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Monday, April 8
Goleta, Calif.
University of Utah
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Gaucho Invitational
Gaucho Invitational Provides Utah Golf a Chance to Stay Hot
4/6/2024 3:17 PM | Men's Golf
After excellent showings in Oregon, California, Utes to play another 54 holes in The Golden State
2024 Gaucho Invitational
Date: April 8 – 9
Location: Sandpiper Golf Club | Goleta, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par-72, 7,159 yards
Live Scoring: smartgolf.online
THIS WEEK
The University of Utah men's golf team spent the last week of March putting together two excellent showings, taking fourth at The Duck Invite and second at The Goodwin, the latter of which saw Braxton Watts earn the first win of his collegiate career, and the Utes will have the opportunity to continue their run of strong play at the 2024 Gaucho Invitational, a 54-hole event which will be held on Monday and Tuesday at the Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta, Calif.
It has been a while since the Utes traveled to the Goleta and Santa Barbara area for a tournament, the most recent occurrence coming in the spring of 2015, when Utah placed fourth at the UCSB OGIO Invitational. The most recent version of this tournament occurred in 2023 and was won by Utah Valley with a score of 6-over.
While the Sandpiper Golf Club will present a new challenge for the Utes, they have found success playing in California so far in 2023-24. Utah's first trip to The Golden State was in October at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational. The team's first round 275 at that tournament still stands as their lowest mark of the season and the Utes' final score was a 28-under 836 that's in the top 10 in program history. Sergio Jimenez, Javier Barcos and Davis Johnson all earned spots in the top 15.
At The Goodwin in San Francisco, coach Garrett Clegg saw his team put together another impressive showing, taking second place with a score of even par and besting four ranked teams in the process. Utah was led by Watts, who finished 5-under to grab the top spot for the first time as a Ute. In a field of 168 golfers, all five Utes earned spots inside the top 50, including Sergio Jimenez, who tied for 19th, his team-high seventh top 20 finish of 2023-24.
UTAH LINE-UP
For the third straight tournament, the Utes will send out a lineup consisting of Braxton Watts, Javier Barcos, Brandon Robison, Gabriel Palacios and Sergio Jimenez.
COACHES THOUGHTS: Head Coach Garrett Clegg
"This is a new tournament for us," said Clegg, "so none of our players have competed on this golf course. We will all have a lot to learn about how it plays. Also for us, it will be important to stay focused on this tournament and not look ahead to later in the week at ASU. I'm looking forward to seeing us compete!"
THE FIELD
The Utes will be one of 12 teams playing on the golf course in Goleta and they'll be competing against UCSB, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, Santa Clara, UTEP, the University of the Pacific, Denver, Utah Valley, Boise State, Incarnate Word and Utah Tech. UCSB will also have a B team in the field.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Monday's action will include the tournament's first two rounds, with a round-one shotgun start at 8 a.m. PT. The final round is scheduled for Tuesday starting at 7:30 a.m. PT, with the tee times split between holes No. 1 and No. 10.
LAST TIME OUT
Watts' first win as a Ute started with a round one 71 and he followed that with a 4-under 66 a day later, the lowest 18-hole score of his collegiate career. On that day, the Farmington, Utah native shook off a pair of early bogeys and posted seven birdies over his last 15 holes, carding a score of 6-under during that stretch. Watts would finish the competition as the tournament leader in birdies with 17.
During the final round, Watts once again started slowly and was 2-over after nine holes, but he was locked in on the back nine. He shot 4-under over his final nine holes, including a string of three straight red scores on holes 15 - 17. That late charge vaulted him into first place and with a par on the 18th, he had his first collegiate tournament win. Watts' 5-under 205 is the lowest 54-hole score by a Ute in 2023-24 and his victory also earned him Pac-12 Male Golfer of the Week honors.
Jimenez also put together an excellent final round showing, matching Watts' 68 with one of his own. That mark moved Jimenez 16 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 19th at 1-over. Utah's freshman from Madrid has participated in nine tournaments in his first year as a Ute and collected seven top 20 finishes. He's also carded five rounds under 70 over his last five events and his stroke average during that period is 70.8.
Gabriel Palacios took 33rd at The Goodwin, shooting even par on the last day, while Brandon Robison and Javier Barcos were among those who tied for 46th. Robison had Utah's best opening round score with a 1-under 69 and his stroke average over Utah's last three tournaments stands at 71.6.
LIVE SCORING
Smart Golf will be the home for live results at the Gaucho Invitational.
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).
Date: April 8 – 9
Location: Sandpiper Golf Club | Goleta, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par-72, 7,159 yards
Live Scoring: smartgolf.online
THIS WEEK
The University of Utah men's golf team spent the last week of March putting together two excellent showings, taking fourth at The Duck Invite and second at The Goodwin, the latter of which saw Braxton Watts earn the first win of his collegiate career, and the Utes will have the opportunity to continue their run of strong play at the 2024 Gaucho Invitational, a 54-hole event which will be held on Monday and Tuesday at the Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta, Calif.
It has been a while since the Utes traveled to the Goleta and Santa Barbara area for a tournament, the most recent occurrence coming in the spring of 2015, when Utah placed fourth at the UCSB OGIO Invitational. The most recent version of this tournament occurred in 2023 and was won by Utah Valley with a score of 6-over.
While the Sandpiper Golf Club will present a new challenge for the Utes, they have found success playing in California so far in 2023-24. Utah's first trip to The Golden State was in October at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational. The team's first round 275 at that tournament still stands as their lowest mark of the season and the Utes' final score was a 28-under 836 that's in the top 10 in program history. Sergio Jimenez, Javier Barcos and Davis Johnson all earned spots in the top 15.
At The Goodwin in San Francisco, coach Garrett Clegg saw his team put together another impressive showing, taking second place with a score of even par and besting four ranked teams in the process. Utah was led by Watts, who finished 5-under to grab the top spot for the first time as a Ute. In a field of 168 golfers, all five Utes earned spots inside the top 50, including Sergio Jimenez, who tied for 19th, his team-high seventh top 20 finish of 2023-24.
UTAH LINE-UP
For the third straight tournament, the Utes will send out a lineup consisting of Braxton Watts, Javier Barcos, Brandon Robison, Gabriel Palacios and Sergio Jimenez.
COACHES THOUGHTS: Head Coach Garrett Clegg
"This is a new tournament for us," said Clegg, "so none of our players have competed on this golf course. We will all have a lot to learn about how it plays. Also for us, it will be important to stay focused on this tournament and not look ahead to later in the week at ASU. I'm looking forward to seeing us compete!"
THE FIELD
The Utes will be one of 12 teams playing on the golf course in Goleta and they'll be competing against UCSB, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, Santa Clara, UTEP, the University of the Pacific, Denver, Utah Valley, Boise State, Incarnate Word and Utah Tech. UCSB will also have a B team in the field.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Monday's action will include the tournament's first two rounds, with a round-one shotgun start at 8 a.m. PT. The final round is scheduled for Tuesday starting at 7:30 a.m. PT, with the tee times split between holes No. 1 and No. 10.
LAST TIME OUT
Watts' first win as a Ute started with a round one 71 and he followed that with a 4-under 66 a day later, the lowest 18-hole score of his collegiate career. On that day, the Farmington, Utah native shook off a pair of early bogeys and posted seven birdies over his last 15 holes, carding a score of 6-under during that stretch. Watts would finish the competition as the tournament leader in birdies with 17.
During the final round, Watts once again started slowly and was 2-over after nine holes, but he was locked in on the back nine. He shot 4-under over his final nine holes, including a string of three straight red scores on holes 15 - 17. That late charge vaulted him into first place and with a par on the 18th, he had his first collegiate tournament win. Watts' 5-under 205 is the lowest 54-hole score by a Ute in 2023-24 and his victory also earned him Pac-12 Male Golfer of the Week honors.
Jimenez also put together an excellent final round showing, matching Watts' 68 with one of his own. That mark moved Jimenez 16 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 19th at 1-over. Utah's freshman from Madrid has participated in nine tournaments in his first year as a Ute and collected seven top 20 finishes. He's also carded five rounds under 70 over his last five events and his stroke average during that period is 70.8.
Gabriel Palacios took 33rd at The Goodwin, shooting even par on the last day, while Brandon Robison and Javier Barcos were among those who tied for 46th. Robison had Utah's best opening round score with a 1-under 69 and his stroke average over Utah's last three tournaments stands at 71.6.
LIVE SCORING
Smart Golf will be the home for live results at the Gaucho Invitational.
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).
Players Mentioned
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