SALT LAKE CITY - Colorado’s men’s golf team spent Tuesday in a grind, with weather and a loaded Texas Tech lineup both making life difficult in the Big 12 Conference Match Play Championship.
Heavy rain, wind and temperatures in the 40s wiped out Tuesday afternoon’s round, trimming the event from five rounds to four. The Buffs were only a few holes into their match with Utah when play was halted.
Before the weather turned the day into a shortened slog, Colorado dropped a tight morning match to No. 6 Texas Tech, 3-2, on the 7,209-yard, par-72 Salt Lake Country Club course. The Buffs hung around, traded blows and picked up two wins against one of the top teams in the country, but the Red Raiders did just enough to pull it out.
Junior Asher Whitaker delivered one of Colorado’s best performances of the day. Against TTU’s Simon Hovdal, he was dead even through the opening stretch before a birdie on the 13th flipped the match his way. From there, Whitaker caught fire, birdying four of the next five holes and racing to a 4-up cushion on the way to a 3 & 2 victory.
Freshman Colt Farrow also came through in style. After finishing Monday’s suspended match against Houston tied, he stepped back in against Texas Tech’s Ben Gregg, the world’s 85th-ranked amateur, and never gave ground. Farrow grabbed the lead five different times and reclaimed it for good on the final hole, the 437-yard, par-4 6th, where he made par and Gregg bogeyed to give the Buff a 1-up win.
Colorado got another point from senior Ty Holbrook, who had already wrapped up a 2 & 1 win over Houston’s Grant Doggett with a birdie on 17. His second match of the day, though, went the other direction. Against Texas Tech’s Alvaro Pastor, Holbrook won the opening hole but quickly fell behind and eventually lost 6 & 4.
Senior Brandon Knight ran into a stiff challenge from Adam Bresnu, the 13th-ranked amateur in the world. Knight opened by birdieing the 461-yard, par-4 9th to win the hole, but Bresnu answered by taking the next two and then slowly stretched the gap. Bresnu built as much as a 5-up lead before closing out Knight, 3 & 2.
Junior Parker Paxton also went the distance in a match that stayed tight deep into the back nine. He led by one or two holes through much of the stretch, but Tim Wiedemeyer, ranked No. 18 in the latest compilation, stormed back with birdies on the last two holes to steal a 2-up win.
Sophomore Tyler Long did not play Tuesday after appearing in both matches Monday.
“It was a great match with Texas Tech, who is one of the best teams in the country and a national championship contender,” said head coach Roy Edwards. “Really nice wins by Colt and Asher and we were right there in Parker's match too.
"The weather, which is just part of what you deal with in golf, and unfortunately has reduced the tournament by one match," he added. "Beating a good Utah team on their home course will be a tall order but I know the guys are excited for it.”
With the tournament now down to four rounds, Oklahoma State vs. West Virginia and Texas Tech vs.
Arizona State will decide co-champions. Colorado will face Utah, while TCU and UCF will meet as well.
The winners will finish tied for 13th and the losers tied for 15th. The shotgun start is set for 8:30 a.m., with temperatures expected in the mid-40s and a lower chance of rain.
The cold never really let up Tuesday, with the day opening at 44 degrees and only reaching 49, plus light rain. Colorado also spent the first three matches dealing with lineups that included plenty of international talent - Texas Tech had four foreigners, Houston had four and Kansas State had five. The Buffs played 13 opponents overall in three mini-Ryder Cups.
Whitaker and Farrow have been Colorado’s most successful players so far. Whitaker is 2-1 in matches and has won or halved 82.4 percent of his holes, going 42 of 51.
Farrow is 1-0-1 and has won 80.6 percent of his holes, 29 of 36. Holbrook has won the most holes overall with 13 while going 1-1-1 in matches.
Colorado is now 1-1 all-time against Texas Tech in dual matches, having beaten the Red Raiders two years ago in this same event in Hockley, Texas, when Texas Tech was ranked 14th nationally.
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