Utah golf will conclude its regular season at the 52nd annual Thunderbird Collegiate in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 10 and 11. The tournament will take place at Papago Golf Club, where the Utes will compete before turning their attention to the Big 12 Championship later in April.
The Thunderbird Collegiate is one of the longest-running college golf tournaments in the country. Utah is among nine teams participating this year, including Arizona State, New Mexico, Long Beach State, UCLA, Colorado, San Diego, Oregon State, and Grand Canyon.
In their previous outing at the Goodwin tournament, Utah tied for eighth place after finishing five over par. Junior Sergio Jimenez led the team with a strong performance on the final day by shooting a five-under-par round and finishing three under overall to tie for sixteenth place. Jack Jerge finished one over par after posting even scores on days two and three. Seniors Brandon Robison and Davis Johnson each recorded rounds under par during different stages of play but ended four over and three over respectively.
Last year at this event, Utah placed third as a team. Gabriel Palacios achieved his fifth top-five finish of that season. For this year’s Thunderbird Collegiate, Palacios will compete as an individual along with Ivan Enguita and Jan Farre; Utah’s starting lineup includes Jerge, Jimenez, Robison, Johnson, and Adam Croix.
Head coach Garrett Clegg said about preparing for postseason play: “We love competing at Papago. This is our final event before we start the postseason run. We are excited to have eight of our players here because it allows us to get a real feel for how everyone is playing as the regular season ends. Hopefully we gain some momentum before the Big 12 Championships.”
