After a short trip south to Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, the 2024 Idaho Golf team won the inaugural “Battle for Idaho” duel against Boise State University last year. Led by a stellar performance from Joe Sykes, the Vandals had captured the 885-895 victory. This year, on April 15, Idaho hosted the second annual Battle for Idaho where the Broncos avenged their loss by besting Idaho 844-851.
For the second consecutive year, Cole Rueck of BSU had the top score in this tournament. He finished 5-under, claiming another championship after sharing the co-champion title with Sykes in 2024. He shot 4-under in the first round, which was tied for the best individual round score among all 15 participants.
For Idaho, Samuel Johnson and Josh McCartain were the only golfers who finished below par, both doing so in two out of three rounds. Johnson took second place in the tournament with a 2-under finish, while McCartain was tied for third with a 1-under finish. Matthew McGann and Sykes both shot 1-over par and tied for seventh.
The Battle for Idaho was the final regular season appearance for the Vandals, as their next time out will be in the Big West Conference Championship, which begins April 27 in La Quinta, California.
Prior to hosting the duel with Boise, Idaho had a solid stretch of performances across a few different tournaments throughout the spring. They placed 10th out of 16 teams at the Bandon Dunes Championship on March 11 in Oregon.
The Oregon Ducks won the tournament, finishing at 10-over on a notoriously challenging course. Johnson was the top finisher for Idaho in this tournament, finishing at 7-over, courtesy of his even-par finish in round two. On March 25, the Vandals finished with a final score of 898, good for a 15th place finish at the Oregon Duck Invitational.
On April 1, the Vandals had one of their best team performances of the spring season at the Redhawk Invitational in Seattle. They finished sixth out of 18 teams at the Chambers Bay Course. Johnson was once again Idaho’s top performer, placing fifth after recording 13 birdies.