Men's Golfers Tied For Fourth In San Diego

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The University of Colorado men's golf team had its best opening round of the year and ended Monday tied for fourth in the Lamkin San Diego Classic.
 
Co-host and No. 51 San Diego posted a 5-under 283 to own the lead after the first of three rounds, while No. 46 Southern California (285) and No. 67 Nevada (286) also multiple strokes under par.
 
The Buffaloes, No. 84 by GolfStat, is tied for fourth with UCLA at 1-under 287, just four strokes off the lead.  The Buffs started on the back nine and made the turn at 1-under par, and then had a flurry of birdies with an eagle that had them in the lead at one point at 8-under par.  But the three toughest holes of the day lied ahead (Nos. 5, 6 and 9), and CU came back down to earth a bit with the scorers playing those 5-over.
 
It was the best first round in three events for Colorado; in its previous two, the Buffs entered the second round at 10- and 8-over par.
 
Senior Daniel O'Loughlin carded a 3-under 69 and stands tied for sixth individually, as he had four birdies and 13 pars against a single bogey on the 7,033-yard, par-72 San Diego Country Club course.  His only bogey came on his 13th hole of the day, ending a run of 31 straight holes of par or better, a team-high over the last three seasons.  It was his 31st career round in the 60s and his 46th under par.  He played the par-3s at 1-under, tied for second-best in the 112-man field.
 
Senior Victor Bjorlow is tied for 27th after fashioning an even-par 72.  He has an eagle, three birdies and 10 pars to counter three birdies and a double.  For the second time this young season, he holed out for an eagle on a par-4.   On the 461-yard 4th, he drove the ball over 320 yards, and then used a 52-degree wedge from 134 yards away, landing it on the green and had it roll into the cup.  It was his-team best 13th eagle of his career.
 
Sophomore Adam Matteson, playing his first collegiate event in his hometown, carded a 1-over 73 that has him tied for 33rd.  He had three birdies and 11 pars and four bogeys on his day, playing the par-3 holes the best at even, tied for 13th in the field.  He was 3-under through 13 holes, but scored all four of his bogeys over the final five.
 
Junior John Paterson also shot a 1-over 73, also with three birdies and 11 pars.  He opened and closed with a bogey and spent the entire round always within one stroke of being even.
 
Redshirt freshman Canon Olkowski fired a 2-over 74, which has him tied for 49th.  He recorded three birdies and 10 pars with five bogeys.  He was 4-over at the turn, but started the front nine with back-to-back birdies and then played the rest of the side even.  He also played the par-3s even.
 
"It was a pretty good day overall," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.  "It's a very challenging golf course.  It demands your attention all the way around and really favors those players who have an ability to compete and are mentally tough.
 
"We competed very well across our lineup.   Daniel had a really nice round from start to finish.  There were a lot of good things by every player here."
 
Nevada's Sam Harned and San Diego's Ryan Bisharat share the individual lead with a 5-under 67, ahead of three players who are one shot back.  Twenty-six players are under par with another six in at even.
 
Colorado will once again be paired with co-host San Diego, UCLA and Cal Poly for the second round, but this time will tee off at 9:50 a.m. MST on No. 1 instead of No. 10 as it did today.  The third and final round is set for Wednesday.
 
NOTES: Colorado and USC are the only schools in the 20-team field to have all five of their players in the top 50 (actually, the top 49 out of 112 competitors) … Colorado has the eighth-most birdies (16) and the third-most pars (55) after the first 18 holes … CU has mastered the par-3 holes all spring, and once again, are tied for first in the field, playing them collectively at 1-over Monday … CU is playing the par-4 holes at 6-over (ninth) and the par-5's at 6-under (tied for fourth) … The average score for the first round was 74.74.
 
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