Laramie, Wyo. (Oct. 4 2019) --  Friday saw the Wyoming Cowboy golf team continue its strong fall season, as the Cowboys share the team lead after the first round of the University of Denver Ron Moore Intercollegiate.  The Cowboys fired an opening round 276 (-8) and are tied for the team lead with the host Denver Pioneers.  Leading the Pokes is sophomore Kirby Coe-Kirkham, who is in first place with a three-stroke lead at 65 (-6).  Coe-Kirkham's round is the lowest round of his career.  His previous low round was a 68 (-4).  The tournament is a 54-hole event with a single 18-hole round being played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 
 
Two other Cowboys are in the Top 10 individuals entering Saturday's second round.  Sophomore Tyler Severin and junior Bryce Waters are two of four players tied for 10th at 70 (-1).  Junior Carl Underwood is one stroke back of Severin and Waters at 71 (Even) par to tie for 14th.  Rounding out the Cowboy team is senior Dan Starzinski, who is tied for 25th at 73 (+2).  Two other Cowboys are playing as individuals.  They are redshirt freshman Liam Clancy and sophomore Jared Edeen.  Clancy is tied for 32nd at 74 (+3), and Edeen is tied for 44th at 78 (+7).
 
Coe-Kirkham holds a three-stroke lead over five golfers who are tied for second at 68 (-3).  In the team competition, there were only four teams in the nine-team field that shot opening rounds under par.  In addition to Wyoming and Denver at 276 (-8), Denver's B team shot a 280 (-4) and North Dakota State posted a round of 282 (-2).
 
"Kirby (Coe-Kirkham) is a steady player and is very smart and works extremely hard," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf and Head Men's Golf Coach.  "He is always prepared and he played extremely well today.  The challenge is for him to stay hungry and see if he can win a tournament.  The other good thing is we have three other players in the Top 15 in Tyler (Severin), Bryce (Waters) and Carl (Underwood).  

"As a team, our goal was to come play some more competitive rounds this week and continue to improve.  I'm pleased with how we played today, and I would love to see us play under par each round this week and show we can play consistently.  We came into this wanting to be at or near the lead.  We did that in the first round, but we need to come out tomorrow and continue to have that mentality."
 
The tournament is being played on the University of Denver Golf Club in Highlands Ranch, Colo.  The course measures 7,285 yards and plays to a Par of 71.  The second 18-hole round will be played on Saturday, Oct. 5, with the final round to be played on Sunday, Oct. 6.  The Wyoming Cowboys are scheduled to tee off at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday morning and they will play with co-leader Denver, as well as North Dakota State.