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The University of Colorado men's golf team pulled away for an eight-shot victory and Jeremy Paul shared medalist honors Tuesday in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Chandler, Ariz.
The Buffaloes, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 61, finished with a team score of 843, which was 21-under par. The Buffs, who quickly made up a four-shot defcit, shot the low score in the field for the second straight round (a 7-under 281).
Second-round leader Sam Houston State held on to second place with an 851 score, followed by host and No. 90 Wyoming in third at 852.
Paul turned in a career-best performance with an 11-under 205 and shared medalist honors with three other players.
He entered the day tied for second, three shots back of Sam Houston State's Jake McCrory, but he carded a final-round 4-under 68 to catch McCrory, who shot a 71 on the 7,334-yard, par-72 Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club layout.
UC-Santa Barbara's Brandon Dauman and Arizona's Jordan Gumberg also finished at 11-under.
It was Paul's third career win and his second in major tournament action as he becomes the 12th Buff to win at least two (the record is four). His 11-under par 205 effort ties the third best performance in CU history, trailing 12-under scores by John Lindberg in the 1989 BYU Cougar Classic and by current assistant coach Patrick Grady in the 2008 DU-Ron Moore Invitational.
"I played pretty well the entire time, my driving was good, my irons were good," Paul said. "Sometimes I can be too aggressive, so I focused on staying really patient and waiting for my chances and that proved to really be the key."
Freshman Ross Macdonald earned his second-highest finish as a collegian, as he tied for ninth with a 5-under 211 score, his first 54-hole tournament under par as well as his best score.
Sophomore John Souza finished with an even-par 72, giving him a 3-under 213 that tied him for 13th place. Junior Ethan Freeman fashioned a 1-under 71 to finish at 2-under 214, which tied him for 16th.
CU individuals (*played as individual)
T1. Jeremy Paul............................... 69-68-68—205
T9. Ross Macdonald........................ 72-69-70—211
T13. John Souza................................. 75-66-72—213
T16. Ethan Freeman........................... 74-69-71—214
T72. *Pierce Aichinger....................... 76-74-75—225
T91. Philip Juel-Berg.......................... 76-75-78—229
T91. *Wilson Belk.............................. 85-69-75—229
109. *Kade Crossland........................ 84-75-84—243
Top five individuals
T1. Jeremy Paul, Colorado............... 69-68-68—205
T1. Jake McCrory, SHS...................... 66-68-71—205
T1. Brandon Dauman, UCSB............... 67-70-68—205
T1. Jordan Gumberg, Arizona............. 68-70-67—205
T5. Ryan Wallen, Wyoming................ 71-69-68—208
T5. Austin Morrison, William & Mary.. 70-72-66—208
Top 10 teams
1. Colorado........................... 290-272-281—843
2. Sam Houston State................. 280-278-293—851
3. Wyoming................................ 276-286-290—852
4. William & Mary....................... 287-288-286—861
5. Western Kentucky.................. 286-285-291—862
5. UC Santa Barbara................... 287-289-286—862
7. Utah State.............................. 296-284-285—865
8. Wichita State.......................... 291-289-289—869
9. Gonzaga.................................. 286-295-289—870
10. Arizona................................... 291-286-294—871
