Mark Simpson has been gone 2½ years, but that doesn't mean the coach's influence isn't still felt by the Colorado men's golf team.

One of Simpson's recruits, junior Derek Tolan, this week will become the first CU player in six years to play in the NCAA Championship Finals. And leading up to the tournament -- which runs today through Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. -- Tolan was quick to remember discussions he had several years ago with Simpson, who passed away in December 2005 after battling cancer.

"I hold myself accountable for promises I made to him, even though he's not here anymore," Tolan said before leaving for the NCAA Finals. "He wanted me to win a national championship. Coming out of high school, he thought I had a good chance."

Tolan has this week and next season to prove whether Simpson was right,and he's trying to make the most of the opportunities. After enduring a long stretch of golf not up to his standards, Tolan has taken significant steps in the right direction recently, especially during the spring portion of the college season.

Just in the last 2½ months, he's recorded three top-seven finishes in college tournaments, including the seventh-place showing at the NCAA Central Regional that landed him a spot in the NCAA Finals. He's been the Buffs' top performer during the spring, with a 73.82 stroke average.

"I'm hitting it a ton better this semester, better than I have in years," Tolan said. "The top 10 is very reasonable (this week) if I play a little better than I did at regionals. The thing that's exciting for me is that there is so much room for improvement. If I get hot I could hold up the trophy at the end of the week. I'd really enjoy that."

Considering Tolan has yet to post a top-five finish in a college tournament during his career, contending for a title may be a lot to ask. But current CU coach Roy Edwards doesn't put much past him.

"Anything is possible for Derek," Edwards said. "I've noticed a change in him. He'll be back among the elite amateurs in the country very soon, maybe even this coming week."

Landing Tolan as a recruit for CU was a big moment for Simpson. After all, as a 16-year-old Tolan did something that reportedly no one else has done in U.S. Golf Association history -- compete in the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Publinks in the same year (2002). Just for good measure, he also won the state high school title that fall for ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch.

While still at ThunderRidge, Tolan was the No. 33-ranked junior player in the world.

"I was in awe of him when he was in junior golf," Edwards said. "I'm big on knowing who you are, and I don't think Derek knew who he was as a 16-year-old. And who he was was one of the best juniors not only in the country but the world."

After redshirting at CU in 2004-05, Tolan flexed his muscle in the 2005 Denver Open by finishing third against a field consisting largely of pros, including mini-tour players and some of the best club pros around. Later that year, he was named the Colorado Golf Association's amateur Player of the Year. Over the years, Tolan has qualified for an impressive nine USGA events.

But Tolan was derailed on the track to stardom. Instead of sticking with the swing that made him a prep phenom, Tolan opted a couple of years ago to "change to become more conventional -- for some stupid reason. I lost my instincts and hit rock bottom (late last summer). I tried to find shortcuts to getting better instead of becoming better at what I already do. I learned the hard way. I made the decision to go back to what I used to do. And the last couple of weeks I've really seen signs of progress."

Tolan said he would rank his college career to this point a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 -- "I'm extremely disappointed," he said -- but he's quick to point out that it's far from over. And he's as determined as ever to live up to those promises he made to Simpson years ago.

"He didn't foresee the downward spiral," Tolan said of Simpson. "But now I'm back on the rise, and I think I could make a decent run of it, maybe even this year. But obviously I'd have to play some of the best golf of my career."