Tucson, Ariz. (March 19, 2019) --  Wyoming senior John Murdock fired a one-over par round of 73 on Tuesday to tie for 37th place at the Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.) played in Tucson, Ariz.  Murdock concluded the tournament with a 54-hole total of 215 (-1) to lead the scoring for the Cowboys.  Wyoming finished 15th as a team in a tournament field that included six Top 50 ranked teams among the 16 teams competing in this year's N.I.T.
     
Arizona State, which entered the tournament ranked No. 4 in the most recent Golfstat rankings, recorded a dominating victory, defeating second-place and No. 7 ranked USC by 21 strokes.  The Sun Devils finished with a three-round score of 814 (-50).  The USC Trojans shot a 54-hole total of 835 (-29).  Oklahoma, ranked No. 5, captured third place just one stroke back of the Trojans.  The Sooners shot a combined 836 (-28).
     
Cowboy junior Dan Starzinski tied for 51st at 218 (+2).  Freshmen Tyler Severin and Kirby Coe-Kirkham tied for 75th and 77th respectively.  Severin posted a three-round total of 227 (+11).  Coe-Kirkham shot a 228 (+12).  Sophomore Carl Underwood rounded out the scoring for the Cowboys, tying for 80th at 231 (+15).
     
"After playing a good round yesterday afternoon, we weren't sharp today," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf.  "Other than John (Murdock) and Dan (Starzinski), who both hung in there today, we didn't play well as a team.  We got off to a bad start, and we made some mistakes that were not typical for us.  
     
"We're going through a stretch right now that our young players have never experienced before, between playing against top level talent and playing good golf courses, this is a challenge that they have never faced.  Today's round is a learning experience for our team.  If we can look at it that way it can motivate us to get better as we play our final three spring tournaments leading up to the conference championship at the end of April."
     
The University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.) was played at the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course.  The course measured 7,200 yards and played to a Par of 72.  The course will also be the site of the 2019 Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship on April 26-28.
     
Wyoming will return to action on Monday and Tuesday, March 25-26 when they will play in the Oregon Duck Invitational to be played on the Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore.
 
Team Standings
1.   Arizona State                      280-263-271=814 (-50)
2.   USC                                    279-270-286=835 (-29)
3.   Oklahoma                           280-276-280=836 (-28)
4.   Colorado State                    280-281-278=839 (-25)
5.   Iowa State                           282-280-278=840 (-24)
6.   New Mexico                        280-278-284=842 (-22)
7.   UNLV                                  282-275-287=844 (-20)
8.   Arizona                               284-278-287=849 (-15)
9.   San Diego State                   289-282-283=854 (-10)
T10. Washington State              285-289-293=867 (+3)
      UTEP                                   290-285-292=867 (+3)
      North Texas                         284-297-286=867 (+3)
13. Utah                                   294-290-284=868 (+4)
14. Colorado                             291-295-294=880 (+16)
15. Wyoming                            295-284-304=883 (+19)
16. San Diego                           299-305-294=898 (+34)
 
Wyoming Cowboys' Individual Standings
T37 John Murdock                     73-69-73=215 (-1)
T51 Dan Starzinski                     74-69-75=218 (+2)
T75 Tyler Severin                       73-77-77=227 (+11)
T77 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              75-74-79=228 (+12)
T80 Carl Underwood                 76-72-83=231 (+15)