stroke average leader (72.8), continued is solid play this spring, as he paced the Buffs on Monday with a pair of even par rounds, with his 144 total on the 7,007-yard, par-72 Eugene Country Club course layout good for a ninth-place tie.  He is one of just 16 players in the field to shoot par or better for 36 holes.

        It was a cool, crisp day with temperatures in the mid-50s, but windy at times with gusts reaching 20 miles per hour.  Colorado was tied for eighth after the first 18 holes, posting a 10-over team score of 298.  In the first round, 13 players broke par (four shot in the 60s) with another six matching it, including Kring.  CU turned in an 8-over 296 in the second round, with similar numbers in the field (14 players breaking par with seven others duplicating it, Kring being joined by CU junior Derek Fribbs).

         Kring played the par-5s at 3-under (16th best in the field) and the par-3's even (seventh-best) for the day, as he was one of 10 players to record an eagle.  He added four birdies, 25 pars and just six bogeys to finish equal to par for 36 holes.

          Fribbs is tied for 36th with a 6-over 150 total, posting a team-best seven birdies on the day, tied for ninth-most overall, along with scoring 19 pars, seven bogeys and three doubles, two of which he scored in his first 10 holes on the day which led to a first round 78 before he bounced back with his round of par.  He matched Kring in playing the eight par-5 holes Monday at 3-under.

          Junior Beau Schoolcraft and freshman David Oraee are both tied for 42nd with 7-over 151 scores, getting their in identical fashion, with 75-76 scorecards.  Schoolcraft did it with six birdies and 17 pars against 13 bogeys, while Oraee had four birdies and 24 pars, with five bogeys and three doubles on the bad side of par.

          Junior Jason Burstyn rounded out the Buff contingent with a pair of 76s, his 152 total tying him for 50th.  He had five birdies and 20 pars against nine bogeys and two doubles.

         "We're playing okay, it's not where we want to be but at the same time, it's not bad by any means," head coach Roy Edwards said.  "Kevin is playing very solid, he had excellent course management today and a result shot even in both rounds, and Derek rallied after being six-over in his first round to shoot par.  We're playing similar to how we did at Bandon Dunes, but the courses are really very different.  Bandon was wide open, where this is damp, soft and tree-lined.

         "We're a handful of shots out of fifth," he added.  "We want to finish strong here, pick up a few more (Division I) wins and then move down the coast for one of our bigger tests this spring."

         St. Mary's Anders Engell and Oregon's Eugene Wong both stand at 6-under 138 through 36 holes, tow o fjust eight players in the 80-man field who are under par heading into the final round.

         The Buffaloes again for the most part avoided large numbers Monday, with just eight holes worse than bogey (all doubles) collectively in the 180 played; the Buffs had Kring's eagle, 26 birdies and 105 pars with 40 bogeys.  Colorado is hoping to improve its 58-51-3 against Division I teams this year, as to be eligible for the postseason, schools must have a .500 record or better against Division I competition. 

          The final round is set for Tuesday with a 9:30 a.m. (MDT) shotgun start; Colorado is paired with San Francisco, Pacific and San Jose State.  The Buffs will then travel a few hours down the Pacific coast to Palo Alto this Friday through Sunday to play in the U.S. Intercollegiate in what could be a precursor to next month's Pac-12 Championships, with nine conference teams participating.