Upcoming Event: Men's Golf versus The Wohali on September 15, 2025
Men's Golf
vs The Wohali
Saturday, February 15
Lihue, Hawaii
University of Utah
vs
John Burns Intercollegiate
No. 16 Utah Golf, Palacios Late Burst Secure Titles at John Burns Intercollegiate
2/15/2025 9:12 PM | Men's Golf
The Utes posted their best score at the tournament in their 25th time participating
LIHUE, Kauai – The No. 16 University of Utah Men's Golf team rallied from behind late to claim its third tournament title of the season behind sophomore Gabriel Palacios who earned his first collegiate crown.
It's the first time in school history that Utah has claimed three tournament titles in one season after taking the Palouse Collegiate and The Tindall in the fall. The Utes recorded their best score at the tournament in its 25th edition of competing at the John Burns Intercollegiate, shooting a 22-under 818. The previous best team score came on Feb. 20, 2022, when Utah finished third with an 11-under 853.
Palacios saved his best round of golf for last at the Ocean Course Hokuala, posting 5-under for the day to better his overall score to 11-under and placed in a tie with UNLV's Zach Little for first overall. The sophomore sunk a birdie on the final hole of the tournament to push Utah into a tie for first place with UNLV while earning himself a share of first on the individual leaderboard. It's Palacios' first collegiate title and second-best tournament score of the season after shooting a 15-under 198 and finishing in second at the Palouse Collegiate to start the season.
"Really awesome to win the John Burns," said head coach Garrett Clegg. "This is one of the longest running tournaments in college golf and I'm extremely proud of the boys for how hard they battled. We made four birdies to finish, and it was awesome. For Gabriel to win his first ever college tournament and to do it here at the John Burns is amazing. I'm so pumped for him!"
In an emphatic finish, Palacios used a clutch final hole mark, contributing to a share of an individual crown and a team title. The sophomore began the final round tied for second alongside fellow Ute, Sergio Jimenez. His day started off effectively, securing a birdie on the first hole before returning to even with a bogey on the ensuing hole. Just before heading into the back nine, Palacios drilled a birdie on the eighth hole. In an exceptional start to the back nine, Palacios racked up four consecutive birdies to move 5-under. Two holes later, the sophomore recorded a bogey and followed it up with each another birdie and bogey to sit 4-under with just two holes left. Trailing the tournament leader by just one stroke, Palacios added an even mark before sinking a birdie on the final hole of the tournament to earn a share of the individual crown.
Jimenez started the round on the first hole of the course and quickly picked up a birdie on the second hole to put him 1-under. Throughout the front nine, Jimenez added two more birdies with a bogey in the mix to head into the back nine 2-under. Within the first five holes of the back end, Jimenez tallied another set of each before concluding with four consecutive even scores. Jimenez finished just one stroke shy of the individual leaders, taking sole possession of third place while shooting a 10-under 200.
Brandon Robison began the third round with a birdie to immediately sit a stroke under par. Later in the front nine, Robison recorded a bogey and a birdie on consecutive holes to move into the back nine 1-under. The back nine started well for Robison, adding another birdie on the tenth hole before a bogey and a double bogey put Robison a stroke over par. On the final hole of the tournament, Robison grabbed a birdie to move 1-under for the tournament and in 20th on the leaderboard. The junior golfer has finished inside top 20 in each tournament this season.
Davis Johnson also got things started in the right direction on Saturday, recording a birdie on his first hole of the round. Throughout the next four holes, Johnson added another birdie with a bogey to head into the back nine 1-over. On the first hole on the back end of the course, Johnson tallied a third birdie to move to 2-under. After several even marks, a pair of double bogeys on the remaining four holes of the back nine pushed the redshirt junior to 2-over. With two holes left on the course, Johnson finished with back-to-back birdies to wrap up the round even and just 1-over for the tournament. The Arizona native moved up to 28th on the individual side.
Braxton Watts started the final round with five straight even marks before wrapping up the front nine with a bogey. In the back nine, Watts recorded a birdie on the 12th hole before finishing the half with a bogey and a double bogey across the next three holes. Transitioning back onto the front half of the course, Watts added another birdie on the final trio of holes to finish 2-over for the day and 10-over for the three rounds. Watts concluded the tournament in 70th.
On the individual side, Peter Jung and Rex Wilson put together strong rounds to conclude the tournament. Jung finished with his second-best round of the tournament, totaling four bogeys and three birdies to shoot 1-over. For the tournament, Jung shot 3-under. Wilson struggled on the front nine, but ultimately concluded the day 3-over and 12-over for the trip.
NEXT UP
The Utes will take a few weeks off before heading to the Desert Mountain Collegiate in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 8-9. It will be the first of three spring tournaments in the Grand Canyon State for the Utes.
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 (X: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
It's the first time in school history that Utah has claimed three tournament titles in one season after taking the Palouse Collegiate and The Tindall in the fall. The Utes recorded their best score at the tournament in its 25th edition of competing at the John Burns Intercollegiate, shooting a 22-under 818. The previous best team score came on Feb. 20, 2022, when Utah finished third with an 11-under 853.
Palacios saved his best round of golf for last at the Ocean Course Hokuala, posting 5-under for the day to better his overall score to 11-under and placed in a tie with UNLV's Zach Little for first overall. The sophomore sunk a birdie on the final hole of the tournament to push Utah into a tie for first place with UNLV while earning himself a share of first on the individual leaderboard. It's Palacios' first collegiate title and second-best tournament score of the season after shooting a 15-under 198 and finishing in second at the Palouse Collegiate to start the season.
"Really awesome to win the John Burns," said head coach Garrett Clegg. "This is one of the longest running tournaments in college golf and I'm extremely proud of the boys for how hard they battled. We made four birdies to finish, and it was awesome. For Gabriel to win his first ever college tournament and to do it here at the John Burns is amazing. I'm so pumped for him!"
In an emphatic finish, Palacios used a clutch final hole mark, contributing to a share of an individual crown and a team title. The sophomore began the final round tied for second alongside fellow Ute, Sergio Jimenez. His day started off effectively, securing a birdie on the first hole before returning to even with a bogey on the ensuing hole. Just before heading into the back nine, Palacios drilled a birdie on the eighth hole. In an exceptional start to the back nine, Palacios racked up four consecutive birdies to move 5-under. Two holes later, the sophomore recorded a bogey and followed it up with each another birdie and bogey to sit 4-under with just two holes left. Trailing the tournament leader by just one stroke, Palacios added an even mark before sinking a birdie on the final hole of the tournament to earn a share of the individual crown.
Jimenez started the round on the first hole of the course and quickly picked up a birdie on the second hole to put him 1-under. Throughout the front nine, Jimenez added two more birdies with a bogey in the mix to head into the back nine 2-under. Within the first five holes of the back end, Jimenez tallied another set of each before concluding with four consecutive even scores. Jimenez finished just one stroke shy of the individual leaders, taking sole possession of third place while shooting a 10-under 200.
Brandon Robison began the third round with a birdie to immediately sit a stroke under par. Later in the front nine, Robison recorded a bogey and a birdie on consecutive holes to move into the back nine 1-under. The back nine started well for Robison, adding another birdie on the tenth hole before a bogey and a double bogey put Robison a stroke over par. On the final hole of the tournament, Robison grabbed a birdie to move 1-under for the tournament and in 20th on the leaderboard. The junior golfer has finished inside top 20 in each tournament this season.
Davis Johnson also got things started in the right direction on Saturday, recording a birdie on his first hole of the round. Throughout the next four holes, Johnson added another birdie with a bogey to head into the back nine 1-over. On the first hole on the back end of the course, Johnson tallied a third birdie to move to 2-under. After several even marks, a pair of double bogeys on the remaining four holes of the back nine pushed the redshirt junior to 2-over. With two holes left on the course, Johnson finished with back-to-back birdies to wrap up the round even and just 1-over for the tournament. The Arizona native moved up to 28th on the individual side.
Braxton Watts started the final round with five straight even marks before wrapping up the front nine with a bogey. In the back nine, Watts recorded a birdie on the 12th hole before finishing the half with a bogey and a double bogey across the next three holes. Transitioning back onto the front half of the course, Watts added another birdie on the final trio of holes to finish 2-over for the day and 10-over for the three rounds. Watts concluded the tournament in 70th.
On the individual side, Peter Jung and Rex Wilson put together strong rounds to conclude the tournament. Jung finished with his second-best round of the tournament, totaling four bogeys and three birdies to shoot 1-over. For the tournament, Jung shot 3-under. Wilson struggled on the front nine, but ultimately concluded the day 3-over and 12-over for the trip.
NEXT UP
The Utes will take a few weeks off before heading to the Desert Mountain Collegiate in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 8-9. It will be the first of three spring tournaments in the Grand Canyon State for the Utes.
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 (X: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
Players Mentioned
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