While most of the players’ fellow students were staying inside last weekend, the U golf team braved the cold, dreary conditions and finished sixth out of 19 teams at the Cougar Classic in Provo.
As it has been much of the season, Utah was led by its two hot-shooting juniors, Dustin Pimm and Steven Broker, who finished the tournament in sixth and 14th place, respectively.
“I got off to a pretty good start on that first day,” Pimm said. “I was able to hit some putts and pick up a few birdies and an eagle, but that second day wasn’t nearly as good.”
Pimm paced the Utes the first day, shooting a blistering seven-under-par over the first two rounds. The junior, whose 71.78-stroke average ranks sixth in the Mountain West Conference, cooled off the second day, shooting two-over-par on Saturday to finish at five-under.
Broker followed Pimm’s example on Friday, starting off the tournament with rounds of 68 and 72 to finish the day at four-under-par. But like Pimm, Broker cooled off significantly on Saturday, hitting a one-over-par to finish the tournament at three-under.
“(Saturday) was a really rough day for us,” Pimm said. “Nobody was really able to get into a rhythm and it showed. We just didn’t putt the ball that well.”
The Utes hope to keep their season alive this weekend when they play in the MWC Championships at the Tuscon National Golf Club.
“The course where the conference championship is being played this year sets up really well for us,” Pimm said. “It’s going to be a birdie fest down there and I think our team has a good chance at it.”