The Idaho men’s golf team produced a solid performance during the program’s trip to Chandler, Arizona, for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic.
The Vandals finished with an 11-over-par 875 to finish in a tie for 12th place at the annual tournament.
“We had it going early, but then some late miscues cost us some much-needed strokes and we weren’t able to climb out of our round-one hole,” said Idaho head coach David Nuhn.
Idaho sophomore Daniel Sutton led the Vandals with an individual score of 216 to earn an even finish on the course to tie for 25th.
Sophomore Ian Kim shot a four-over-par 220, while freshman Enrique Marin finished the tournament with a five-over-par 221.
Senior teammate Rylee Iacolucci finished one stroke behind Marin’s performance.
Freshman Jake Scarrow rounded out the Cowboy Classic for the Vandals with a nine-over-par 225.
The University of Colorado claimed the tournament title with a 21-under-par score of 843.
“It was great,” said Colorado head coach Roy Edwards. “Ever since the start of yesterday’s second round, the guys were tremendous and competed really hard. That’s what I was most proud of.”
Sam Houston State earned a second place finish in the Cowboy Classic, edging out the University of Wyoming by one stroke.
“We had a really good two and a half weeks off where we really prepared hard,” said Sam Houston State head coach Brandt Kieschnick. “They had been shooting a lot of low scores in practice. With a year of tournament experience and quality practices, we really positioned ourselves to compete. This is the best I’ve seen all five play together.”
Four players ended individual competition in a tie for first place. Jordan Gumberg of Arizona and Jeremy Paul of Colorado shared co-title honors following a one-hole playoff.
Nuhn said the Vandals are showing improvement during the final stretch of the season.
“Overall, I’m seeing some real positives,” Nuhn said. “With one tournament to go before the Big Sky tournament, we are getting closer to where we need to be to repeat as champs.”
Idaho will travel to Iowa City April 15-17 to compete in the Hawkeye Invitational. The team will then compete in the Big Sky Championship in Henderson, Nevada, from May 1-3.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom