@UNC_MensGolf Climbs Back for Top 10 Finish at Falcon Invite

Saturday, September 10

USAF Academy, CO

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Falcon Invitational

9/11/2016 5:41:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

FINAL RESULTS

USAFA, Colo. – The Northern Colorado men's golf team notched its first Top 10 finish of the fall season at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational on Sunday. The Bears were able to climb from 13^th place in round one, to finish 9^th overall with a score of 903.

How It Happened:
Playing at Eisenhower Golf Course's par-72, 7,461-yard blue course, the Bears carded an 18-over 306 in the opening round of the 36-hole day on Saturday.

Northern Colorado turned things around in round two and got a strong showing from freshman Coby Welch who finished with a 72 (E). Welch opened the invite with a 75 (+3).

Welch, who had the best finish of any UNC golfer, ended his 54-hole meet with a 78 (+6).

The true freshman tied for 30^th overall with a 225 (+9). He holed nine birdies and 28 pars throughout the meet.

Junior, Andrew Romano was two strokes off the pace of Welch, finished with a 227 (76, 74, 77) and tied for 42^nd.

Romano had the most birdies out of anyone on the team with 10, and notched the only eagle by the Bears during his opening round on the Par 5, 11^th hole.

Romano finished in the top half of the field on Par 5's, shooting a combined four-under throughout the two-day meet.

Junior, Sam Marley and sophomore, Eric Chen had the lowest third round scores with 73 (+1).

Marley accumulated five birdies in his third round alone, but had two bogeys on the final two holes that swung his final score by three strokes from one-under to one-over.

He scored an 81 (+9) and a 75 (+3) in his opening rounds to come into the clubhouse tied for 50^th on the leaderboard with a 229.

Chen's third round featured more consistent play with 13 pars throughout the day. He was able to steal birdies on the third and ninth holes and went into the turn at one-under with a bogey on the fourth.

Much like Marley's round, Chen had trouble on the 17^th and 18^th, bogeying them both to finish one-over.

Chen placed one stroke behind Marley with a 230 (77, 80, 73) taking 52^nd.

Sophomore Josh Matz rounded out the UNC unit. Matz fired a 231 (80, 76, 75) ending the invite tied for 58^th on the leaderboard.

Both Texas-El Paso and UNLV tied for first place in the team standings, shooting an 863 (-1) overall.

Individually, the Rebel's John Oda came in first place at the invite. Oda carded a 206 (-10), winning the tournament by three strokes.

Game Changer:
The final round performances from Eric Chen and Sam Marley, who both shot a 73, helped take a two-stroke lead over Missouri-Kansas City and claim ninth place at the tournament.

Key Stat:
UNC finished with the sixth best Par count. The Bears racked up 150 pars in 54 holes.

Coach Prenzlow's Thoughts:
On the first two rounds:
"The guys played hard, but we just did not handle the greens as well as we should have. Like I told the guys, we are so close to being a very good Division I program, but we need to handle our business around the greens better. Coby [Welch] played well in the afternoon and Andrew Romano hung in there after a bad start to finish respectably. The rest of the guys needed to relax and play smart."

On the third round:
"Sunday we played a very good round until the final two holes. This team will learn from its mistakes and be better off in our upcoming events. Coby [Welch] struggled today, but also learned a lot about what it takes to play at this level. Li [Eric Chen] and Sam [Marley] played quality rounds with a pair of 73s. Josh [Matz] and Andrew [Romano] both had a chance to finish with solid rounds, but both had a bad hole coming in to the clubhouse. All in all, I loved the competitive spirit this team showed, but we really need to clean up our greed side play, as well as adapt to foreign greens."

Up Next: Northern Colorado will stay on the Front Range for its next competition, the Colorado State Ram Masters on Sept. 19 and 20.