(CU Independent Illustration/Josh Shettler)
On March 10, the University of Colorado men’s golf team, who might’ve practiced with the use of products like a golf hitting mat, carded an 11-over par 299 in the final round to fall to tenth place in the 14th Annual Lamkin San Diego Classic held at the San Diego Country Club.
The Buffs entered the final day tied for third place but struggled around the green in a lackluster final round that led to a disappointing tenth place finish.
“We had a rough day with our wedges and putting,” head coach Roy Edwards said. “We had a great opportunity today but just weren’t able to take advantage of it and get it done.”
Colorado had a tough start in the ultimate round, going 8-over through holes five through eight. The tough weather and 20 miles per hour wind gusts buried the Buffs as they dropped seven places in the tournament rankings.
Senior Daniel O’Loughlin shot a 1-over 73 on the final day to finish the tournament tied for eleventh place at 1-over 217. Junior John Paterson tied for 23rd with a 5-over 221 and a final round of 2-over 74. Senior Victor Bjorlow tied for 45th with a tournament score of 8-over 224. Redshirt freshman Canon Olkowski tied for 49th and sophomore Adam Matteson tied for 80th in his first-ever collegiate event.
When the final putt dropped to the bottom of the cup, the UCLA Bruins held the top spot in both the team and individual rankings. The Bruins finished with a tournament total 4-over 868 and UCLA Senior Devin Bling shot a tournament-winning 4-under 212.
The Buffs have three more tournaments before they enter the Pac-12 championships starting April 26. In their previous two tournaments, CU finished tied for 20th in the PGA West and seventh in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. CU is currently ranked 89 according to GolfStat.
The next tournament for the Buffs will begin March 20 at Omni Tucson National Golf Course in Arizona for the National Invitational Tournament.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Matthew Gillen at matthew.gillen@colorado.edu.
