The new season of Utah Golf is in full swing after the team made the trip to Colorado Springs this weekend for its first tournament of the year, the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
The Utes were joined in the tournament by 82 golfers representing 14 other universities from across the United States, including conference rival Colorado and area teams from Utah State, Weber State and Southern Utah.
After two days of play at the par-72 Blue Course on the United States Air Force Academy’s renowned Eisenhower Golf Club, Utah (295-292-299=886, +22) tied for 13th place overall.
The Utes began the tournament in lackluster fashion, as the team shot seven-over par in the first round and found itself in the No. 8 spot. During the next 18 holes, the team managed to improve slightly and carded a four-over par 292. However, Utah wasn’t the only team to perform better in the second round, and despite the Utes’ better score, they still fell into 11th place at the conclusion of Saturday’s action. Sunday’s final round saw the Utes record their highest score of the tournament, an 11-over par 299 which dropped the team to 13th place.
Despite the team’s underwhelming performance as a whole, there were plenty of strong individual rounds played by the members of Utah’s experienced, senior-laden roster.
The Utes’ top performer was senior Jose Pelayo (74-73-70=217, +1) who finished tied for 18th after ending the weekend with a score of just one-over par. His score of two-under par in the final round of the invitational was the team’s best scoring round of the weekend.
Fellow senior Brandon Kida’s performance this weekend also landed him in the top 25 when he shot just one-over par for the first two rounds and capped off his tournament play by shooting an even par to end up tied for 22nd place.
The third-best scoring Ute was another senior, Brent Pollock (75-73-75=223, +7), whose consistent play nabbed him a 46th place finish after shooting seven-over par during the course of the weekend.
Junior Gentry Hicks (73-74-78=225, +9) and senior Steven Croft (75-74-79=228, +12) finished 59th and 69th respectively to round out the scorecard for the Utes.
Senior Jonathon Thomas was disqualified in the final round on Sunday after posting a seven-over par and an even par in the first two rounds.
In the end, it was Utah’s former Mountain West opponent Colorado State that took home first place. Their overall team score of 15-under par was unparalleled, and only Colorado managed to come close with a team score of 12-under par.
The Utes hit the road again this upcoming Monday and Tuesday as they head to the Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, Wash. for the Husky Invitational.
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