Erie, Colo. (Oct. 3, 2023) -- On the final day of the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, the Wyoming Cowboys shot an outstanding round of 287 (-1) and moved up into eighth place in the field of 17 teams. Only host school Colorado shot a better final round on Tuesday. The Buffs fired a 280 (-8) to finish second in the team competition at 847 (-17) for 54 holes. Wyoming matched the final round of eventual tournament champion San Francisco, which also posted a 287 (-1) score on Tuesday and a 54-hole total of 845 (-19). The Cowboys finished with a three-round team score of 866 (+2). Wyoming, Colorado and San Francisco were the only three teams to shoot under par on the day.
Leading the way for the Pokes was junior
Patrick Azevedo. He entered the final round tied for 23rd but with his final round of 69 (-3), Azevedo vaulted up the standings to tie for 11th with a 54-hole total of 212 (-4). Wyoming's other Top 25 finisher was fellow junior
Kristof Panke, who shot a final round score of 71 (-1) to tie for 21st place at 215 (-1).
Wyoming was bunched in a group of four teams that all finished within three strokes of each other. Northern Colorado placed sixth at 864 (Even). Mountain West foe Nevada was seventh at 865 (+1), followed by Wyoming at 866 (+2). Mercer finished in ninth at 867 (+3).
"I'm really proud of the final round the guys put together today," said
Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf. "Pat (Azevedo) had a gutty effort. Both he and Kristof (Panke) finished with sub-par rounds in the final round. Jaren (Calkins) also bounced back well with an even-par round of 72. It is always good to finish a tournament on a high note. There were so many teams grouped together with us, we of course would have liked to have trimmed a couple more shots off our final score to finish a couple places higher, but all-in-all it was a good day for us."
San Francisco held a seven-stroke lead over UTEP entering the final round, while Colorado was in fifth place to begin Tuesday's third and final round. The Buffs made quite a charge with their 280 (-8) final round, but USF held off the host school to win by two strokes. The Dons finished at 845 (-19). CU finished at 847 (-17). UTEP and Colorado State tied for third at 854 (-10).
The individual champion was Tobias Jonsson of Mercer, who posted a three-round total of 207 (-9) to hold off Justin Biwer of Colorado, who finished at 209 (-7).
The other three Cowboys who made up Wyoming's starting five this week were:
Jaren Calkins, who tied for 48th at 220 (+4);
Jimmy Dales, tied for 56th at 222 (+6); and
Davis Seybert, tied for 63rd at 225 (+9). Two Cowboy freshmen played as individuals in this week's Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.
Evan Johnson placed 95th at 236 (+20).
Noah Wagner finished 97th at 241 (+25).
The Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational was played at the Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colo. The course measured 7,787 yards and played to a par 72.
Team Standings
1. San Francisco 276-282-287=845 (-19)
2. Colorado 285-282-280=847 (-17)
3. Texas El Paso 281-284-289=854 (-10)
Colorado State 283-283-288=854 (-10)
5. Washington State 282-289-288=859 (-5)
6. Northern Colorado 285-286-293=864 (Even)
7. Nevada 280-286-292=865 (+1)
8. Wyoming 289-290-287=866 (+2)
9. Mercer 288-287-291=867 (+3)
10. Valparaiso 287-302-290=879 (+15)
Grand Canyon 290-293-296=879 (+15)
12. UT Arlington 290-292-298=880 (+16)
13. Denver 293-290-298=881 (+17)
14. Utah Valley 294-293-297=884 (+20)
15. Rice 293-294-299=886 (+22)
16. Boise State 291-291-312=894 (+30)
17. Air Force 301-308-305=914 (+50)
Wyoming Cowboys
T11
Patrick Azevedo 71-72-69=212 (-4)
T21
Kristof Panke 70-74-71=215 (-1)
T48
Jaren Calkins 74-74-72=220 (+4)
T56
Jimmy Dales 74-73-75=222 (+6)
T63
Davis Seybert 78-71-76=225 (+9)
Wyoming Cowboys Playing as Individuals
95
Evan Johnson 82-78-76=236 (+20)
97
Noah Wagner 81-73-87=241 (+25)
