The No. 31 Buffaloes finished fourth after the first two rounds of the inaugural Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, hosted by UC Davis and Oregon on Monday.
CU landed in second place after the first round at the 6,028-yard, par 72 Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay. The Buffs shot a 7-over par 295 to trail Northwestern by just two shots.
Colorado shot a 21-over par 309 in the second half, finishing the day in fourth with a 28-over par 604. They trail No. 27 Texas A&M by 8 shots.
“We played well most of the day,” Head Coach Anne Kelly said. “We struggled at the end, but there was a strong wind and we happened to be on the toughest part of the course. There was a definite improvement in our short game today, we made a lot of up-and-downs.”
Junior Emily Talley leads the Buffs, sitting in third place at 3-over par 147. She was one of four players in the top 20 of the field to improve on her first round score, going from a 2-over par 74 to a 1-over par 73.
“I had maybe four bad holes on the day and made up for those with some birdies which was helpful,” Talley said. “It was a really tough finish for us, we finished on the toughest stretch of holes and in the last seven holes or so, it was so windy it was pushing you over. Even when the wind was with you, it was knocking you around.”
Freshman Jenny Coleman shot a 1-under par 71, and junior Jess Wallace was at even par 72 to end the first round. The team says the wind was a big factor on the conclusion of the day.
“It was just a different kind of wind,” Talley said. “Yesterday for the practice round, it was a colder wind coming off the ocean. The entire first round was relatively calm and pleasant. In the second round, it was an inland wind, so it was warmer, but it was also much stronger than yesterday.”
To finish the second round, Coleman is tied at 13th at 6-over par 150, while Wallace is tied for seventh at 5-over par 149.
The Buffs finish out the regular season in Tuesday’s final round set for an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
“The goal tomorrow is not to finish fourth,” Talley said. “Obviously we want to finish higher than that. We just need to stay consistent, play smart in the wind, because it will probably be windy, it always is here. We just have to be smart with each shot, because with the wind you can get in a lot of trouble if you’re not focused, so stay focus and make some putts.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Marlee Horn at Marlee.horn@colorado.edu.
