Oregon State Invitational Presents Familiar Challenge for Utah Golf

Monday, October 9

Corvallis, Ore.

University of Utah

Oregon State Invitational

Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics

Oregon State Invitational Presents Familiar Challenge for Utah Golf

10/8/2023 5:11 PM | Men's Golf

Barcos returns to site of first collegiate victory, which came in 2022

Date: October 9-10
Location: Trysting Tree Golf Club | Corvallis, Ore.
Par/Yardage: Par 71/7,384 Yards
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com or GolfStat app

THIS WEEK
One week after Javier Barcos put together the best individual performance of the young season for the University of Utah men's golf team, the Utes are about to tee off at their fourth tournament of the 2023-24 campaign, the Oregon State Invitational, which will take place on Oct. 9-10 at the Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.

Coach Garrett Clegg's squad will be participating in this tournament for the fourth time in as many years, including the inaugural tournament, which was held in the fall of 2019. The Utes are one of five teams that have competed in every tournament.

Barcos put on an historic performance in the most recent edition of the OSU Invitational. Just a year ago, he claimed the first individual title of his career and the first by a Ute since Blake Tomlinson finished first at the 2021 Thunderbird Collegiate. Barcos was trailing by just one stroke heading into the final nine holes of the tournament before collecting a pair of birdies and seven pars to seal the win with a final mark of 4-under.

The Utes have also found success as a team at the Oregon State Invitational, finishing in the top five in each of the last three competitions. They tied for third during the truncated 2019-20 season, their highest team finish of the year, and at the 2021 OSU Invitational, all five Utah golfers earned spots in the top 25, putting the team third with a score of 3-over. Last season, a final-day push jumped the Utes up two spots into fifth with Barcos leading the way.

THE FIELD
The Utes are facing a handful of West Coast schools, including a trio of Pac-12 foes along with a variety of teams such as Oregon State, Arkansas State, Boise State, Gonzaga, Idaho, Long Beach State, Pacific, Sam Houston State, Seattle U, Southern Miss, Tarleton State, Utah Tech, Washington State, and Arizona State.

UTAH'S LINE-UP
Barcos will be back on the golf course on in Corvallis and he'll be joined by Davis Johnson, Hunter Howe, Sergio Jimenez and Zack Neff in the Utah lineup. Tanner Telford, Gabriel Palacios and Peter Jung will be playing as individuals.

COACHES THOUGHTS: Head Coach Garrett Clegg
"We haven't gotten off to the start we have wanted," said Clegg, "and we have decided to change up the line-up, so things will look different this week. I'm excited to see how this new group will perform."

LAST TIME OUT
The Utes traveled to South Bend, Ind. for the third consecutive year to battle for the Fighting Irish Classic title on Oct. 1-2. Barcos continued his success at the Warren Golf Course with another top-5 finish, the sixth of his career. The Estella, Spain native began the tournament with an even-par 70 and closed out the first day with a 2-under 68, his lowest round of the 2023-24 season so far. That put him in a tie for sixth heading into the final day and he stayed sharp over those final 18 holes, carding a 1-under 69 that secured a share of the fifth.

Jimenez put forth a solid day one showing that began with him shooting 1-under over his first 11 holes in the opening round and he added a pair of late birdies to finish with a 72. He improved that mark by a single stroke in the second round to card a 71 before finishing the tournament tied for 57th. As a team, Utah shot 35-over and finished in 14th to complete the tournament.

TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Utah will tee off at 8:15 a.m. with a shotgun start at the Trysting Tree Golf Club and complete 36 holes on Monday followed by the final 18 on Tuesday.

LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the Oregon State Invitational will be available at www.GolfStat.com or on the GolfStat app.

FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Golf program along with tournament, roster, and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf)