No. 24 Utah Golf Finishes in Sixth at Mark Simpson Invitational

Tuesday, October 1

Erie, Colo.

University of Utah

Mark Simpson Collegiate

No. 24 Utah Golf Finishes in Sixth at Mark Simpson Invitational

10/1/2024 4:15 PM | Men's Golf

Final Results

The Utes recorded the third-lowest round by any team on the final day to jump one spot

ERIE, Colo. – The No. 24 University of Utah Men's Golf team posted its best round of the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational on Tuesday, moving up one spot on the team leaderboard into sixth place as Brandon Robison grabbed his second top 10 finish of the season to wrap up play.

"We played better today, but still made too many mistakes," said head coach Garrett Clegg. "We were not as sharp as we should have been. It was a nice tournament for Brandon [Robison] as he collected another top 10 finish, his second this year. Braxton [Watts] had a good final round, which was nice to see as well. Overall, this was not the tournament we had in mind."

Utah recorded the third-lowest round by any team on Tuesday, putting together a team 11-under 277 to jump one spot into sixth place and marking its best round of the tournament. Four out of the five Utes climbed the individual leaderboard with Braxton Watts making the biggest jump of 32 spots. Robison finished in a four-way tie for 10^th place after adding another score under par.

Robison finished the first day of competition in a tie for 12^th at 3-under. The junior's final round began with birdies in two of his first three holes before rounding out the front nine with a bogey and another birdie. Robison's final ten holes included a split of three red marks and three bogeys to finish the last 18 holes, 2-under. After recording his best tournament of the season at 8-under 205 in fifth place at The Tindall last week, Robison finished with a 7-under 209 at the Colorado National Golf Course to own a share of 10^th.

Gabriel Palacios made an 11-spot jump on the leaderboard after the final round, putting together his best 18-hole performance of the tournament. The sophomore saw a double bogey on the third hole of the course but responded with three consecutive red scores to head into the back nine 1-under. The back half included a similar version of the front half, adding a bogey on the 11^th hole before tallying birdies on three of the next five holes to finish 3-under and in 14^th on the individual leaderboard.

Watts shined across the final third of the tournament on Tuesday, totaling the fifth-lowest score by any golfer for the round. Watts outshot his two previous rounds by six strokes each. The senior started the day with three consecutive birdies and added another on the front nine to post a 4-under through the first half of the course. The back nine began with a bogey but an eagle on the 15^th hole allowed Watts to finish 5-under for the round and jump into a tie for 32^nd place.

Sergio Jimenez and Davis Johnson each finished with a share of 41^st as both players concluded the tournament 1-under. Jimenez recorded three birdies to two bogeys for the round while Johnson notched two birdies and two bogeys to record an even score.

Rex Wilson competed as an individual for the Utes and settled into a tie for 78^th for his first collegiate tournament. The freshman reached 5-over across the front nine but came back with three birdies in the back nine to limit the damage to 2-over for the day.

NEXT UP
The Utes will make a short return home before traveling to Hockley, Texas for the Big 12 Match Play tournament. The mid-season conference tournament will take place at The Clubs at Houston Oaks on Oct. 7-8.

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