Buff Golfers Finish Second
In Own CU-Stevinson Ranch Invitational
TravelGolf.com
Staff Report
Webber Grabs Second Just One Off The Lead
STEVINSON, Calif. - The University of Colorado men's golf team finished second here Tuesday in its own meet, the third annual CU-Stevinson Ranch Invitational, but the Buffs walked away from the competition thinking about what could have been. Kansas, winner of the first two CU-Stevinson invites and ranked No. 23, made it a hat trick as the Jayhawks won with an 899 team score, surviving the tough 7,029-yard, par-72 Stevinson Ranch Golf Club course layout along with two days of blustery conditions. Colorado, ranked No. 46, was second, five strokes back at 904; No. 42 California grabbed third with a 906 and Tulsa (No. 32) and Pacific tied for fourth at 910. It is the first time more than two teams finished here within 10 shots of first place. Just two strokes separated CU, Kansas and Tulsa through 36 holes, as KU and UT were tied and CU just two off the lead heading into Tuesday. Through nine holes in the final round, nothing had changed as again only two strokes separated the trio, with CU and KU tied and Tulsa a couple back. Windy conditions were present throughout the entire tournament, but CU coach Mark Simpson likes to think that kind of adversity enables the better golfers and teams to stand out. "It can separate the men from the boys as they say, playing a tough golf course in tough conditions. You relish that. "But we were in position to have won here, we didn't finish strong and we lost several strokes down the stretch," he lamented. "I knew the way things were shaping up by the middle of the round that whichever team played 16, 17 and 18 the best was going to win this golf tournament. Kansas hung in there and played those well and we didn't; those are three good but tough golf holes to end a tournament with, especially in these kinds of conditions. But this kind of experience is something we can learn from the next time we' re in the same situation. Kansas' Travis Hurst hung on to win medalist honors, as he recorded a 72-70-71-213 scorecard to win by shot over CU sophomore Kane Webber (74-72-68-214). Pacific's Jason Higton led going into the final round, but ballooned to a 76, still lower than the average score for the day, and finished third at 217. Hurst was in second, one behind Higton but four ahead of Webber, who recorded the tournament's only round in the 60s with his four-under 68 to close things out. "I hit the ball well, just struggled with the putter a bit the first two rounds but it came alive the last 12 holes," Webber said. "I made the putts I needed to make that I just didn't the last few rounds. The winds didn't seem to bother Webber either day. "I've always been able to hit a pretty good low ball, so I felt confident hitting those kind of shots all week," he said. "I just kept it in play off the tee and didn't make any big scores all week, that was must to do well."
Webber was one behind Hurst going into 17, but three-putted there and gave Hurst a shot cushion. "I birdied 18, but he had a birdie putt from about 12 feet and just missed it. But overall, my game is feeling good, and I'm looking forward to North Carolina in a couple of weeks." "The conditions were tough out there, but we were able to eek out the win," KU head coach Ross Randall said. "It was really the course that won today, but it was a great tournament and we are glad to sneak out of here with the victory." Designed to be a battle of NCAA District Five teams, the CU-Stevinson Ranch meet provided the Buffs the opportunity to go 9-1 against district rivals here and improve to 20-10 overall for the year. The Buffs will remain in California for a couple of practice rounds later in the week before returning to Boulder on Friday. CU's next competition will be in Chapel Hill, N.C., in the "Intercollegiate 2001" on April 14-15. CU will face off again against district rivals Kansas and Tulsa in that meet, along with some of the best eastern schools in the nation.
Buffalo Individuals
Kane Webber 74-72-68-214 2nd
Matt Call 73-78-77-228 t10th
*Joe Liley 75-79-77-231 t21st
*Jeff Hanson 85-76-73-234 t26th
Tobias Forsgren 75-81-79-236 t28th
Matthew Zions 76-76-84-236 t30th
Ben Portie 84-75-81-240 t44th
(*-competed as an individual; scores do not count toward CU team total)
Team Scores
1. Kansas 301-296-302-899
2. Colorado 298-301-305-904
3. California 306-299-301-906
4. Tulsa 303-294-313-910
4. Pacific 307-294-309-910
6. Nebraska 307-310-314-931
7. SW Missouri State 306-311-322-939
7. Illinois State 314-312-313-939
9. Kansas State 311-310-319-940
10. Missouri 313-313-318-944
11. Iowa State 321-305-326-952
12. Drake 318-320-318-956
13. Northern Iowa 318-322-320-960
14. Air Force 332-328-320-980
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