Utah Golf Finishes Strong at OSU Invitational

Tuesday, October 10

Corvallis, Ore.

University of Utah

Oregon State Invitational

Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics

10/10/2023 5:19 PM | Men's Golf

Utes tie for fourth, Barcos, Johnson finish inside top 15

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The University of Utah men's golf team achieved its highest finish so far in the 2023-24 season and Davis Johnson and Javier Barcos both posted top 15 finishes to close out the Oregon State Invitational, which came to an end on Tuesday at the Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

"Today, the conditions were brutal," said head coach Garrett Clegg. "It was hard for everyone. I thought the boys played well and Sergio and Davis had really good rounds. We had a tough time getting a fourth score and that kept us from finishing in the top three, but overall I'm proud of how the boys fought this week. They did a good job and it is something to build off of moving into our last event of the fall."

No player in Corvallis collected more pars than Barcos' 43, a total that included 13 such scores from Tuesday's final round. The senior from Spain did encounter a few hiccups on the back nine, but helped offset that with a birdie on the par-5 14th and entered the clubhouse at 3-over. Barcos finished the tournament at 1-over, which was good enough to tie him for sixth. This comes one week after he took fifth at the Fighting Irish Classic, marking the second time in his career he's posted consecutive top 10 finishes.

Johnson carded his second 73 of the competition and that performance allowed him to move up two spots and grab a share of 14th, tied for his highest finish as a member of Utah's tournament lineup. Johnson played even golf on the back nine on Tuesday, a score which was helped by back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th. His overall score was 4-over and secured his third top 15 finish as a Ute.

Utah's best score over the event's final 18 holes came from Sergio Jimenez, who crafted an even par 71 to climb 31 spots up the leaderboard and land in a tie for 42nd. He offset a pair of early bogeys with a two birdies, the last of which came on his second-to-last hole and pulled him back to par. Jimenez left Corvallis with a 54-hole mark of 10-over.

Hunter Howe finished tied for 60th at 13-over, while Zack Neff tied for 79th. Utah's Tuesday team score was 10-over, which upped their placement from fifth into a tie for fourth and the Utes capped the competition at 21-over. Their 182 combined pars matched the highest total of any team and they crafted the tournament's second-best stroke average on par-3's.

Of the three Utah individuals participating in the tournament, Peter Jung recorded the highest finish with a 9-over 222 that tied him for 32nd. Gabriel Palacios was one stroke behind his teammate and collected a share of 42nd, while Tanner Telford placed 66th.

Next Up
One more fall tournament remains on the 2023-24 docket for the Utes and the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational will take place on Oct. 16-18 in Stockton, Calif.

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