Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i (Nov. 4, 2018) -- A five-under par round of 279 by the Wyoming Cowboy golf team on Sunday, moved the Cowboys up two spots to finish 11th out of 20 teams in one of the top ranked tournament fields in the country at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational in Maui, Hawai'i.
The Cowboys' final five-under par round also pushed them under par for the tournament, finishing with a 54-hole total of 851 (-1). Sophomore
Carl Underwood shot a three-under par 68 in the final round for the best round by a Cowboy on Sunday. The other Poke to fire a sub-par round on Sunday was freshman
Kirby Coe-Kirkham, who posted a two-under par 69. Senior
John Murdock and junior
Dan Starzinski both shot even-par rounds of 71, and freshman
Jimmy Dales finished with a three-over par round of 74. Wyoming freshman
Tyler Severin, playing as an individual, shot a one-over par 72.
Coe-Kirkham finished the tournament with a 54-hole total of 212 (-1) to tie for 47th. He was followed closely by Murdock and Underwood, who each tied for 50th with final three-round totals of 213 (Even). Starzinski tied for 71st at 217 (+4), and Dales tied for 86th at 220 (+7). Severin finished with a 54-hole score of 224 (+11) to tie for 96th out of 116 competitors.
California entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over North Florida. The Cal Bears fired a 20-under par round of 264 on Sunday to extend their margin of victory by 11 strokes, finishing at 805 (-47). North Florida held on to second place at 816 (-36), and Oklahoma finished third at 817 (-35). Cal entered the tournament ranked 26th in the most recent Golfstat rankings. North Florida was 27th and Oklahoma was ranked 11th. Other ranked teams and their finishes were: No. 9 Clemson tied for fourth at 825 (-27), No. 16 Georgia placed sixth at 827 (-25), No. 34 South Carolina finished in seventh place at 830 (-22), No. 39 West Virginia tied for eighth at 835 (-17) and No. 32 Kansas placed 10th at 839 (-13).
Sebastian Crampton of Cal won the individual medalist honors with a 196 (-17). He was followed by Quade Cummins of Oklahoma 198 (-15), Collin Morikawa of Cal 199 (-14) and Riley Casey of OU 201 (-12).
"Carl and Kirby both shot under-par rounds for us on Sunday, which was a good way for those young guys to finish the fall season," said head coach
Joe Jensen. "Overall, this was a good, solid event for us.
"For us to take the next step, we need our veteran players in John (Murdock) and Dan (Starzinski) to play well for three rounds. But they still played solid. They are both good players.
"I'm pleased with the fact that two of our three rounds this weekend were under par, and we beat some good teams. Houston (12th place) is a good team. Washington (13th place) is a good team. To play against teams from the Pac-12, the Big 12, the ACC was great experience for our guys."
The Ka'anapali Classic was the final fall tournament for the Cowboys. With a very young team, featuring only one senior, one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen in the lineup, Wyoming had a productive season, posting a season-best second place finish at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, while placing in the top half of five of six fall tournament fields. Jensen said he was pleased with the performance he saw from his team this fall.
"Last year, we had a veteran team and won twice in the fall, but when we came to this event in Hawai'i last year we didn't play well," said Jensen. "This fall, we didn't have the two tournament victories, but we played well at a number of events with a very young group. John (Murdock) is the only returning counter from last fall's season on the team this year. Dan (Starzinski) and Carl (Underwood) played as individuals last fall, so we really had a very inexperienced team entering this year.
"We have a good, young team, but because we are young we didn't play with the consistency I would like to see. I believe we will grow into that. We had a number of good third-round finishes this fall season. Our one achilles heel was having that one round where we didn't play well, and that speaks again to developing consistency."
The Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational was hosted by the University of Hawai'i at the Ka'anapali Golf Club in Lahaina, Maui. The tournament was played on the Royal Ka'anapali Golf Course that measured 6,700 yards and played to a par of 71.
Final Team Standings From the 2018 Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational
1. California 266-275-264=805 (-47)
2. North Florida 278-266-272=816 (-36)
3. Oklahoma 275-278-264=817 (-35)
4. UCLA 272-284-269=825 (-27)
Clemson 262-292-271=825 (-27)
6. Georgia 268-282-277=827 (-25)
7. South Carolina 271-279-280=830 (-22)
8. Boise State 271-294-270=835 (-17)
West Virginia 271-280-284=835 (-17)
10. Kansas 290-275-274=839 (-13)
11. Wyoming 280-292-279=851 (-1)
12. Houston 286-289-279=854 (+2)
13. Washington 285-292-278=855 (+3)
Connecticut 281-285-289=855 (+3)
Gonzaga 282-288-285=855 (+3)
16. Sacramento State 283-300-282=865 (+13)
17. Southern Illinois 291-300-281=872 (+20)
18. Hawaii 289-291-293=873 (+21)
19. George Washington 286-300-290=876 (+24)
20. Air Force 291-304-285=880 (+28)
Wyoming Cowboys Final Individual Standings
T47
Kirby Coe-Kirkham 69-74-69=212 (-1)
T50
John Murdock 68-74-71=213 (Even)
T50
Carl Underwood 70-75-68=213 (Even)
T71
Dan Starzinski 75-71-71=217 (+4)
T86
Jimmy Dales 73-73-74=220 (+7)
Wyoming Cowboys Playing as Individuals
T96
Tyler Severin 75-77-72=224 (+11)
