It wasn’t all fun in the sun for the Buffaloes during their tournament in California.
The men’s golf team finished last at The Battle of the Beach in Newport Beach, Calif., marking the worst finish for the team since 2005.
The Buffs were unable to overcome stiff competition from some of the top ranked teams in the country, which included UCLA and San Diego. As a team, the Buffs put forth a poor effort, going 88-over par on the par-70 course with a team score of 1,138.
However, the day wasn’t all bad as sophomore Jason Burstyn had the best tournament of his college career, tying for 29th with 8-strokes over par to lead the team.
Senior Luke Symons and junior Kevin Kring added to the mix by tying for 63rd (16-over, 226 scores). Sophomores Pat Wilson (26-over), Derek Fribbs (28-over) and Johnny Widmer (36-over) brought up the rear for the CU team.
Despite a poor performance, Head Coach Roy Edwards said he was encouraged by their effort.
“That’s a good thing, it was only somewhat of an effort issue here and that’s really been corrected,” Edwards said. “We’re just struggling in general. This is the kind of golf course where if you’re not totally on your game, you find yourself in a lot of trouble. Jason had a solid tournament, and a couple of other guys had a solid round here and there, but otherwise it was a struggle all week.”
The Buffs will try to regroup and rebound in time for Bandon Dunes Invitational taking place in Bandon, Ore., from Mar. 11 to 12.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Shay Knolle at Shay.knolle@colorado.edu