Phoenix, Ariz. (March 16, 2019) --  The Wyoming men's golf team moved up two spots in Saturday's final round of the 2019 Grand Canyon Invitational to tie for seventh place out of 18 teams, with a final team score of 853 (+1).  The Cowboys shot an even par round of 284 on Saturday.  Junior Dan Starzinski fired a one-under par final round of 70 to ignite the Pokes outstanding round of golf.  Starzinski moved up two spots into a tie for fourth place out of 112 collegiate golfers.  His final individual score of 207 (-6) was only two strokes behind individual tournament medalists McCain Schellhardt of Missouri-Kansas City and Derek Kim of Columbia, who tied for the individual title at 205 (-8).
     
As a team, Wyoming was very balanced on Saturday as three Cowboys (Starzinski, senior John Murdock and true freshman Tyler Severin) all posted one-under par rounds of 70.  Another true freshman, Kirby Koe-Kirkham shot a three-over par final round of 74 to round out the four scores that counted toward the Pokes' team score.  The fifth Cowboy who competed as a member of the team was sophomore Carl Underwood, who closed out the tournament with a 78 (+7) on Saturday.  Murdock tied for 27th place.  Severin placed 37th.  Coe-Kirkham tied for 66th, and Underwood tied for 80th.  Cowboy freshman Jimmy Dales tied for 84th, playing as an individual.  The other Cowboy who competed as an individual was redshirt freshman Jared Edeen, who tied for 95th.
     
"Overall, I'm really proud of the guys for the way they played this week," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf.  "We moved up in each of the final two rounds, and were just one stroke out of finishing fifth.  Dan (Starzinski) had a really nice tournament.  He was only two strokes out of the individual title.
     
"One thing we will be talking about as a team is that every shot counts.  We made some mental mistakes today that could have moved us up even further in the standings. 
     
"Now we head to Tucson for the Arizona N.I.T. on Monday and Tuesday.  We're getting a lot of reps this week, with back-to-back tournaments and that is what we need to continue to improve this spring season."
     
Missouri-Kansas City, which held a five-stroke lead over Missouri heading into Saturday's final round of the Grand Canyon Invitational, extended its winning margin to 14 strokes on Saturday.  The Kangaroos shot a final round of 276 (-8) to finish with a 54-hole total of 829 (-23) and outdistanced second-place University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley by 14 strokes.  UT-Rio Grande Valley completed the tournament at 843 (-9).
     
The Grand Canyon Invitational was played at the Grand Canyon University Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz.  The course measured 7,200 yards for Rounds 1 and 2 and the yardage for Saturday's final round was 7,136 yards.  The course played to a Par of 71 for all three rounds.
 
Team Standings
1.   Missouri - Kansas City          282-271-276=829 (-23)
2.   UT-Rio Grande Valley           285-275-283=843 (-9)
3.   UTEP                                   281-282-281=844 (-8)
      Missouri                              278-280-286=844 (-8)
5.   Pacific                                 278-284-290=852 (Even)
      Northern Colorado              288-279-285=852 (Even)
7.   Wyoming                            290-279-284=853 (+1)
      North Dakota State             286-282-285=853 (+1)
9.   Grand Canyon                     293-276-285=854 (+2)
10.  Wichita State                      281-284-294=859 (+7)
11.  Samford                             285-295-287=867 (+15)
12.  Idaho                                  295-284-291=870 (+18)
13.  Hawai'i                               296-283-294=873 (+21)
      Omaha                               286-298-289=873 (+21)
15.  UC Riverside                        295-303-280=878 (+26)
16.  Sacramento State                289-297-293=879 (+27)
17.  Columbia                            298-297-298=893 (+41)
      Western Carolina                 292-293-308=893 (+41)
 
Wyoming Cowboys' Individual Standings
T4 Dan Starzinski                       70-67-70=207 (-6)
T27 John Murdock                     72-71-70=213 (Even)
T37 Tyler Severin                       74-72-70=216 (+3)
T66 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              74-72-74=220 (+7)
T80 Carl Underwood                 76-69-78=223 (+10)
 
Wyoming Cowboys Playing as Individuals
T84 Jimmy Dales                        82-68-74=224 (+11)
T95 Jared Edeen                        74-77-75=226 (+13)