For the first time in three years the CU men’s golf squad scores a win. The Buffs championed their home course tournament, the University of Colorado Mark Simpson Invitational, by finishing 24-under-par.
They out-dueled New Mexico, who finished five strokes behind and nearly caught up to the Buffs in the final round.
A familiarity of the home green allowed the Buffs to lead all three rounds and set the second-lowest 54-hole total in school history with a mark of 840.
“We are at an advantage because we get to play the course more than everybody else and we set the course up pretty tough,” said Roy Edwards, a head athletic coach for the team. “But sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself to play well at home. But the guys definitely didn’t do that and we were able to use it to our advantage.”
Junior Beau Schoolcraft, a UCLA transfer, tied for tops individually among golfers at a concluding score of 11-under par.
Anne Kelly’s golf team nearly had a repeat win. The CU women’s golf team came in second-place at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, a year after placing first in the tournament. They shared the second-place title with Illinois.
A final score of 9-over-par, 875, set the Buffs a mere two holes away from champion UC Davis. After the first two rounds, the Buffs were lurking in the leaderboard, hoping to jump to the top in the final round. However, the ladies stumbled in the clinching round, giving away their opportunity to repeat a win.
“We clawed back into it but had a few bad holes late,” Kelly said. “We tried to make a comeback, but it wasn’t our time. We definitely learned a lot and figured out what we need to work on. We are definitely a talented group, we missed winning by just a couple of strokes with some mediocre play.”
Notably, Sophomore Jenny Coleman and Senior Emily Talley tied for fifth individually, both finishing with totals of 218.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu
