Murdock, Starzinski, And Coe-Kirkham Place In Top 14 At MW Championship

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Photo credit to Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos

Tucson, Ariz. (April 28, 2019) —  Wyoming senior John Murdock and junior Dan Starzinski both shot four-under-par rounds of 68 on Sunday at the 2019 Mountain West Conference Men’s Golf Championship to finish fifth and eighth, respectively. They were joined in the Top 14 finishers by UW true freshman Kirby Coe-Kirkham, who tied for 14th. As a team, the Wyoming Cowboys finished a strong week of play by shooting their lowest round of the tournament on Sunday, a seven-under-par 281, and placed seventh in the 11-team field at 847 (-17).

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Murdock briefly held the tournament lead Sunday before completing the week with a 54-hole total of 207 (-9). He entered the final round tied for eighth and moved up three spots on Sunday. Starzinski concluded the tournament one stroke back of Murdock at 208 (-8).  Starzinski began the final round tied for 15th and moved up seven spots into eighth on Sunday. Coe-Kirkham was the third Cowboy to complete the tournament under par, firing a three-round total of 210 (-6). Coe-Kirkham was under par in each of his three rounds for the championship, shooting 71, 68 and 71. The individual title came down to a tie between New Mexico teammates Galven Green and Sean Carlon, who both finished at  203 (-13). Green won the individual medalist honors, capturing the title on the third playoff hole.

“The guys competed well for the third straight day. I’m really proud of the way they played this week,” said Joe Jensen, UW Head Coach and  Director of  Golf. “Our top three guys, John (Murdock), Dan (Starzinski) and Kirby (Coe-Kirkham) all shot under par again today.

“For John and Dan to both be in contention late into the final round was exciting. John had a late eagle on the 15th hole to put him right there at the top for a while. There was some buzz, and John’s whole family was there. That was pretty neat. John’s and Dan’s stroke averages have been almost identical all season, and they finished this tournament only one shot apart. That is the kind of consistent play and leadership they’ve provided all year.”

“We knew we were in one of the early groups today, so our goal was to just go out and post a good number and see if it was good enough to move us up to fourth, fifth or sixth place. We played well on the front nine and made the turn at five under, and we finished at seven under for the day.

“We’ve had freshmen play a key role for us this entire season, and we had three freshmen playing for us this week. I can’t say enough about the way they competed. Kirby (Coe-Kirkham) played a real consistent tournament this week. I asked a lot of the three freshmen, and we got a lot from them in terms of their effort.”

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Freshmen Jimmy Dales and Tyler Severin finished 48th and 52nd, respectively at the MW Championship. Dales posted a 223 (+7), and Severin ended the tournament with a 227 (+11). They each played solid final rounds. Dales shot a 75 (+3) on Sunday, and Severin ended with a 74 (+2).

The team competition saw New Mexico fire the lowest round of the day, a 274 (-14), to come from third place entering the final round and capture the team title. The Lobos finished at 831 (-33) for the tournament. Colorado State placed second at 834 (-30).  Fresno State finished third, 838 (-26). UNLV (839, -25) and San Diego State (840, -24) placed fourth and fifth. Boise State (846, -18) finished one stroke ahead of the Wyoming Cowboys (847, -17). Nevada, who entered the final round tied with the Cowboys for seventh, placed eighth at 853 (-11). San Jose State (865, +1), Air Force (873, +9) and Utah State (882, +18) rounded out the final standings.

The 2019 Mountain West Championship was played on the OMNI Tucson National Catalina Course in Tucson, Ariz. The course played to a par of 72 and measured 7,194 yards.

The  NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship field will be announced on Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m., M.T., on Golf Channel’s Golf Central and will be streamed live on the Golf Channel website. 81 teams and 45 individuals will be selected to compete at one of six regional championship sites. The six regionals will be played May 12-15. Wyoming’s Murdock and Starzinski are the two Cowboys under consideration for individual bids to this year’s NCAA regionals.

 

2019 Final Mountain West Championship Team Standings

1.   New Mexico                        279-278-274=831 (-33)

2.   Colorado State                    279-275-280=834 (-30)

3.   Fresno State                        282-281-275=838 (-26)

4.   UNLV                                  282-274-283=839 (-25)

5.   San Diego State                   281-280-279=840 (-24)

6.   Boise State                          280-285-281=846 (-18)

7.   Wyoming                           284-282-281=847 (-17)

8    Nevada                               283-283-287=853 (-11)

9.   San Jose State                     290-282-293=865 (+1)

10.  Air Force                             294-292-287=873 (+9)

11.  Utah State                          288-294-300=882 (+18)

 

Wyoming Cowboys’ Final Individual Standings

T5         John Murdock               69-70-68=207 (-9)

T8        Dan Starzinski               71-69-68=208 (-8)

T14       Kirby Coe-Kirkham        71-68-71=210 (-6)

48        Jimmy Dales                  73-75-75=223 (+7)

T52       Tyler Severin                 77-76-74=227 (+11)

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