LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 18, 2018) – With senior standout Drew McCullough leading the way, University of Wyoming golfers have enjoyed a very successful winter break competing in amateur events in preparation for the collegiate spring season. McCullough honored fallen soldier Alan Rowe in the prestigious Patriot All-America event in late December before nearly winning the Saguaro Amateur, where he played alongside all seven of his Cowboy teammates, in early January. Senior Gabrielle Gibson and sophomore Erin Sargent paced the Cowgirl golfers during the break, with Gibson finishing as the low amateur in the Cactus Tour professional event at the Wigwam Country Club earlier this week while Sargent recorded a top-15 finish in the Cactus Tour event at the Sun City Country Club.
"I'm very pleased that there was good, solid effort from our entire program," UW director of golf and men's head coach Joe Jensen said about the winter season. "Our kids essentially have five weeks off. It's up to (UW women's head coach) Josey (Stender) and I to create a culture, asking how we can become competitive. That's the thought process. We had all eight guys at Saguaro. It was a culture change for my guys. We've got a bunch of guys that want to get better. I just love the effort."
McCullough started his winter break at the South Beach International Amateur in Miami, the world's fifth-ranked amateur golf tournament, shooting 145 (+4) in two rounds at the Miami Beach Golf Club and Normandy Shores Golf Club. From there, he travelled to Litchfield Park, Ariz., for the 2017 Patriot All-America Invitational, where each player honors a fallen soldier. The Cowboy senior played in honor of Captain Alan Rowe of Gooding, Idaho, who served four overseas deployments before tragically passing away during a deployment to Iraq on Sept. 3, 2004. McCullough's special commemorative Patriot All-America golf bag will be available in the Cowboy Joe Club online auction in February. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving the United States.
McCullough carded a 76 (+6) in the first round of the Patriot All-America at the Wigwam Country Club before turning in a 74 (+4) on day two. He saved his best round for last, firing a 64 (-6) on the final day of competition to tie for the best score of the day. McCullough finished in a tie for 31st place in the very talented field of over 80 golfers with a 54-hole score of 214 (+4).
McCullough and the rest of the Cowboy golf team then competed at the 2018 Saguaro Amateur at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club during the first week of January, the same course where the Cowboys hosted and won the Wyoming Southern Dunes Invitational in October. McCullough posted a first-round 73 (+1) before rebounding with a 68 (-4) on day two and an otherworldly 63 (-9) on the final day of competition. The 63 proved to be the lowest round for any player during the entire tournament. McCullough's 54-hole score of 204 (-12) tied him for first on the leaderboard with Saint Mary's golfer Blake Hathcoat. Unfortunately, Hathcoat defeated McCullough in a playoff for the tournament title.
"Drew (McCullough) put himself in a position to win because it was his third event of the season," Jensen said of McCullough's performance at Saguaro. "He had the reps. He made a commitment. He put in the work. He went into the Saguaro with a little momentum, a little confidence, and ended up playing well."
Junior and Laramie native John Murdock continued the momentum from his breakout fall season with a top-10 finish at Saguaro. Murdock carded a final-round 65 (-7) to tie for ninth overall with a total score of 211 (-5). Cowboy freshman Carl Underwood tied for 35th place after a final-round 68 (-4), finishing with a score of 218 (+2). Senior Arron Lickteig tied for 41st, carding a score of 219 (+3), while fellow senior Glenn Workman tied for 50th at 220 (+4). Sophomore Dan Starzinski finished in a tie for 57th with a score of 222 (+6), while senior Quintin Pope tied for 64th place at 223 (+7). Freshman Jared Edeen, who is redshirting this season for UW, also competed in the tournament.
Cowgirl sophomore Erin Sargent competed as an amateur in two professional tournaments on the Cactus Tour during the break. Sargent placed 15th in the first tournament on the tour's 2018 schedule, held at Sun City Country Club in Sun City, Ariz., carding a 54-hole score of 227 (+11). Gibson joined Sargent for the second tournament at Wigwam Country Club in Litchfield Park, Ariz., the same site as the Patriot All-America Invitational. Gibson tied for 10th place overall, using a final-round 71 (-1) to finish with a score of 221 ( 5), two strokes better than the next-best amateur competitor in the tournament. Sargent took 26th place with a tournament total of 230 (+14). Freshman Cowgirl Jordan Remley tied for fourth place at the Elite Arizona Major at Palm Valley Golf Club last weekend, carding a 36-hole total of 153 (+9).
"I'm very pleased with them putting in the effort to be competitive and prepared for our spring season," Stender said of her players. "The standard has been set by the leadership that we have in these players. When you have five weeks off, to take advantage of that is huge whether you're from a cold-weather school or not, because you're playing competitive rounds. All the practice in the world can't replace competition, especially for the girls playing against professionals who are out there trying to making a living. It's a great learning experience for them. It should be a good confidence boost for them to see where they are at this point in January and hopefully just continue to progress as the season goes on."
After a record-breaking fall season and a successful winter, the Wyoming golf program will attempt to carry big momentum into the spring season. The Cowgirls will be back in action Feb. 12-13 at UC Riverside's Battle of the Rock, while the Cowboys return to the links Feb. 16-18 as they head to Palm Desert, Calif., to host the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. Stay tuned to GoWyo.com and @wyo_golf on twitter for information on all things Wyoming golf.
