Idaho men’s golf finishes 12th at Texas tournament
The Idaho men’s golf team finished 12th in the 14-team field at the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invite, which took place Friday through Sunday in El Paso, Texas. Senior Aaron Cockerill led the Vandals by shooting a three-round, 6-under-par 210 (67, 68, 75) to tie for 21st.
“He (Cockerill) probably hit the golf ball worse than I have ever seen him hit the ball — ever, and he was able to miss it in the right spots and able to get it up and down, make some putts and be able to shoot a competitive score,” Idaho coach John Means said. “That’s the sign of a truly, truly talented player, who hits the ball terrible but still able to play the game.”
File photo by Nathan Romans | Argonaut Sophomore Jared du Toit knocks in a putt in the Itani Classic Sept. 22 at Palouse Ridge Golf Club. The Vandals moved up from 13th to sixth after two days at the Law Vegas Collegiate Showdown.
As a team, Idaho shot a 5-under-par 859 (279, 283, 297).
“We just played unbelievably poor (the last day of the invitational),” Means said.
Idaho will conclude its fall season at the Warrior Classic next Monday through Wednesday in Princeville, Hawaii. Means said he will make lineup changes for the Warrior Classic.
Means said when the team arrived at the golf course in El Paso for a practice round, some players were struggling with a couple aspects of their game. He was helping them make changes, but he said all the players should be ready to play when they get to the next tournament and changes should be made in practice.
At the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invite, Idaho and Texas El Paso were tied for sixth after the first round with scores of 279. Cockerill was tied for sixth after firing a 5-under-par 67.
At the end of the three rounds, sophomore Jared du Toit tied for 27th after carding a 5-under-par 211 (70, 70, 71), freshman Daniel Sutton tied for 52nd after shooting a 2-over-par 218 (72, 71, 75), sophomore Ryan Porch tied for 67th after shooting a 7-over-par 223 (70, 74, 79) and junior Scott Riley tied for 75th after carding a 11-over-par 227 (72, 79, 76).
“It’s the first time I played Dan (Sutton) and Scott,” Means said. “I don’t know if the fact that we had two new guys in the lineup put a little more pressure on those other guys. I’m not really sure. It’s definitely not what I expected. I expected to go in there and compete.”
Means said the team didn’t give up and continued to work hard. He said du Toit played solid and steady.
“It was the regular Jared there,” Means said. “He didn’t make enough putts to be able to contend for the championship, but he played well.”
Cockerill, du Toit, Sutton and Porch shot their highest rounds of the invitational Sunday during the final round of play. Idaho’s third-round 297 was also its worst round of the invitational.
Idaho had almost a three-week break between the Wyoming Southern Invitational, which it won Oct. 5, and the first day of the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invite. Means said the long break between the two invitationals affected the team’s play.
He also thought he should have had his team practice more fundamentals between the two invitationals instead of playing so many practice rounds.
New Mexico State, which shot a 46-under-par 818, narrowly edged Missouri-Kansas City for the title. Missouri-Kansas City shot a 45-under-par 819 for second place. Kansas followed closely behind by posting a 42-under-par 822 for third place.
Texas-San Antonio led after the first day by firing a 267. The Roadrunners finished fifth with a 28-under-par 836.
Antoine Rozner of Missouri-Kansas City and Cody Blick of San Jose State tied for first after firing 18-under-par 198 scores. Blick shot 10-under-par 62 in the third round. Kansas’ Chase Hanna, Texas State’s Justin Newby and New Mexico State’s Isaac Merry tied for third by shooting 16-under-par 200 scores.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]