Upcoming Event: Men's Golf versus The Wohali on September 15, 2025
Men's Golf
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Friday, April 11
Phoenix, Ariz.
University of Utah
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ASU Thunderbird
Photo by: Nate Astalos/Arizona State
No. 14 Utah Golf Settles into Fifth Through Day One at Thunderbird Collegiate
4/11/2025 8:38 PM | Men's Golf
The Utes were led by Gabriel Palacios who ranks tied for fourth
PHOENIX – Gabriel Palacios shined while leading the No. 14 University of Utah Men's Golf team on day one of the Thunderbird Collegiate, ranking tied for fourth while the team sits in a tie for fifth.
"Overall, it was a strange day," head coach Garrett Clegg said. "It felt like we just couldn't really get out of our own way enough today. We aren't in a bad place as a good round tomorrow can allow us to have a very solid finish. We just need to clean a few things up and we will be just fine."
Palacios opened the tournament up nicely, posting two birdies on his first three holes to shoot subpar out of the gate. Two holes later the sophomore tallied a bogey but came back with another red mark on the ensuing hole to move back to 2-under. Palacios then recorded 12 straight even marks to finish the first round in a tie for 21st. It was more of the same from Palacios in the second round, drilling an eagle on the first hole of the course before adding two birdies and a bogey on the remaining five holes of the front nine. On the back nine, Palacios totaled three more birdies with six even scores to shoot 6-under for the second round. The sophomore finished day one 8-under while jumping 17 spots into a tie for fourth.
Braxton Watts got things started on Friday with a birdie on the opening hole before grabbing two more across the front nine to sit 3-under through the front half of the course. On the back nine of the opening round, Watts tallied a bogey, a birdie, and seven even scores to shoot 3-under for the first round. Into the second round, Watts once again hit a birdie on the first hole but returned to even for the round with a bogey on the ensuing hole. The senior added another red mark on the final hole of the front nine before notching nine straight even marks to finish the day. Watts ranks tied for 17th with a 4-under performance.
Junior golfer Brandon Robison began play with some action, posting back-to-back birdies on the first two holes before returning to even with back-to-back bogeys on the ensuing holes. Robison moved back under par with another red mark on the next hole. The junior totaled nine consecutive even marks into the back nine before capturing an eagle on the fifteenth hole to shoot 3-under. The next two holes consisted of a bogey and a birdie to wrap up the first round 3-under. In the second round, Robison tallied three bogeys and two birdies on the front nine to move into the back nine 1-over. On the fourteenth hole, the junior grabbed a birdie to finish the round even. Robison sits tied for 22nd while shooting 3-under.
It was a tale of two halves of the course for Davis Johnson in the first round, totaling three birdies on the front nine before hitting three bogeys on the back nine to finish the first round even. The redshirt junior opened the second round with two birdies on his first four holes to quickly move 2-under. On the second-to-last hole of the front nine, Johnson hit a bogey to score 1-under into the back nine. The back nine opened with three even scores before Johnson drilled a pair of birdies on the next four holes. His day concluded with a bogey and an even mark to finish 2-under for the round. Johnson is tied for 29th on the individual leaderboard, jumping eight spots.
Sergio Jimenez shot 2-over in the first round and 3-over in second round to rank tied for 53rd on the leaderboard.
Individual golfer Peter Jung put together a strong 3-under performance in the first round before shooting 4-over in the second round to finish day one 1-over.
NEXT UP
The final round of the Thunderbird Collegiate will take place tomorrow morning at the Papago Golf Course. Tee times begin at 7 a.m. MT and will continue throughout the morning.
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 (X: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
"Overall, it was a strange day," head coach Garrett Clegg said. "It felt like we just couldn't really get out of our own way enough today. We aren't in a bad place as a good round tomorrow can allow us to have a very solid finish. We just need to clean a few things up and we will be just fine."
Palacios opened the tournament up nicely, posting two birdies on his first three holes to shoot subpar out of the gate. Two holes later the sophomore tallied a bogey but came back with another red mark on the ensuing hole to move back to 2-under. Palacios then recorded 12 straight even marks to finish the first round in a tie for 21st. It was more of the same from Palacios in the second round, drilling an eagle on the first hole of the course before adding two birdies and a bogey on the remaining five holes of the front nine. On the back nine, Palacios totaled three more birdies with six even scores to shoot 6-under for the second round. The sophomore finished day one 8-under while jumping 17 spots into a tie for fourth.
Braxton Watts got things started on Friday with a birdie on the opening hole before grabbing two more across the front nine to sit 3-under through the front half of the course. On the back nine of the opening round, Watts tallied a bogey, a birdie, and seven even scores to shoot 3-under for the first round. Into the second round, Watts once again hit a birdie on the first hole but returned to even for the round with a bogey on the ensuing hole. The senior added another red mark on the final hole of the front nine before notching nine straight even marks to finish the day. Watts ranks tied for 17th with a 4-under performance.
Junior golfer Brandon Robison began play with some action, posting back-to-back birdies on the first two holes before returning to even with back-to-back bogeys on the ensuing holes. Robison moved back under par with another red mark on the next hole. The junior totaled nine consecutive even marks into the back nine before capturing an eagle on the fifteenth hole to shoot 3-under. The next two holes consisted of a bogey and a birdie to wrap up the first round 3-under. In the second round, Robison tallied three bogeys and two birdies on the front nine to move into the back nine 1-over. On the fourteenth hole, the junior grabbed a birdie to finish the round even. Robison sits tied for 22nd while shooting 3-under.
It was a tale of two halves of the course for Davis Johnson in the first round, totaling three birdies on the front nine before hitting three bogeys on the back nine to finish the first round even. The redshirt junior opened the second round with two birdies on his first four holes to quickly move 2-under. On the second-to-last hole of the front nine, Johnson hit a bogey to score 1-under into the back nine. The back nine opened with three even scores before Johnson drilled a pair of birdies on the next four holes. His day concluded with a bogey and an even mark to finish 2-under for the round. Johnson is tied for 29th on the individual leaderboard, jumping eight spots.
Sergio Jimenez shot 2-over in the first round and 3-over in second round to rank tied for 53rd on the leaderboard.
Individual golfer Peter Jung put together a strong 3-under performance in the first round before shooting 4-over in the second round to finish day one 1-over.
NEXT UP
The final round of the Thunderbird Collegiate will take place tomorrow morning at the Papago Golf Course. Tee times begin at 7 a.m. MT and will continue throughout the morning.
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 (X: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
Players Mentioned
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