@UNC_MensGolf Claims 11th at Ram Masters Invite

Monday, September 19

Fort Collins, CO

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

CSU Ram Masters Invite

9/20/2016 4:42:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: UNCBears.com

FINAL RESULTS

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Northern Colorado men's golf finished just outside the Top 10 at the highly competitive Ram Masters Invite on Tuesday. The Bears compiled a team score of 879 (286, 292, 301) finishing 11^th place in the 18 team field.

How it Happened:
The 54-hole tournament took place at the Par 70 Fort Collins Country Club over a two-day span. UNC polished off 36 of the 54 holes on Monday and completed the invite with the final 18 on Tuesday.

Northern Colorado dropped three spots in the final day, moving from eighth place to 11^th. Eric Chen notched the best individual finish on the team, coming in 21^st overall with a 216 (71, 71, 74).

The Bears opened up play with an impressive 286 (+6) which was the third lowest team round on the first 18 holes, and a season-best for UNC.

The lowest score of the opening round came from true freshman, Phillip Lee. Lee marked a 70 (E) that included three birdies, three bogeys and 12 pars. The finish ended up tied for the lowest on the team scores as fellow freshman, Coby Welch also wrote off on a 70 in the second round.

Sam Marley, who played as an independent, earned the lowest individual round out of the Bear golfers. Marley holed a 69 (-1) in his first 18 holes with four birdies, three bogeys and 13 pars.

Other top finishes in the first round included Eric Chen's 71 (+1) and Josh Matz's 73 (+3).

As the afternoon came on Monday, so did the second round of the 36-hole day. Northern Colorado followed up its hot start with another sub-300 round of 292 (+12).

Welch paced the Bears in the second round with his 70, followed by another solid round from Chen of 71 (+1).

UNC was poised for its second Top 10 finish of the fall heading into the finale, but the course proved a challenge for the team as they dropped a 301 (+21) in the third round.

Chen walked into the clubhouse with the best round out of the five players with a 74 (+4), followed by Welch's 75 (+5).

Northern Colorado missed out on the Top 10 by just five strokes to the reigning Big Sky Champions, Idaho who came in with an 874 team score.

Host school, Colorado State ended up claiming the team title with an 844, while the Rams' Blake Cannon bested the field for a first place finish with a total of 203 (-7).

Game Changer:
Eric Chen was the most consistent player on the UNC roster at the Invite. Chen put together two rounds of one over and one round of four-over for a 216 (+6). He finished the tournament with team-best 36 pars.

Key Stat:
UNC was just three pars shy of the tournament-high. The Bears holed 159 pars throughout the 54 holes, the fourth best of the tournament. Colorado State, Air Force and Fresno State all tied for the invite-high with 162 pars.

Coach Prenzlow's Thoughts:
On the first two rounds:
"The guys did a ton of good things and competed hard. Other than losing our focus a bit on the second eighteen, we did things we have talked about all week and looked great. Li [Eric Chen] was steady for us in both rounds, Sam Marley played well in the morning round, as did Phillip Lee. Coby Welch played focused and hard in the afternoon. With two freshmen and two sophomores in the lineup we had a great learning day."

On the final round:
"We picked the wrong day to have a rough time on the course. Too many unforced errors and errant golf shots. The guys competed hard, but we most do so smartly next time. If we keep putting ourselves in good positions going into the final round, we will break through and have a great even soon. Li played solid, he just could not get a putt to drop. Sam [Marley] played better this event and hopefully it gives him confidence in our upcoming tournaments. We will have good practices this week and come out ready at the Colorado tournament."

Individual Finishes:

11	Northern Colorado	286	292	301	879
T21	Eric Chen (5)	71	71	74	216
T41	Sam Marley (Independent)	69	79	72	220
T46	Coby Welch (2)	76	70	75	221
T52	Josh Matz (3)	73	73	76	222
T65	Andrew Romano (1)	72	78	76	226
T89	Phillip Lee (4)	70	84	79	233

Up Next:
The men's golf team will compete in just six days at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite hosted by the University of Colorado. The Bears will hit the course on both Sept. 26-27.