Golfers In Sixth In Own Simpson Invitational

ERIE — The University of Colorado men's golf team is in sixth place after Monday's two rounds of the in their own 11th Annual Mark Simpson-Colorado Invitational.  Though it could be renamed the "Birdie" Invitational.
 
With perhaps the best field in the history of the tournament, scores were expected to be lower than in past years.  That held true and then some, as 758 birdies were scored on Monday – over 21 percent of all hole scores – with 11 eagles added for good measure.
 
Boise State, ranked No. 8 in the early Golfweek rankings, shattered records for 18- and 36-hol scoring, as the Broncos are in at a jaw-dropping 45-under par 531 through two rounds—yet only made the second most birdies with 54.  Utah, 11 back at 542, saw their scorers make 55.  BSU was in second place after the morning 18, with a healthy 19-under 269, and then blistered the 7,705-yard, par-72 Colorado National Golf Club course the second time around with a 26-under 262.  All five Broncos shot 68 or better, with the four scoring for the team score recording just one bogey.
 
San Francisco (548, 28-under), Utah Valley (550, -26) and Wyoming (552, -24) round out the top five.  The Buffaloes are in sixth at 20-under 556, which CU had scored on two previous occasions that had stood as the tournament best for 36 holes.
 
All eight Buffalos competing here ended their days under par.
 
Sophomore Adam Matteson had CU's best score of the day, though he is playing as an individual so his scores don't count toward the CU team total.  He's tied for fifth after fashioning a 10-under 68-66—134, with that 6-under afternoon 66 his best collegiate round to date.  He had 12 birdies, tying for the team-high, with 22 pars and just two bogeys on his day. 
 
Freshman Jack Holland, also playing individually, is tied for 20th after a 70-67—137 (7-under performance), with his second round 67 also his best in a college event.  He also had 12 birdies, with 18 pars and six bogeys for his two rounds. Both Matteson and Holland played the par-4 holes the third-best among all players (7-under).
 
Freshman Justin Biwer and redshirt frosh Jack Hughes are both designated scorers, as the duo are tied for 24th with 6-under 138 totals; Biwer (67-71) and Hughes (66-72) were two more Buffaloes who had 12 birdies Monday, as each had identical breakdowns with 18 pars and six bogeys on their other holes. Biwer played the par-3 holes the best at 3-under in the 99-man field.
 
Junior John Paterson, CU's third and final individual performer here, is tied for 34th (70-69—139), his best two rounds of the young fall season.
 
Rounding out the CU scorers Monday were junior Kristoffer Max (73-68—141, tied for 42nd), and freshmen Frederik Eisenbeis (73-69—142, 48th) and Dylan McDermott (74-69—14, tied for 49th).  Eisenbeis, who had CU's lone eagle on Monday, also recorded his collegiate best with the afternoon 69 while his 29 pars tied for the most in the field.
 
"We got off to a slow start this morning, and it probably put us behind the 8-ball a little bit, but I was really pleased with how we responded throughout the rest of the day," CU head coach Roy Edwards said.  "The golf course was quite scoreable today – 71 rounds in the 60s is just an amazing stat – but we didn't play the par-5s as well as we normally would and just made too many bogeys.  This is the strongest field we've had in 10 years or so for the Simpson, so we knew the scores would be low.  A low round tomorrow by us will help us beat some very good teams.
 
"We have a talented roster from top to bottom, and we're starting to see the veterans come around a little bit," he continued.  "Adam is having a nice tournament, and every one of our freshmen have already shot some really low scores.  We just need to work at being more consistent and I believe that day will come.  I'm really pleased with where everyone is at and how we're developing."
 
Boise State's Max Charles own the individual lad, as he put a 67-64—131 into the books, but that leads a pair of players by just one stroke.  Nine players are 10-under par or better.
 
The third and final round is set for Tuesday morning, in a staggered shotgun format (top four teams will play in five tee times off No. 1 beginning at 8:10 a.m.; rest in a shotgun at 8:30).   The Buffs will begin at 8:30 and will be paired with Wyoming, UTEP and San Diego.
  

COLORADO NOTES: For the third time in as many meets, CU is playing with four freshmen and one junior), the youngest ever-line-ups or CU in its history … Every Buffalo who has played this season (eight of the 11 on the roster) have already recorded at least one round in the 60s …  Colorado is playing the par-3 holes the third-best (3-under), par-5's the eighth best (-9) and the par-4s (minus-6) the 10th-best … CU has the fourth-most birdies (46) and the 13th-most pars (106).
 
TOURNAMENT NOTES: Through 36 holes, 53 players are under par, with another five even … The average score on Monday was 71.52 for 197 rounds (70.98 in the morning, 72.06 in the afternoon; there were 71 rounds  in  the 60s recorded in the 99-player field … Boise State set a tournament record for 18-hole team score (262, -26); old: 273 (-15), Colorado in 2019 (third round) … Boise State set a tournament record for 36-hole team score (531, -45); old: 556 (-20), Colorado in 2014 & 2019 … Utah Valley's Landon Anderson tied record for low-9 hole score (30; round on, front 9) … Utah's Martin Leon and Grand Canyon's Zac Owens set records for 18-hole score (63, -9); old: 64, by four others Boise State's Max Charles tied tournament record for low 36-hole score (131, -13); matched Colorado's David Oraee in 2014.
 

  
 TEAM STANDINGS