Date: February 26-27
Location: Ford Field & River Club | Richmond Hill, Ga.
Par/Yardage: Par-72, 7,409 yards
Live Scoring: LeaderboardKing.com
THIS WEEK
The University of Utah men's golf team is heading east to Duluth, Ga., the site of the inaugural Invitational at The Ford, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday at the Ford Field and River Club in Richmond Hills, Ga.
This is the first Invitational at the Ford golf tournament, which will hosted by Georgia Southern University. The award-winning course is located at the Ford Field & River Club in Richmond Hill, Ga., and was renovated in 2014. Utah and Georgia Southern are the only two participating teams that competed in the same tournament earlier this month, as both squads were in Hawaii for the John Burns Intercollegiate.
This is also the first time the Utes have headed to the east coast since the fall of 2022. They played two fall tournaments on that side of the country during that span, including a sixth place finish at the Hamptons Intercollegiate in October.
UTAH LINE-UP
Utah will send seven players to participate in this event, with a lineup that will consist of
Javier Barcos,
Sergio Jimenez,
Go Nakatsukasa,
Braxton Watts, and
Gabriel Palacios, with Brandon Robinson and
Davis Johnson competing as individuals.
THE FIELD
The Utes will be hitting the links in Georgia with seven other teams including Georgia Southern, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
The two-day tournament consists of 54 total holes and will begin at 7:45 a.m. EST on each day. The players will complete 36 continuous holes on the first day before finishing the final 18 on day two. The course stretches over 7409 yards with par set at 72.
LAST TIME OUT
The Utes' spring slate got started in Lihue, Kaia'i, Hawaii at the John Burns Intercollegiate, which stretched from Feb. 15 – 17. Utah posted its lowest tournament score of 2022-23 at the previous edition of the tournament and followed the same path a year later, with the team finishing at even par, a score that tied them for seventh with Washington State and Long Beach State.
Braxton Watts excelled for the Utes, starting the tournament with a 67 and finishing with a round at even with par. His first round score didn't include a single mark higher than par and goes down as his best 18-hole total of 2023-24 so far. It also helped the junior complete the tournament at 4-under and in a tie for eighth, the third top-10 finish of his Utah career, two of which have come in Hawaii.
One of those players who entered the clubhouse sharing eighth with Watts was Jimenez, who recorded his first top-10 finish as a member of Utah's lineup. Jimenez was at his best during the second round, when he carded his own 5-under 67, a mark that included six birdies, four of which came on the front nine. The freshman from Madrid, Spain collected 16 birdies across all three days in Hawaii, allowing him to join Watts in a tie for eighth.
Gabriel Palacios was responsible for the lowest mark in Utah's lineup on Saturday, shooting 1-under and climbing all the way from 63rd into a tie for 44th. Palacios was 3-under on the front nine and carded four total birdies to conclude his day with a 71, just two days after posting a 3-under 69 that stands as the lowest score of his freshman season thus far.
Go Nakatsukasa, competing as an individual, notched his first top-20 finish of the season and the lowest score of his sophomore season so far. Nakatsukasa finished his team's time in Hawaii strong, putting up a Saturday 68 that included a stretch of six birdies over 11 holes.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow the team for the tournament on LeaderboardKing.com.
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).