The Wyoming men’s golf team finished in eighth place at their host tournament the Cowboy Classic at the Whirlwind Golf Course in Chandler, Arizona on April 10-11. The Pokes finished with a team score of 870 (+6), while UC Santa Barbra secured the team title of 243 (-21).
Santa Barbra finished 11 strokes ahead of second place Kansas for the tournament. Zach Smith of UCSB earned the individual crown by posting a 206 (-10), including a 67 (-5) on the final day.
“Today we played hard, and overall this gives us some good things to work on going forward,“ UW head coach Joe Jensen said. “It’s a great facility and a fun event, and I’d like to thank the staff and the teams who participated. I’m proud of how we finished with our score today. We’ll use this to move forward going into conference championships next week.”
The Cowboys recorded a 286 (-2) in the final round as senior Ryan Wallen and junior Drew McCullough each shot a clean 71 (-1) on the day. Junior Glenn Workman and classmate Aaron Lickteig shot even par 72 on the final day, while sophomore John Murdock finished with a 75 (+3).
Redshirt freshman Dan Starzinski shot the lowest round of the UW golfers competing as individuals by finishing even par 72. Junior Quintin Pope finished the day with a 75 (+3) and redshirt sophomore Cole Bundy shot 81 (+9).
Wallen shot the low round of the tournament for the Pokes with a 68 (-4) in the first round on day one. Six Cowboys had at least one round of par or better for the tournament.
The Pokes improved their standing on day two, moving from 10th after two rounds to eighth. In round one the Pokes shot 285 (-1) as a team that left them in a tie for second but then shot 299 (+13) in the second round of the day.
“We had a good, solid morning. Things didn’t go as well this afternoon, but we just have to write it off and move on,” Jensen said after day one. “The course is in great shape and we love hosting this event. We will come out tomorrow and play more like we did this morning.”
The Cowboys will return to the course from April 21-23 for the Mountain West Championships at the OMNI Tucson National-Catalina Course in Tucson, Arizona.
