(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)
Whispering Pines golf course in Trinity, Texas marks the spot where the best and brightest of the Big 12’s men golfers will converge this weekend.
The spot will host the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship beginning Friday and running through Sunday.
Last year’s championship saw Oklahoma State emerge victoriously at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
This year for the Buffs, the road to Texas is a bumpy one.
The team finished in 11th place in the season finale at the Aggie Invitational at Traditions Golf Course in College Station, Texas.
Despite the hiccup, CU head coach Roy Edwards said he is optimistic about his team’s potential and that the team is ready to bounce back.
“It’s been a bit of an up and down season for us,” Edwards said. “One of the things we’ve really been encouraged with is the development of a lot of our guys. Four of our starting five guys are new to the lineup. We’ve been excited about their development, really excited. The most important part of our season is in front of us right now.”
Senior Justin Bardgett is one player who brings high hopes to CU. And his personal goals for this weekend are certainly no secret.
“I’d obviously like to win the Big 12 tournament,” Bardgett said. “We have a pretty tough conference this year. [Oklahoma] State and Texas A&M are two of the best teams in the country. I’d like to play well for three days. If we can beat all the teams in the [Big 12] north [division] that’d be a really good weekend.”
Sophomore Sebastian Heisele gave his praises for the leadership Bardgett has brought to the team this year.
“He’s my roommate and we always talk about how we can improve our team and have a strong finish to the season,” Heisele said. “We spend a lot of time talking to each other on what we can do [better]. He’s been there for five years, he knows what he’s talking about.”
Heisele himself is a young, bright spot for the Buffs, who stand to lose just two players to graduation this year. He said he anticipates a strong team performance at this weekend’s tournament and also looks to make a splash of his own.
“In general we just need to have a decent week to fair well as a team,” Heisele said. “We were talking about it when we got back from Texas [that] we’d like to finish as the number one team in the Big 12 North since we haven’t really had a good year as of yet.”
He summed up his personal aim for the weekend.
“A top 10 [individual finish] would always be nice,” Heisele said.
Regardless of where the Buffs end up finishing, Heisele had kind words for the role his coach has had in helping the players shape their game this year.
“[Coach Edwards] has been coaching for a while and he really understands what the key is to being successful,” Heisele said. “He specifies the areas that we need to work on. That’s what we’ll be trying to work on before we head out, we all know what our strengths and weaknesses are.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Gino Figlio at Gino.figlio@colorado.edu.
