Former CU Buff Tolan Wins First Professional Tournament

FARMINGTON, N.M. — Former Buff golfer Derek Tolan, who completed his collegiate eligibility last month and turned professional just four weeks ago, won his first tournament as a pro in record fashion here Sunday in claiming the 45th Annual San Juan Open.
 
Tolan capped off the win with a final round 67 for a 260 total, or a tournament record 24-under par on the 6,750-yard, par-71 San Juan Country Club course.  He was tied for the lead after each of the first three rounds after posting scores of 64, 65 and 64.  Gary Christian had the old mark of 22-under he set in winning the 2004 event.
 
“I was pretty happy about breaking 130 the first two days, and then to back it up with 64 and 67 felt really good,” he said.  “The course was playing a lot harder the last round.  The greens were tougher and the pin placements were as well, so I really believe the 67 was as good as the 64s.  That was important for me, to play consistent and hold off the field.”   
 
The 23-year old Tolan picked up a $15,000 winner’s check for his efforts, along with a belt buckle and a Rolex watch valued at $7,500.
 
"It's a different feeling when you're actually playing for money," Tolan said of his third professional outing.  "I knew it was going to be a cluster out there with all the carts, but it happened a lot quicker (than I expected).  That made it a lot more fun having all the people watching and having all the distractions we had to overcome.  You could see some guys it was hurting them, but if you actually appreciated the situation and found it to be fun, I think it worked in your advantage."
 
Tolan had to rally a bit after two bad drives, the first going out of bounds, and hitting a tree on his approach en route to scoring a triple bogey 7 on No. 7.  But he then hit his final 11 greens in regulation, making four birdies in the process as he played before the second largest gallery in his career, next to the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage when he qualified as a 16-year old.  He had a short tap in on the par-3 No. 18 that sealed the win by two strokes over Ryan Hogue.
 
"I actually looked at it as a break,” Tolan said of the triple.  “To be honest with you, when my second ball ended up okay, I felt almost relieved.  I walked away from it with a little momentum I felt because things weren't as bad as they could've been," Tolan said.
 
"I'm just proud of myself for forgetting about (No. 7). That came from experience because that's happened to me a lot in those situations before and I let it bother me," Tolan said. "You can tell yourself to forget about it but it's another thing to actually do it, and that's what I'm happy with. Being able to forget about it and play really good after that was a big step."
 
The victory here removed some of the sting of him not qualifying for last week’s U.S. Open at Bethpage, as he had hoped to return to the site where he played as a high school sophomore but didn’t make it out of the local qualifying stage in early May.

On earning 15 grand, Tolan was his usual humorous self. 
 
"It's better than nothing, man," he said. "It's a lot when you don't have any.  If you had a ton it wouldn't be that much.  So it's going to be nice to cash that one."
 
Former Buffs fared well here.  Michael Baird (’08) finished fifth (265, -19), with CU assistant coach Jim Grady (’07) placing 12th (273, -11) and Pat Grady (’09) finishing 25th (278, -6).   “I played bad,” Grady modestly said of his 6-under effort.  “But Derek played lights out.  Twenty-four under par on any course is quite an impressive feat.”
 
Tolan and Grady have played in the same three meets since turning pro: the Socorro Open, where both tied for fifth; the Navajo Trail Open, where Grady was sixth and Tolan eighth; and the San Juan Open.  They will separate for their next venture with Grady and the others head to the Wyoming Open, while Tolan will play in the Metropolitan Open in St. Louis.  All will reconvene so-to-speak at next month’s Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch.
 
BARDGETT NEAR MISSES IN DEFENSE OF MISSOURI AMATEUR: Colorado senior Justin Bardgett narrowly missed winning his second straight Missouri Amateur title, dropping the championship match play event on the first playoff hole to Skip Berkmeyer, the player he defeated to win the 2008 title.  The two dueled to a draw through 36 holes Sunday at Highland Springs Country Club in St. Joseph, Mo.  Neither player led by more than 2 up in the title match, which saw the two stand all square 24 times during the 37 hole marathon.