Upcoming Event: Men's Golf versus The Wohali on September 15, 2025
Men's Golf
vs The Wohali
Monday, September 30
Erie, Colo.
University of Utah
vs
Mark Simpson Collegiate
No. 24 Utah Golf Ranks Seventh Through Day One at the Mark Simpson Invite
9/30/2024 9:23 PM | Men's Golf
Two Utes sit inside the top five while Utah is just five strokes outside the top five as a team
ERIE, Colo. – The No. 24 University of Utah Men's Golf team concluded the first two rounds at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational sitting in seventh place on Monday, improving its first-round score to trail the top 5 by just five strokes.
"It was a rough day for us, but I'm excited to see what the boys bring to the table tomorrow," said head coach Garrett Clegg. "Golf isn't a sport where you play great every single round, but today was a day where we just struggled. We still have tomorrow, and a great round tomorrow will move us up the leaderboard."
The Utes are coming off back-to-back tournament titles to start the season and used a pair of similar rounds to play through 36 holes at Colorado National Golf Course. In the first round, all five Utah golfers were within two strokes of par as Brandon Robison and Gabriel Palacios led the squad 2-under while Sergio Jimenez finished even, and Braxton Watts and Davis Johnson shot over par. Across the next 18 holes, every Ute posted a score lower or the same as the opening round total.
Robison started the tournament with five consecutive even marks before a birdie and a double bogey to put him 1-overe heading into the back nine. To finish out the first 18 holes, the junior recorded three red marks and seven pars to score 2-under and in 17th place on the leaderboard Robison's game improved into the second round, racking up two more red scores and a bogey before turning to the back half of the course. An additional two more birdies put the Utahn 3-under and in a tie for 12th.
Palacios also contributed a top 25 placement after day one in Colorado. The sophomore recorded three birdies in the first half of the course before bogeys on two of the first three holes in the back nine tightened Palacios' score to 1-under. Another red score on the 15th hole put Palacios 2-under and in a tie for 17th place. Palacios used a similar round across the next 18 holes but fell seven spots into a 24th place tie. In the first half of the course, Palacios tallied eight even scores with a double bogey. The back half was a stronger area for the Guatemala native, adding four birdies through the 12th and 17th holes. A bogey in the mix finished his round 1-under and 3-under for the day.
Johnson catapulted 25 spots on the leaderboard after the second round, finishing 2-over in the first 18 before shooting 3-under in the next 18. Johnson got things started with a colorful front nine, totaling two birdies, two bogeys, and a double bogey to head into the back nine 2-over. The next half of the course began with a birdie before two more bogeys put the redshirt junior 3-over. To close it out, Johnson used another birdie to limit the damage. The Tindall Invitational champion shined on the course in the next round, tallying three birdies in the front nine before adding another red mark and a bogey in the back nine. Due to a lack of light on the golf course, Johnson was unable to record a score on the final hole.
Jimenez used nearly to identical rounds to finish even through day one. The sophomore was 1-over through the first nine holes and remained level for much of the course before an eagle on the 17th hole thrust him under par. The next 18 holes included two birdies and a bogey on the front nine before adding two bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to remain level with par.
Watts was off to a hot start to open the tournament, using three red marks to finish the front nine 2-over before five bogeys and two birdies put the senior 1-over. The second round opened 2-over for the front half as an eagle and a birdie moved him to 1-over heading into the final hole. With light falling, Watts will have one additional hole to play tomorrow in a tie for 64th.
Freshman Rex Wilson made his collegiate debut as an individual competitor for the Utes, finishing 3-over in the first round and 1-over in the second round to sit in a tie for 77th.
NEXT UP
The Utes will look to climb the ranks and finish off the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational tomorrow as a shotgun start will commence the final 18 holes of play at 8:15 a.m. at the Colorado National Golf Course.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Golf program along with tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
"It was a rough day for us, but I'm excited to see what the boys bring to the table tomorrow," said head coach Garrett Clegg. "Golf isn't a sport where you play great every single round, but today was a day where we just struggled. We still have tomorrow, and a great round tomorrow will move us up the leaderboard."
The Utes are coming off back-to-back tournament titles to start the season and used a pair of similar rounds to play through 36 holes at Colorado National Golf Course. In the first round, all five Utah golfers were within two strokes of par as Brandon Robison and Gabriel Palacios led the squad 2-under while Sergio Jimenez finished even, and Braxton Watts and Davis Johnson shot over par. Across the next 18 holes, every Ute posted a score lower or the same as the opening round total.
Robison started the tournament with five consecutive even marks before a birdie and a double bogey to put him 1-overe heading into the back nine. To finish out the first 18 holes, the junior recorded three red marks and seven pars to score 2-under and in 17th place on the leaderboard Robison's game improved into the second round, racking up two more red scores and a bogey before turning to the back half of the course. An additional two more birdies put the Utahn 3-under and in a tie for 12th.
Palacios also contributed a top 25 placement after day one in Colorado. The sophomore recorded three birdies in the first half of the course before bogeys on two of the first three holes in the back nine tightened Palacios' score to 1-under. Another red score on the 15th hole put Palacios 2-under and in a tie for 17th place. Palacios used a similar round across the next 18 holes but fell seven spots into a 24th place tie. In the first half of the course, Palacios tallied eight even scores with a double bogey. The back half was a stronger area for the Guatemala native, adding four birdies through the 12th and 17th holes. A bogey in the mix finished his round 1-under and 3-under for the day.
Johnson catapulted 25 spots on the leaderboard after the second round, finishing 2-over in the first 18 before shooting 3-under in the next 18. Johnson got things started with a colorful front nine, totaling two birdies, two bogeys, and a double bogey to head into the back nine 2-over. The next half of the course began with a birdie before two more bogeys put the redshirt junior 3-over. To close it out, Johnson used another birdie to limit the damage. The Tindall Invitational champion shined on the course in the next round, tallying three birdies in the front nine before adding another red mark and a bogey in the back nine. Due to a lack of light on the golf course, Johnson was unable to record a score on the final hole.
Jimenez used nearly to identical rounds to finish even through day one. The sophomore was 1-over through the first nine holes and remained level for much of the course before an eagle on the 17th hole thrust him under par. The next 18 holes included two birdies and a bogey on the front nine before adding two bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to remain level with par.
Watts was off to a hot start to open the tournament, using three red marks to finish the front nine 2-over before five bogeys and two birdies put the senior 1-over. The second round opened 2-over for the front half as an eagle and a birdie moved him to 1-over heading into the final hole. With light falling, Watts will have one additional hole to play tomorrow in a tie for 64th.
Freshman Rex Wilson made his collegiate debut as an individual competitor for the Utes, finishing 3-over in the first round and 1-over in the second round to sit in a tie for 77th.
NEXT UP
The Utes will look to climb the ranks and finish off the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational tomorrow as a shotgun start will commence the final 18 holes of play at 8:15 a.m. at the Colorado National Golf Course.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Golf program along with tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
Players Mentioned
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