STOCKTON, Calif. – The University of Utah men's golf team recorded its lowest score in relation to par in over two years to tie for third place and three Utes earned top-15 finishes at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, which came to an end on Wednesday at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, Calif.
"Today, we competed well," said head coach
Garrett Clegg. "It was great to see Brandon finally put a round together and Davis and Braxton did some great things as well. We would have loved to have finished second and a slightly cleaner finish would have done that for us, but overall the guys competed hard this week and did a really good job. It was for sure our best performance of the fall."
The Utes finished 10-under on Wednesday, tied for the third-lowest score in the final round, putting them even with Washington State at 28-under for the tournament, ahead of 13 teams in the field. This represents the program's lowest 54-hole score in relation to par since they finished 36-under at the Mark Simpson Collegiate in Sept. of 2021. Their stroke count of 836 is eighth-best on record in school history.
Sergio Jimenez entered the clubhouse with Utah's best overall score at 9-under, putting him alone in 11th. Jimenez shook off a few difficult holes on the front nine to finish his afternoon with nine consecutive pars for a 1-over 73. For the freshman from Madrid, Spain, this represents his third top-20 finish of the fall and his highest finish so far as a member of Utah's lineup.
Davis Johnson spent the final round carding a 3-under 69, the eighth time in 12 opportunities he's posted a score of 72 or lower in the fall. The Scottsdale, Arizona native was even on the front nine, but picked up three birdies after the turn, allowing him to move up eight spots and grab a tie for 15th at 6-under. Johnson will head into the spring with a stroke average of 71.0, the lowest on the Utah roster.
One of the players who left Stockton sharing 15th with Johnson was
Javier Barcos, who put up an even 72 during round three. Barcos' best play came on the front nine, where he shot a 2-under 34 that included birdies on the first and sixth holes. Over his final 10 fall rounds, the senior from Estella, Spain logged only one score higher than 72.
No Utah golfer was on his game on Wednesday more than
Brandon Robison, who crafted a 6-under 66, the lowest 18-hole mark of his collegiate career. Robison tied for the tournament's third-best final round score and reeled off five red numbers over one seven-hole stretch, finishing with seven total birdies. On the leaderboard, Robison jumped 29 spots to collect a share of 36th at 1-under.
Braxton Watts was 1-under on Wednesday, putting his overall score at even and
Peter Jung, playing as an individual, also capped the competition with an even score, placing both golfers in deadlock for 41st. In an event that included nearly 100 golfers, all six Utes finished in the top half of the rankings.
Next Up
The next time the Utes will compete will be at the John Burns Intercollegiate, which will take place on Feb. 14-17 in Lihue, Kaua'I, Hawaii.
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