LARAMIE, Wyo. – After a two-week break from competition, the University of Wyoming men's golf team is back on the road for the Paintbrush Invitational hosted by the University of Denver on Monday and Tuesday. The Cowboys will be part of a tough 12-team field at the 7,488-yard, par-72 Colorado Golf Club.
"After a run of three tournaments, it's nice to decompress a little bit, but we're ready to get back to work," said UW head coach Joe Jensen. "Frankly, both of our upcoming tournaments have very good teams so we're going to have to play hard and play well to be competitive. It's good to get on the road so we can prepare a little bit."
Wyoming is coming off a third-place finish at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, the third-straight top-three finish for the Brown and Gold to start the season. The Cowboys were again led by junior John Murdock, whose scoring average of 68.33 is second in the NCAA this season among players who have completed at least nine rounds. Murdock has finished in the top five on the individual leaderboard in all three tournaments this season, leading him to receive Mountain West Men's Golfer of the Month honors on Sept. 28.
While Murdock's scoring average leads the team, senior Drew McCullough is second at 70.2 through three tournaments. McCullough is coming off a tie with fellow senior Glenn Workman for 30th place at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, where both carded 54-hole scores of 216 (E). Workman, who received the Wyoming State Golf Association 2017 Men's Player of the Year award on Thursday, ranks third on the team with a scoring average of 71.7.
Senior Quintin Pope had a breakout tournament at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, recording his first top-10 finish of the season with a 54-hole score of 210 (-6). Pope's scoring average of 72.1 ranks fourth on the squad, while senior Arron Lickteig is averaging 73.3 strokes per round after a 57th-place finish at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational. Freshman Carl Underwood was impressive at CU's tournament, using a second-round 70 (-2) on his way to a tie for 43rd place. Underwood and Dan Starzinski will be slotted in as individuals for Wyoming on Monday and Tuesday.
The Cowboys will face a number of talented teams at the Paintbrush Invitational including 2016 tournament champion Oklahoma State. At last season's event, the Cowboys took sixth out of 15 teams with a final score of 878 (+14). Ryan Wallen tied for 10th place with a score of 213 (-3), while Murdock was the next-best finisher for the Cowboys in a tie for 31st at 221 (+5). McCullough tied for 34th place, shooting 223 (+7).
The 2017 Paintbrush Invitational will feature a shotgun start at 8 a.m. MT for the first and second rounds on Monday. Tee times will start at 8:30 a.m. for the third and final round on Tuesday. Live results will be available at the link above, while fans can follow @wyo_golf on twitter for more information.
