Scottsdale, Ariz. ? Boise State University golfer Troy Merritt
collected his third consecutive victory and fifth of the season in
comeback fashion, Tuesday, Apr. 8, at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic with
an 8-under 202.
Merritt
entered the final round of the tournament two strokes off the pace set
by the leaders, but posted a 66 (-4) in the third round to ascend to
the top of the leader board and win the tournament by one stroke.
Merritt’s
comeback began after the first round of the tournament when he shot a
71 (+1) to fall off the pace. He quickly redeemed himself in the second
round as he registered a tournament-second round low of 65 (-5) to move
into fifth place with a 4-under 136 heading into the final day of
competition.
At
the tournament, Merritt tied for the lead with 14 birdies, placed
fourth in par-4 scoring (3.92) and tied for fourth in par-3 scoring
(2.83).
With
the win, Merritt collected his NCAA Div. I-leading fifth tournament
victory and lowered his scoring average to 69.2 strokes per round.
The five victories sets the Boise State
school-record for individual victories in a season eclipsing the four
wins Graham DeLaet registered during the 2004-05 season. Merritt also
moved into a tie for second place on the Broncos’ all-time list for
career top 10 finishes with 19 and into third place for season top 10
finishes with seven.
During
his two years as a member of the Boise State men’s golf team, Merritt
has collected six tournament victories, recorded the school-record for
a low round with a 62 (-9), registered a school-record low three-round
score with a 200 (-16) and posted the school-record for scoring average
with a 70.2.
The
Broncos finished in ninth place at the Cowboy Classic hosted at the par
70, 7,133-yard Talking Stick Golf Club, with a 12-over 854. Boise State
posted its best round of 1-over 281 in the second round of the
tournament. The team finished sixth in the 20-team tournament in par-3
scoring with a 3.07 stroke average.
Boise State also received a tie for 38th place finish from Matt Hastings (214, +4), a tie at 56th place from John Baranco (217, +7), a tie at 101st place from Kevin Tarango (225, +15) and a tie at 109th place from Robbie Richards (227, +17) to finish off the scoring for the Broncos.