Laramie, Wyo. (Feb. 11, 2021) --  The Wyoming Cowboy golf team will compete in three national events to open the 2021 season.  After not playing in a collegiate tournament for a year, the Cowboys will return to action on Feb. 15 playing one of the nation's top schedules in the month of February.
 
The Prestige, La Quinta, Calif., Feb. 15-17
The Cowboys will begin play at The Prestige in La Quinta, Calif.  The Prestige annually hosts one of the nation's top fields of collegiate teams.   That tournament will be played at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., on Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 15-17.
  
The Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Presented by Callaway Golf, Feb. 19-21
Later next week, Wyoming will host its own Wyoming Desert  Intercollegiate Presented by Callaway Golf at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif., on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 19-21.
  
Top 50 Ranked Opponents
Wyoming will face 12 of the nation's Top 50 ranked teams in those first two tournaments (per Golfweek/Sagarin College Golf Rankings as of Feb. 10, 2021).
 
Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase, Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Feb. 15
In addition to those two team events, the Wyoming Cowboy Golf Program has once again been offered one of the exclusive spots in the Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.  This year's Wyoming representative will be junior Bryce Waters.
 
Waters will play in a foursome that will include a PGA Tour professional and two amateurs/donors representing the University of Wyoming.  Wyoming is one of only a handful of collegiate golf programs invited to play in this year's Collegiate Showcase.  The event was created in 2015 in connection with the TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods Charity.
 
Each collegiate golfer will play their own ball throughout the Pro-Am.  The top collegiate finisher in the Pro-Am will earn a spot in the PGA Genesis Invitational later in the week.  Both events will be played on the famed Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
 
Collegiate teams who have played in the past include: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Jose State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Wake Forest, Washington and Wyoming. 
 
Among PGA Tour professionals who have played in the Genesis Collegiate Showcase Pro-Am include: Abraham Ancer, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman, J.B. Holmes, Beau Hossler, C.T. Pan, Jordan Spieth, Harold Varner III, Jhonattan Vegas, Jimmy Walker and more.
 
Quoting Coach Joe Jensen
"Obviously, we're all working hard to get back on the road and play in a tournament," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf.  "The first goal is to continue to keep everyone safe and healthy the next week and then when we get on the road to stay in our bubble.
 
"I'm proud of the guys for being disciplined and staying healthy through the winter so that we can compete this spring.  We are hopeful, optimistic and excited about getting back to a more regular schedule of competition.  It will really be the first time in a year we will be together as a team.
 
"We plan on taking seven players to these first two tournaments.  We have a lot of balance on this year's team.  With that said, we don't need guys to feel pressure to go out and have to win every tournament individually.  We just need to play consistent and eliminate the bad rounds.
 
"These first two tournaments at The Prestige and at our Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Presented by Callaway Golf will have outstanding fields, and will give us an opportunity to show what we can do against some top teams.
 
"It will be unique to have Bryce (Waters) playing in the Genesis Collegiate Showcase on the same Monday as The Prestige tees off.  But if Bryce doesn't win the exempt spot for the top college finisher in the Genesis Invitational he'll join us on the second day of The Prestige and play as an individual.
 
"We really did have a very solid year last year.  Knowing that we have a good team coming back really adds to the excitement moving forward for our program."
 
Wyoming Cowboy Golf Enters the 2021 Season Coming Off One of the Best Seasons in School History
Wyoming as a team and the Cowboys as individuals reached a number of milestones last season, including four Top 5 tournament finishes as a team in eight tournaments played in the 2019-20 season.
 
•That included a season best second-place showing out of 17 teams at the Ram Masters Invitational at Colorado State.  UW placed third out of 12 teams at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, and also finished third out of nine teams at the University of Denver Ron Moore Intercollegiate.  The Pokes finished fifth out of 18 teams at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.
 
• The Pokes 844 (-20) tournament total at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational ranked as the second lowest tournament score by a Cowboy Golf Team in school history -- second only to an 835 (-29) tournament score shot by the 2017-18 Cowboy team at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational on Sept. 10, 2017.
 
Individual Accomplishments From the 2019-20 Season
•Cowboy sophomore Kirby Coe-Kirkham had an amazing season in 2019-20, resulting in him setting a new UW single-season record for lowest individual scoring average at 71.50 strokes per round.  That edged out the previous record of 71.58 strokes per round shared by John Murdock and Drew McCullough, who both set that record in the 2017-18 season.
 
•In addition to Coe-Kirkham's school record, three other members of the 2019-20 Cowboy squad also posted season-scoring averages that rank in the UW Single-Season Top 20.  Dan Starzinski's 72.08 average ranked No. 8. Carl Underwood's 73.00 average ranked No. 15, and Tyler Severin's, 73.21 average ranked No. 17.
 
•Cowboy sophomore Tyler Severin shot the best round of the day in the final round of the 2020 Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate to come from three strokes out of the lead entering the final day to capture a two-stroke victory.  Severin's final round 66 (-6) improved his 54-hole total to 207 (-9), giving the Longmont, Colo., native the first collegiate victory of his career.
 
For more information on Wyoming Golf throughout the 2021 season, go to GoWyo.com or follow the team: on Twitter @wyo_golf or on Facebook @wyogolf