Holbrook Earns Runner-Up Honors In Southern Colorado Masters

            PUEBLO — University of Colorado freshman Ty Holbrook took runner-up honors here Tuesday afternoon as a wind-ridden Southern Colorado Masters concluded.
 
            Holbrook fashioned a 1-under par 70 on the 6,522-yard, par-71 Pueblo Country Club course layout to wrap things up here, finishing with a 4-under 209 score.    He took a one-stroke lead into the final round, but would eventually be overtaken by Colorado Christian's Xavier Bighaus, who shot a final round 66.  He claimed medalist honors with a 6-under 207.
 
            The winds that kicked in Monday afternoon never let up, holding steady at around 15 miles per hour but gusting frequently to 25 or higher.  For the second round in a row, the average score was over 76, with only five players shooting under par and just two matching it in the 57-man field.
 
            Holbrook started his day on the 14th hole and made a birdie, and worked to 2-under after birdying No. 16.  He fell back to even after bogeys on Nos. 17 and 1; but he collected himself and made a bird on the 393-yard, par-4 2nd hole – the only birdie on the hole in the final round.  He got back to 2-under after a birdie on the par-5 7th, but Bighaus was in the process of making four birdies in a six-hole stretch to pull ahead. 
 
Holbrook then had his worst hole of the tournament, double-bogeyed the par-4 10th; he hit a rare bad drive and then took three shots to get on the green, but bounced right back and birdied No. 11.  He closed his round with two pars.  Holbrook had five birdies in the final round, helping him to a team-high tying best of 10 here, and his 36 pars tied for the most in the field.  He played the par-4's the second-best at 2-under, and the par-3's tied for second as well at 2-over.
 
            "It kind of reminded like ping pong on some holes," Holbrook said.  "The wind was pretty gnarly, you had to take some lines, sometimes aiming at the other fairways to have the wind bring it back.  You just had to evaluate every shot and keep your emotions in check.  Throughout the week, I 'wedged' it pretty good.  My short game around the green and putting were really solid.  I didn't make a lot of putts in one sense, but I didn't miss ones that I should have made." 
 
            Four Buffaloes competed here as individuals ahead of next week's Pac-12 Championships, as the coaches will now decide which six players will participate in the final league event in Carefree, Ariz.
 
            Junior Jack Holland tied for 12th after finishing with a 4-over 74, which gave him a 6-over 219 for the event.  He matched Holbrook with an eagle and 10 birdies over the two days, along with scoring 28 pars against 13 birdies and two doubles.  He played the par-4's at 1-over, tied for ninth-best in the field.
 
            Junior Freddy Eisenbeis tied for 16th with an 8-over 221; he closed with a 7-over 78.  He had two birdies and eight pars against seven bogeys and a double Tuesday, but tied for fifth in playing the par-5s at 5-under.
 
            Holland and Eisenbeis both birdied the 365-yard, par-4 No. 1 hole – scoring two of just six birdies on the hole on Tuesday.
 
            Sophomore Robby Keilch wrapped things with a 4-over 75, that also tied him for 16th with an 8-over 221.  He had two birdies and 10 pars with six bogeys in the final round, with seven birds and 33 pars overall, the latter tying for seventh-most.  He played the par-4s tied for the third-best in the field at 1-under.
 
            "I was really impressed with Ty the entire time, said associate head coach Derek Tolan who managed the players on the trip down I-25.  "After he made the double bogey on No. 10 but remaining in the hunt, he had to come right back and play No. 11, a tough dogleg left which today was into a gale force wind.  But he had two perfect shots and a great chip to within a foot he made for a birdie.  It just showed me how he can handle things, especially after experiencing some adversity.  He made it look easy, the way he handled it, his emotion and intensity were perfect.  The kid who wound up beating him simply played an amazing round – a 66 out there today was impressive."
 
NOTES: Once again, aside from the wind, it was mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 60s … The average score for all 171 rounds was 75.63 (76.02 Tuesday, 76.12 in Monday's second round after 74.79 for the opening 18) … Bighaus and Holbrook were the only two players to finish under par, and only two others equaled it overall … Holbrook shaved eight strokes off his previous 54-hole best and lowered his average to 73.35 … The Pac-12 Championships are set for April 26-28 at Desert Forest Country Club in Carefree, Ariz., about 10 miles north of Scottsdale; CU head coach Roy Edwards and Tolan will finalize which six players will travel to play in the 13th and final Pac-12 meet; the five players on the travel squad for most of the season have been juniors Justin Biwer, Tucker Clark and Dylan McDermott, sophomore Hunter Swanson and freshman Brandon Knight … Host CSU Pueblo won the team competition with a 6-over 858, besting Colorado Christian by three shots.