Jimmy Dales Impressive On Final Day of 2024 Arizona N.I.T. Tuesday

From the desk of Tim Harkins/Wyoming Athletic Department

TUSON --  Wyoming Cowboy graduate student Jimmy Dales fired back-to-back rounds of 69 (-3) in the second and third rounds of the 2024 Arizona N.I.T. to tie for 33rd on Tuesday in one of the most elite tournament fields in the country. 

Dales concluded the 54-hole event with a final score of 210 (-6).  Wyoming as a team finished the tournament with a team score of 853 (-11) to place 14th in the 18-team field.
 
It was the first tournament of the spring season for the Cowboys and they faced a tournament field that included seven teams ranked in the Top 50 NCAA Division I teams in the country and another six teams ranked in the Top 100 for a total of 13 ranked teams in the field of 18 total teams.
 
In addition to Dales 33rd-place showing in the field of 96 collegiate golfers, the Cowboys other competitors included: Jaren Calkins, who finished two strokes back of Dales at 212 (-4) to tie for 46th; and Kristof Panke, who was just three strokes back of Calkins at 215 (-1) to tie for 62nd.  Cowboy Davis Seybert shot a 220 (+4) to tie for 79th, and Patrick Azevedo, coming back from offseason surgery, shot a 224 (+8) to tie for 87th.
 
The team title was won by New Mexico, which posted a final score of 813 (-51) to hold off host Arizona for the team title.  The Arizona Wildcats finished one shot back of the Lobos at 814 (-50), and Arizona State was close behind at 815 (-49) to finish third.  New Mexico entered the tournament ranked No. 28 in the most recent NCAA College Golf Rankings.  Arizona was ranked No. 16, and Arizona State was ranked No. 6.
 
Zac Jones of BYU captured medalist honors, posting a one-stroke victory over Wenyi Ding of Arizona State.  Jones fired a 198 (-18), while Ding finished at 199 (-17).  Bastien Amat of New Mexico and Tiger Christensen tied for third at 200 (-16).
 
Tuesday saw all 18 teams finish the last few holes of Monday's second round that was suspended due to darkness.  That was followed immediately by the third and final round. 
 
"Obviously, this was a real quality field," said Joe Jensen, Wyoming Director of Golf.  "Jaren (Calkins) didn't play his best today after leading us on Day 1, but Jimmy (Dales) played a really solid tournament, finishing with two rounds of three-under par 69.  Jimmy played quietly well after having a really hot amateur season this winter.  No one on our team went really low, but we beat some quality teams like Stanford and TCU.
 
"This is a really good event for our first tournament out of the gate this spring.  There are some specific things we've identified that we need to get better at, and we've got to get some more rounds under us to get our confidence.  But for our first tournament, playing against a number of nationally-ranked teams, I'm encouraged by what I saw from the guys and we have a lot to build off of."
 
The Cowboys will next travel to Palm Desert, Calif., to host the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate next Tuesday-Thursday, Feb. 6-8 where they will be one of 18 teams competing.
 
The University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament (N.I.T.) was played on the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course.  The course measured 7,200 yards and played to a Par of 72.
 
Team Standings
1.   New Mexico                        273-265-275=813 (-51)
2.   Arizona                                278-268-268=814 (-50)
3.   Arizona State                      269-276-270=815 (-49)
4.   BYU                                    278-273-271=822 (-42)
5.   Missouri                              276-278-276=830 (-34)
6.   Texas A&M                          283-279-269=831 (-33)
7.   Fresno State                       271-284-282=837 (-27)
      SMU                                    278-282-277=837 (-27)
      West Virginia                       282-281-274=837 (-27)
10. San Diego                           290-279-272=841 (-23)
11. St. Marys                             284-284-278=846 (-18)
12. Santa Clara                         289-285-274=848 (-16)
13. LMU                                    286-283-280=849 (-15)
14. Wyoming                            286-281-286=853 (-11)
15. Iowa State                           296-286-275=857 (-7)
16. New Mexico State               292-284-282=858 (-6)
17. TCU                                     284-302-278=864 (Even)
18. Stanford                               295-288-282=865 (+1)
 
Wyoming Cowboys' Individual Results
T33       Jimmy Dales                  72-69-69=210 (-6)
T46       Jaren Calkins                 70-67-75=212 (-4)
T62       Kristof Panke                 70-74-71=215 (-1)
T79       Davis Seybert                76-71-73=220 (+4)
T87       Patrick Azevedo             74-77-73=224 (+8)