The final three holes at Talking Stick Golf Club in Prescott, Arizona, proved to be crucial. Idaho and Weber State sat just two strokes away from each other. The Vandals were in third, while the Wildcats were in fourth. After many stressful minutes, the final ball went in, and Idaho rounded out the top three.
Northern Colorado was one stroke behind first after round one. On day two, they were able to claim first with a score of 565. When all was said and done, despite a few scares, they held on to first, winning the Big Sky men’s golf tournament with a total score of 845. Sacramento State grabbed second with 852 points, Idaho solidified their spot in third with 862 and Weber State’s back-and-forth weekend ended with 865 points for fourth.
Two other teams that don’t usually affiliate with the Big Sky, Hartford and Binghamton, rounded out the slate. Hartford took fifth with 898 points while Binghamton racked up 898 points for sixth.
Although the Hornets took second as a team, senior Casey Leebrick took first as an individual with 202 points. Northern Colorado was able to get first because everyone on their team placed in the top 15. Sac State had three players place in the top 15 while the other two made it in the top 25. Idaho had two golfers make it in the top 10, with senior Colt Sherrell tying for seventh and freshman Joe Skyes getting ninth. They also had two more in the top 13 as redshirt freshman Matt McGann tied for 11th and freshman Sam Johnson tied for 13th.
Weber State may have rounded out the group of fully incorporated Big Sky teams, but they were fighting for first. They ended round one in fourth, but there were only seven strokes between them and first. After round two ended, they swapped spots with Sac State, reaching second with 569 strokes. However, the Hornets didn’t take kindly to that as they regained their spot and bumped the Wildcats back down.
Although Big Sky play is done, Leebrick isn’t. The Sac State senior will compete in the regional tournament in May. The field for regionals will be announced Wednesday on the Golf Channel.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25