Cowboy Golf Four Strokes Back of 10th Place After First Day of Arizona National Invitational

From the desk of Tim Harkins/Wyoming Athletic Department

Tucson --  The Wyoming Cowboys teed off the 2024 spring golf season on Monday against a premier field of teams at the Arizona National Invitation Tournament (N.I.T.) hosted by the University of Arizona at the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course in Tucson. 

The 18-team tournament field features seven teams ranked in the Top 50 NCAA Division I teams in the country, including No. 6 Arizona State, No. 16 Arizona, No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 28 New Mexico, No. 35 Missouri, No. 36 SMU and No. 49 TCU.  Six other teams in the field are ranked in the Top 100 teams.

Tuesday included two 18-hole rounds, but play was suspended due to darkness with teams still having between 3 to 5 holes remaining to play in the second round.  The second round will be completed Tuesday morning followed immediately by the third and final round.  Wyoming will enter Tuesday in 13th place, with a total score of 519 (-5).  The Cowboys trail Santa Clara and St. Mary’s by just one stroke for 11th place and are four strokes back of 10th place San Diego.

Junior Jaren Calkins from Lander, Wyo., enjoyed an outstanding first day, firing a 7-under par total to tie for ninth place in the field of 96 of the top collegiate golfers in the nation.  Wyoming’s other four competitors include: graduate Jimmy Dales tied for 48th place at 1-under par, junior Kristof Panke tied for 64th at +1, junior Davis Seybert in 80th at +4 and junior Patrick Azevedo in 92nd at +7.

“The guys played well for this being our first tournament after winter break,” said Joe Jensen, Wyoming Director of Golf.  “I saw a lot of good things today from our guys.  Obviously, Jaren (Calkins) is playing well.  Patti (Azevedo) is playing in his first tournament since early October after having knee surgery late last year, so he is still getting back to form.  We had some mistakes, which is normal after not playing much golf since the fall season ended in late October.   

“This is a great field of teams we’re playing in.  It’s a great test for us to play in this field and at the same time it’s a great opportunity for us.  We just don’t have the touch now that we will have after we get a few rounds under our belts.  This is a two-tournament trip, so our goal is to get those rounds in to get our feel back.  We played competitive today and we haven’t played our best yet, so that gives us hope and a lot to look forward to tomorrow when we finish off the second round and then go right into the final round.  I just want the guys to go out and play their final 21 or 22 holes the best they can tomorrow and continue to get better.”

New Mexico is leading in the team competition at -35, one stroke ahead of second place Arizona State at -34.  Wenyi Ding of Arizona State leads in the individual competition at -13, one stroke ahead of Bastien Amat of New Mexico, who sits at -12.    

The University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.) will conclude on Tuesday with the final 18-hole round.  The tournament is being played at the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course.  The course measures 7,200 yards and plays to a Par of 72.

Team Standings

(Teams Have Between 3 to 5 Holes Left to Play in the Second Round

1.   New Mexico                        273-192=465 (-35)

2.   Arizona State                      269-222=491 (-31)

3.   Arizona                              278-214=492 (-30)

4.   Missouri                              276-305=581 (-23)

5.   BYU                                    278-178=456 (-22)

6.   Fresno State                        271-217=488 (-21)

7.   Texas A&M                         283-218=501 (-15)

8.   SMU                                   278-163=441 (-11)

9.   West Virginia                      282-218=500 (-10)

10. San Diego                           290-215=505 (-9)

11. Santa Clara                         289-183=472 (-6)

      St. Marys                             284-156=440 (-6)

13. Wyoming                           286-233=519 (-5)

14. LMU                                   286-219=505 (-4)

15. New Mexico State               292-226=518 (-3)

16. TCU                                    284-217=501 (+1)

17. Stanford                             295-223=518 (+2)

18. Iowa State                          296-186=482 (+3)

Wyoming Cowboys’ Individual Standings

(Cowboy scores With 3 Holes Left to Play in Second Round)

T9        Jaren Calkins                 70-54=124 (-7)

T48       Jimmy Dales                  72-58=130 (-1)

T64       Kristof Panke                70-62=132 (+1)

T80       Davis Seybert                76-59=135 (+4)

T92       Patrick Azevedo            74-64=138 (+7)