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| Golfers Finish Up 15th At The Prestige at PGA West Release: 02/20/2013 Courtesy: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LA QUINTA, Calif. - The University of Colorado men's golf team couldn't improve on a last place standing after two rounds and finished in 15th place out of as many teams as the 13th Annual Prestige at PGA West came to a close here Wednesday. No. 8 Southern California entered the final round in fifth place, but managed to catch No. 3 Washington to share the team title with 1-under par 851 team scores; the Trojans were eight back and the Huskies three behind second round leader and No. 6 UCLA, which faltered Wednesday. USC shot the best team round of the tournament, a 6-under 278 to make its charge. UCLA and No. 39 Texas Tech tied for third (856) with No. 14 Stanford rounding out the top five (860). The Buffaloes entered the day six back of the 14th spot, but could only cut that difference in half, recording a 15-over 299 for the final round and a 52-over total of 904. Colorado is not accustomed to shooting this high of a team score, as it was the first of 900 or higher in a 54-hole tournament since September 2011, and just the fourth in the last 55 tournaments. "While things were a little bit better (Wednesday), it was a lot of the same," Colorado head coach Roy Edwards said of his team's struggles early in the spring season. "This is a really disappointing start, but we know we're capable of much better. We showed that in the fall, so I am confident that we'll get it turned around." Senior Jason Burstyn, CU's stroke average leader at 71.96 (23 rounds), did finish up strong, shooting par for the second time in three rounds on the 7,046-yard, par-71 Greg Norman Course at PGA West. His 71-77-71-219 effort tied him for 27th in the 88-man field, with his round Wednesday including four birdies and 10 pars against four bogeys. He led CU in pars (35) and tied for the team-high in birdies (eight) with just two holes where he shot double bogey or worse (which unfortunately included his only triple of the entire season in 414 holes). "Jason had a nice week for the most part," Edwards said, "A solid tournament overall with just a few rough spots here and there." It appeared Burstyn would be joining only nine other players who shot in the 60s in the final round until he bogeyed two of his last three holes. Senior Derek Fribbs rallied with a final round 74 (3-over) to finish with a 14-over 227 score, tying him for 61st. His final round included two birdies and 11 pars (against five bogeys), with six and 32, respectively, for the tournament. He matched Burstyn with just two holes worse than bogey, though both were triples. Sophomore David Oraee wrapped things up with a second straight 78, also out of character for him; he tied for 69th with 16-over-over 229 total after opening with what turned out to be CU's second best score in the tournament (a 2-over 73). He had six birdies and 31 pars for the meet, but struggled the last two days with 10 bogeys, two doubles and a triple after just three bogeys and a double in round one. Freshman Philip Juel-Berg closed things out with a 5-over 76, which gave him a 16-over 229, which tied him for also tied him for 69th. He had an adventurous final round, scoring four birdies, seven pars, five bogeys and two doubles. He made the turn with a 41 on the back, but played the front nine even, including wrapping things up on a high note with two birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. Redshirt freshman Tyler Engel played his first tournament where his scores counted toward the CU team total, and as is often the case, the golf course won. He finished things up with a 14-over par 85, which gave him a 38-over par 251 total; that placed him 86th in the field. He could never get untracked except for a few holes at a time (he had a four-hole stretch where he did play 1-under on Wednesday), and finished the meet with three birdies and 24 pars; the bulk of his overage can be traced to nine holes of double bogey or worse that accounted for 23 shots over par. UCLA's Pedro Figueiredo used a second straight 67, the best score in the second and final rounds, to win medalist honors by five shots. He finished with an 8-under par 205 total, five shots better than a trio of players who tied for second. "We opened (the spring) by playing in two of the top 10 tournaments of the year in college golf, so there was no let-up," Edwards added. "You have to manage every shot of your game, and that's where we have suffered the most in both events. Like I have said, I've seen plenty of good golf, many good shots. Overall though, when you play like this for two tournaments in a row, you have to use this as an opportunity to take a look at yourself and how to improve things to make yourself much better. I really think we'll be able to do just that coming from this perspective." Edwards is remaining in the area for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic while the team returns to Boulder. Three other CU players who did not play here in The Prestige, Johnny Hayes, Ross Thornton and Drew Trujillo will rotate in and join him Thursday to play as individuals in the Wyoming event, which runs Friday through Sunday in nearby Palm Desert. BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
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from cubuffs.com