Western Athletic Conference Divots:
At the Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tulsas top four golfers were all freshmen. The Hurricane placed seventh in the field of 12 teams while freshman David Inglis registered his 10th top-20 finish in as many events this year.
Coming off their team victory at the Anteater Invite, UTEP shot its way to 16th place at the Arizona State Thunderbird/Savane Invitational. In a field of nearly 120 competitors, Chris Baryla led all Miner golfers with a 24th-place performance, carding a 3-under-par 213. Knotted at 29th was Dan Swanson who tallied a three-day total 2-under-par 214. Fresno State hit into hard luck in Tempe where the team finished 18th out of 22 teams last week. Ranked 11th in the April 17 edition of the Golfstat Cup, sophomore Nick Watney was locked into a tie for 32nd. Opening with an uncharacteristic 78, Watney regrouped and followed with a 4-under-par 68 before closing with a 69 to move from 60th to 32nd place. The next Bulldog in the clubhouse was junior Dustin Smith, who tied for 41st with an even-par 216.
In the latest Golfweek Rankings, eight of the nine WAC programs are listed in the top 90, including four programs (TCU, Tulsa, SMU and Nevada) who are among the top 50 in the nation. Fresno State sophomore Nick Watney remains the top conference golfer, receiving votes for the 11th spot in both the April 17th Golfstat Rankings and the April 12th Golfweek Rankings.
With the WAC Championship on the horizon, Fresno State, Hawai`i, Nevada, UTEP and Tulsa will challenge each other for the top spot at the Ben Hogan Cougar Classic this coming weekend, April 20-21. San Jose State tees off at the U.S. Invitational on the same dates. Rice, SMU and TCU are idle.