Idaho’s best scorecard came from an unlikely athlete Sunday for the Vandal men’s golf team. Freshman Ryan Porch improved 33 spots in the last round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif., to finish tied for third and lead the Vandals to a third place finish.
Porch hit a 65 in the third round of the tournament to finish with a 7-under-par 209 over the three-day tournament. His performance earned him WAC Golfer of the Week honors.
During the fall season, Idaho struggled to find consistency with five solid scores every tournament. After his first tournament, it looks like Porch might be that fifth player the Vandals were lacking.
Idaho finished the tournament in a tie for third with TCU. Oregon won the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate with a 27-under-par 837, three shots ahead of second-place Colorado. The individual champion was TCU’s Julien Brun with a 13-under-par 203.
Idaho’s other scores came from junior Sean McMullen tied for 25th with a 2-under-par 214, junior Aaron Cockerill tied for 31st with a 1-under-par 215, freshman Jared du Toit tied for 36th with an even 216 and sophomore Rylee Iacolucci tied for 62nd with a 5-over-par 221.
The Vandals aren’t back in action until March 20 for the Phoenix Desert Classic at Goodyear, Ariz.
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]