Golfers To Open Season With Three Events Over Nine Days
BOULDER — The University of Colorado men's golf team is set to finally embark on its 2020-21 season, as collegiate competition has resumed and finds the Buffaloes set to compete in three events beginning this Thursday in Palm Desert, Calif.
Only CU's lacrosse and the outdoor track teams have yet to compete in the 2020-21 school year. When the Buffs open play Thursday afternoon with the first of a three-round creative dual match against Wyoming, it will end a span of 337 days with no collegiate competition for the Buffaloes because of the pandemic.
Colorado head coach Roy Edwards is in his 15th season at the reins of the program, and he potentially has one of his best teams to date. With all four seniors off last year's team opting to return for another year due to the NCAA allowing an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has his largest roster in his tenure with 13 players.
After the Wyoming dual competition, the Buffs open tournament play in The Prestige, Monday through Wednesday of next week; then next Friday (through Sunday), CU will participate in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. The Prestige will take place on the Greg Norman Course at PGA West (7,156 yards, par-72), while Wyoming's meet will be on the Classic Club course (7,305 yard, par-72).
Traveling to the Southwest are seniors Daniel O'Loughlin and Victor Bjorlow, both in their second attempts at a senior year, juniors Kristoffer Max and John Paterson, sophomore Adam Matteson, redshirt freshman Canon Olkowski and graduate transfer Chris Bornhorst.
"Needless to say everyone involved in the program is excited to get the season underway," Edwards said. "The team is very motivated to get out and compete as a team again and represent the University of Colorado. We have a wonderful trip to Palm Springs planned that features a match and two of the best tournaments so far this year for us to compete in. Since early summer, the message from the top in our athletic department through our direct support staff has been to find a way to safely play and compete and here we are with the opportunity to do just that.
"A lot of people put in a lot of work and sacrifice to make that happen," he continued. "We thank everyone involved in getting it done for us. The team has been working very hard and we expect a strong spring for many of them, both individually and collectively. If we have a laser-focus on what we have control over – attitude, work ethic, course management, preparation, and others – we will be in position to have a great season. As we have started, the team has done a great job of doing just that."
O'Loughlin has been CU's No. 1 player for the last two seasons, and if his career had ended last spring, he would have finished as the school's all-time stroke average leader with a 71.71 mark for 98 rounds, just edging Jeremy Paul's 71.72 (138 rounds). So he'll have a chance to finish as the record holder with a closer number of rounds to Paul's.