After two solid rounds the first day at the Ron Moore Invitational in Denver, the Utes slipped and finished in a tie for 13th.
The Utes went into the final round in a tie for ninth place and were in good position to crack the top ten. Utah fired a final round of 305, the team’s first round over 300 for the three-day tournament.
The total for the tournament was 897; the Utes were 72 shots behind the champions of Colorado. Air Force finished in second place with 24 strokes behind Colorado.
Individually, the U had one player that was in a great position to crack the top 20 after the first two rounds. After Monday, sophomore Chase Hite was in sole possession of 13th at 2-under par. He followed up his pair of 71s with a 77 and a tie for 26th place. Colorado’s Pat Grady and Derek Tolan finished one and two at 12- and 11-under par.
Following Hite was fellow sophomore Jeff Kitches, who finished at 8-over par and in a tie for 46th place. Senior and team captain Chance Cota struggled for the second tournament in a row with a tie for 49th place at 9-over.
The field played 36 holes on Monday, a long day on the links in tournament golf. The teams began the day at 8 a.m. and finished at 6 p.m. Besides Hite, no other Ute was in a position to break the top 20. Colorado fired a two-round total of 26-under par, 16 strokes better than Air Force who was in second place, which turned out to be a very comfortable lead heading into the final round.
Denver University hosted the tournament, which was held at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, home of the Colorado Open. The course usually plays 7,000 yards, but was stretched out to 7,300 yards for the college long bombers. The host team finished in a tie for seventh.
The Utes will head to Albuquerque, N.M. for their next tournament (Sept. 26-27) for the William H. Tucker Invitational hosted by New Mexico.
