Cowboy Golf Set to Host 10th Annual Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate

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LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 14, 2018) – The University of Wyoming men’s golf team will host the three-day Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif., beginning this Friday. The field is comprised of 23 teams from across the country, included six squads ranked in the top 50 and Mountain West foe Boise State.

Each day will feature a double-tee start off of holes 1 and 10 at 7 a.m. PT. This year will mark the 10th time that Wyoming has hosted the event at Classic Club.

Infinity

The Cowboys will look to build off of their successful fall campaign, highlighted by a team victory at Southern Dunes, the last tournament hosted by UW. Junior John Murdock led the way with a fourth-place finish, just ahead of senior Arron Lickteig who carded a final-round 64 (-8) to place fifth.  Senior Drew McCullough will be Wyoming’s top seed, followed by Murdock, senior Glenn Workman, senior Quintin Pope and Lickteig. Sophomore Dan Starzinski and freshman Carl Underwood will play as individuals.

Texas Tech is currently ranked 14th in the nation, Cal is ranked 15th, UCLA is 21st, Tennessee is 28th, Kansas is 36th and TCU is 40th. No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State will also send four individuals. The Pokes are currently ranked 75th. The Jayhawks and Horned Frogs have previously claimed the team title at the Desert Intercollegiate, Kansas in 2016 and TCU in 2015 and 2013. Oregon claimed the team and individual title last season.

Five of the nation’s top 50 players in the nation, per Golfstat.com, will be competing in the tournament this weekend. TCU junior Stefano Mazzoli currently holds a scoring average of 69.73, which ranks No. 20 among NCAA Division I men’s golfers. California junior Collin Morikawa is ranked 28th at 69.87, while junior John Murdock of host Wyoming is ranked one spot behind Morikawa with the same scoring average. Texas Tech senior Fredrik Nilehn is 31st at 69.92, while Boise State sophomore Brian Humphreys ranks 44th at 70.33.

John Bunning

The Arnold Palmer-designed Classic Club is a par-72 course and will play 7,322 yards this weekend. Former Horned Frog Julien Brun holds the low individual tournament record, scoring a 203 (-13) in 2014. TCU also set the low team tournament record that year with an 837 (-27). The lowest individual round in tournament history came last year, when Colorado’s Jeremy Paul carded a 64 (-8) in the second round. His round was part of the lowest single-day team score in tournament history, when the Buffs scored a 266 (-22).