CU Men's
Golf Ninth in Puerto Rico

TravelGolf.com Staff Report

Buffaloes Still Defeat Two Top 10 Teams

SAN JUAN, P.R. (March 1, 2001)— The University of Colorado men’s golf team finished ninth here Tuesday as second annual Puerto Rico Classic came to a close, and despite falling six spots being in third place at one point, it was still the best spring start by the Buffaloes in eight seasons.

In an exciting finish, No. 3 Georgia Tech used a flurry of birdies to edge No. 2 Clemson by one stroke for the team title. The Yellow Jackets posted an 861 team score (-3) for the win, joined only by the Bulldogs (862, -2) as teams which finished under par. No. 24 Minnesota snagged third place with an 865 total, with No. 1 Georgia fourth at 869.

Colorado finished ninth with an 890 score, but the No. 52 Buffaloes should move up several slots in the rankings, as CU defeated two top 10 teams (No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 9 Northwestern), and five teams in all ranked ahead of it in the last poll. The field was one of the most impressive of the year, with 10 of the nation’s top 24 teams participating.

The Buffs were third after the first round, then dropped to sixth after 36 holes and then ninth in the final standings. Some of that can be attributed to the first competition of the year, some to correctable mistakes, and some to illness, as the Buffs might have been cost as many as 12-15 strokes when junior Ben Portie came down with apparent food poisoning after Sunday’s round and finished with uncharacteristic rounds of 78 and 82.

• Past Colorado course reviews • Buffs Finish 12th at Lady Aztec Invitational

Senior Matt Call got off to a good spring start, as he carded a two-under 70 Tuesday for an even-par 216 total for the meet, tying him for fifth overall in easily the toughest individual field of the year. Junior Matthew Zions and sophomore Kane Webber finished tied for 25th and 31st, respectively, as Zions shot 74 in the final round to close at 221, while Webber posted a 73 for a 223 total. Portie tied for 66th overall (234), with junior Joe Liley tying for 69th with an 81-75-81—237 scorecard.

“Dropping from third to ninth probably tarnished what we really accomplished here,” CU head coach Mark Simpson said. “After where we stood after 18 (third) and 36 (sixth) holes, we thought we had a good chance to finish in the top five, and to not do that is disappointing. We made a lot of little subtle mistakes out there you make in the first competition after a long layoff, and we’ll be able to correct those. In my opinion, we’re definitely going to get better as the spring goes on.

“Ben’s not going to turn in 78 and 82s regularly for us, and his suffering the effects of some flu-like symptom or food poisoning, probably cost him 12 strokes or so,” Simpson said. “He had it in position to shoot 70 or 71 on Tuesday, but he was just too weak, and the same thing happened (in the final round). Having to count an 81 was disappointing, but Joe’s swing just wasn’t in tune, and that can happen. He’s proven in practice that he’s a good player, but he needs that one good round on the road to boost his confidence to really get him going. On the up side, Matt Call showed he belongs right up there with the best in college golf, and Z (Matt Zions) and Kane played solid out of the gate for the most part.”

Clemson’s Lucas Glover won by five strokes Minnesota’s Wilhelm Schuman, as he owned a 68-70-67—205 scorecard, or 11-under par, for three rounds on the 6,945-yard, par-72 River Course at Westin Rio Mar Country Club.

Colorado will return to action in two weeks in the Lafayette, La., in the Louisiana Classics.

Buffalo Individuals
 
Matt Call.................  74-72-70—216     (t5th)
Matthew Zions........  73-74-74—221    (t25th)

Kane Webber..........  73-77-73—223    (t31st)
Ben Portie...............  74-78-82—234    (t66th)
Joe Liley.................  81-75-81—237    (t69th)
 
Team Scores
 
  1. Georgia Tech (#3).................  296-283-282—861
  2. Clemson (#2).......................    289-291-282—862
  3. Minnesota (#24)...................   296-289-280—865
  4. Georgia (#1)..........................   293-286-290—869
  5. Oklahoma (#20)....................   301-289-289—879

  6. Duke (#13).............................  298-297-289—884
  6. North Carolina St. (#11)........   307-293-284—884
  8. Texas A & M (#62)................    299-294-294—887
  9. Colorado (#52).....................    294-298-298—890 
10. Northwestern (#9) )..............   299-301-292—892
11. East Tennessee St. (#17).......    301-299-297—897
12. Virginia (#45).......................   299-305-299—903
12. Wake Forest (#7)..................    307-303-293—903
14. Kent State (#42)...................    309-298-306—913
15. Purdue (#55).......................    318-310-299—927