CU Golf Squads Tee It Up at PAC-12 Championships

Buff Men finish second and women finish sixth in final regular season event.

By Drew Kort

The University of Colorado men’s and women’s golf teams laced up their spikes to compete in the PAC-12 Championships last week, and there was no shortage of drama.

2018 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the last team title for CU men’s golf. In 1968, as a member of the Big 8 Conference, CU narrowly defeated Oklahoma State at Boulder’s Lake Valley Golf Club to win its last team title. This week, the team came staggeringly close to putting an end to that drought with a historic performance.

The men were out in Rolling Hills Estates, California, and were tasked with navigating Rolling Hills Country Club. From the Platinum Tees, the par-71 golf course played 7,130 yards.

The highlights of the tournament for CU came from senior Yannik Paul (Viernheim, Germany) and redshirt sophomore Ross Macdonald (Castle Rock). Both players finished at 12 under par for the championship which earned them T2 finishes, and they both shot four consecutive rounds in the 60s to do so. These performances broke school scoring records and were paramount to the team’s overall result.

The group’s final 27-under-par team score is yet another four-round tournament scoring record for the program. These records produced a second-place team finish, and the highest conference championship finish since the 1993-94 season. This is a tremendous feat considering the team went into the tournament ranked lower than seven other PAC-12 rivals, per Golfstat. Only one, tournament host USC, ultimately beat them. They only lost by four strokes.

This Wednesday, May 2, the team will learn where it will compete in the NCAA Regionals. With their recent strong form, they could make a deep run in the month of May.

On the women’s side, things were a bit tougher for the Buffaloes. They took on the Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle, Washington. The par-72 course played 5,198 yards.

With a cumulative total of 17 over par for the three-round championship, the Lady Buffs finished alone in sixth.

Senior Brittany Fan (Pearl City, Hawaii) paced the group with a T7 finish at 1 under par. She was one of eight players in the field to close in red figures, and the only Buff to do so as well.

Australian sophomores Robyn Choi and Kirsty Hodgkins (Queensland) both finished just outside the top-10 at T11 and 1 over par. Frosh Alisha Lau (British Columbia, Canada) turned in a few solid rounds as well that helped the team stay in contention. At 16 over par, she earned a solo 47th place finish.

UCLA took home their second consecutive PAC-12 team title with a score of 4 under par. They were the only team under par after three rounds. UCLA’s Patty Tavatanakit, at 8 under par, won individually.

The Lady Buffs were assigned to the San Francisco NCAA Regional site where they will compete at TPC Harding Park May 7-9. They are the seven seed out of 18 teams in that regional.

Click here for the men’s tournament stats and scores, and here for the women’s.

COLLEGE NOTES:  The University of Denver women will compete as the 11 seed in the Tallahassee Regional at the Don Veller Seminole Golf Club. Colorado State did not qualify for the Regionals, but two players—Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor will compete as individuals at the Austin Regional at the University of Texas Golf Club.

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