Bremerton, Wash. (April 29, 2022) --  An outstanding opening round on Friday by the Wyoming Cowboys has them in fifth place at the 2022 Mountain West Men's Golf Championship.  Wyoming fired a 290 (+2) on the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.  The Cowboys were led by redshirt sophomore Jimmy Dales, who shot a 69 (-3).
 
Wyoming's two-over par round of 290 on Friday places the Pokes two strokes behind Nevada for fourth place and three strokes ahead of Utah State, Fresno State and UNLV, who are all tied for sixth place.  Dales 69 (-3) round has him only two strokes out of the tournament lead that is currently held by Trey Davis of Nevada and Connor Jones of Colorado State, who both shot 67 (-5) to open the tournament.
 
Two Cowboy freshmen playing in their first Mountain West Championship also performed extremely well in the opening round.  True freshman Jaren Calkins opened with an even-par round of 72 and is tied for 15th place.  Redshirt freshman Patrick Azevedo shot a 73 (+1) Friday and is tied for 20th.
 
"When you come to your conference championship, it just has a different feel," said UW Director of Golf Joe Jensen.  "We know we can be competitive in this field because we've been competitive against Mountain West teams throughout this season. 
 
"I think we were well prepared coming into the tournament, and I told our guys they just need to believe in themselves.  I'm proud of the way they fought today.  It was a breezy, cool day with a little mist in the early part of the round but our guys dealt well with the conditions.
 
"Jimmy (Dales) played with confidence today.  He's put himself in a good position, but he's going to have to keep fighting.  Jaren (Calkins) and Pat (Azevedo) both stepped up and played well, shooting even par and one-over par, and that isn't easy in their first conference championship.
 
"Now we need to realize this is only one round, and we have to keep our focus and play with the same toughness tomorrow as we did today."    
 
The 2022 Mountain West Championship is being played on the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton,Wash.  The course measures 7,115 yards and plays to a par of 72.
 
Team Standings
1.   Colorado State                     280 (-8)
2.   Boise State                           282 (-6)
3.   San Diego State                   283 (-5)
4.   Nevada                                 288 (Even)
5.   Wyoming                              290 (+2)
6.   Utah State                            293 (+5)
      Fresno State                         293 (+5)
      UNLV                                    293 (+5)
9.   San Jose State                     294 (+6) 
10. New Mexico                          300 (+12)
11. Air Force                               313 (+25)
 
Wyoming Cowboys
T3   Jimmy Dales                       69 (-3)
T15 Jaren Calkins                      72 (Even)
T20 Patrick Azevedo                  73 (+1)
T40 Bryce Waters                       76 (+4)
T46 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              77 (+5)