Men's Golf Releases 2020-21 Spring Schedule

                BOULDER — The University of Colorado men's golf team is set to open its 2020-21 season the latest since the pre-World War II days as the Buffaloes will compete in back-to-back February tournaments in Palm Desert, Calif.
 
                Colorado head coach Roy Edwards is beginning his 15th season as coach of the Buffaloes, as he is fourth in longevity among CU's current coaching staff behind Richard Rokos (skiing, 31st year), Mark Wetmore (cross country and track, 26th season) and Anne Kelly (women's golf, 24th year).  Edwards' roster is 13 players deep, as all four seniors from the '19-20 team that saw its season cut short due to the pandemic electing to return for an additional crack at a final season.
 
                CU will open in The Prestige, to be held Feb. 15-17 at the Greg Norman Course at PGA West, a 7,156-yard, par-72 configuration that will offer the teams a solid challenge right out of the gate.  Then from Feb. 19-21, the Buffaloes will remain in the golfing paradise and compete in Wyoming's Desert Intercollegiate, held at the Classic Club, a 7,305-yard, par-72 layout.
 
                Colorado was one of the original schools to compete in The Prestige, originally a fall competition for top academic schools when it was created in 2000.  The Buffs played in the first nine and just once since, with their best finish a runner-up effort in 2001.
                       
                It will be the ninth time the Buffs will play in Wyoming's event, as they finished 10th (out of 21 teams) last year, the second-to-last even before all competition was shut down on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  CU has finished second four times in it, and recorded the best single round score in school history – a 22-under par 266 – in the second round in 2017.
 
                March will be busy month with three events on the schedule, beginning with the Lamkin San Diego Classic at the San Diego Country Club (March 8-10), followed by the National Invitational Tournament hosted by the University of Arizona at Tucson National (March 20-21) and The Goodwin at Stanford Golf Club in Palo Alto (March 25-27).
 
                In April, the Buffaloes will travel to Chandler, Ariz., for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club (Apr. 5-6); as of now, the next scheduled event is the Pac-12 Championships in Santa Rosa, Calif., April 26-28, hosted by Cal at Mayacama Golf Club.  Edwards has indicated that he may add another tournament or dual match events in the weeks prior to the conference meet.
 
                The NCAA Championships commence May 17-19 with six regionals around the country, with the NCAA Finals in Scottsdale, Ariz., from May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 
"We are incredibly excited about the schedule we have put together for the 2021 spring season," Edwards said.  "We've got one of the most competitive schedules of any college golf team in the country.  We have got a group of guys that are really excited to get out and compete after the season last year that was cut off in mid-March.
 
"I would like to make a special mention to all the wonderful people in the athletic department that have allowed us to get to this point," he added.  "A lot of people deserve credit, but special thank yous to our trainer Kari Kebach and strength and conditioning coach Steve Englehart have gone above and beyond."
 
                There are eight returning lettermen, led by the four second-time seniors, Daniel O'Loughlin, Ross Macdonald, Victor Bjorlow and Andre Leveque; senior Cole Krantz, two juniors, Kristoffer Max and John Paterson, sophomore Adam Matteson and two redshirt freshmen, Jack Hughes and Canon Olkowski.
 
                There are three newcomers to the program, graduate transfer Chris Bornhorst, who comes to CU from Babson (Mass.)  College, and freshmen Jacob Mason (Holy Family High School in Westminster) and Ryan Mendez (from San Diego's Torrey Pines High).
 
NOTES:  There were no fall tournaments in college golf due to the pandemic, but many players from around the country competed on occasion in regional amateur events, including many Buffaloes … "Despite college golf being shut down since March, several guys on the team have continued to play high-competitive schedules and their games have really developed as a byproduct of those efforts," Edwards said … Canon Olkowski had the most success, as he finished second on the points list in the Saguaro Amateur Series (which was co-created by Edwards); he had four top 15 finishes in series that spans the full calendar year, topped by a second place finish earlier this month in the Saguaro Amateur (69-69-68—206, -10), one shot out of the lead … Victor Bjorlow tied for second in the Colorado Golf Association's Fall Amateur, where Cole Krantz tied for seventh and Kristoffer Max for 11th; Bjorlow finished third earlier this week in the Copa Andalucia in Spain … John Paterson tied for third in the Fort Collins GCAA Amateur with a 72-68-67—207 (-3) effort … Jacob Mason finished third in the Colorado Junior Amateur (held at Commonground GC in Aurora) … Ryan Mendez tied for sixth in the inaugural Silverado Amateur (Napa, Calif.) … And last summer, Ross Macdonald reached the finals of the Colorado Golf Association Match Play Championship for the second time in three years, while Jack Hughes made the semifinals and Andre Leveque advanced to the round of 16 … Daniel O'Loughlin's career average of 71.71 for 98 rounds currently stands as the best in school history, topping Jeremy Paul by one-one hundredth of a stroke (71.72); he is the only player in school history with at least two seasons with sub-72.0 stroke averages, and he recorded three: 71.54 as a sophomore, 71.90 as a junior and 71.65 as a senior.
 
COLORADO 2020-21 MEN'S GOLF SCHEDULE

*—Regional sites (host): Southeast— Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida State); Central—Stillwater, Okla. (Oklahoma State); Midwest— Noblesville, Ind. (Ball State);
South—Nashville, Tenn. (Vanderbilt); Southwest—Albuquerque, N.M. (New Mexico; Northwest—Cle Elum, Wash. (Washington).