Barcos Takes First Place at Oregon State Invitational

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Javier Barcos shot a 1-under 70 in the final round of the Oregon State Invitational and finished one shot ahead of OSU’s Mateo Fuenmayor to claim the tournament’s individual title on Tuesday for the University of Utah men’s golf team at the Trysting Tree Golf Club.
 
“Javi winning is awesome!” said coach Garrett Clegg. “We did a better job today for sure. We had to count one high round that hurt us, but overall, the boys did a lot better on the course.
 
“I’m so pumped and proud of Javi! This is a really big deal to have him get his first collegiate victory.”
 
Barcos began the day by finishing off the final three holes of round two with two pars and bogey, putting him 3-under and one shot behind the leader. The junior from Spain then shot a 1-over 36 on the front nine of round three, during which time Fuenmayor moved up the leaderboard to nab the top spot. Over the final nine holes, however, Barcos was locked in. He put up birdies on the 11th and 15th on his way to a 2-under 34 on the back nine and when Fuenmayor bogeyed the final hole, Barcos had his first victory as a Ute.
 
Barcos’ win is the first by a Ute since Blake Tomlinson placed first at the 2021 Thunderbird Collegiate and this also gives Barcos back-to-back top 10 finishes for the first time in his career after he tied for seventh at the Hamptons Intercollegiate on Oct. 3-4
 
Barcos wasn’t the only Ute who had a good day, however. Davis Johnson climbed 25 spots into a tie for 40th by capping round two with a birdie, then posting an even 71 on his final trip around the course. The freshman from Arizona piled up five birdies in the third round, the most by any Ute, and ended the day with a final mark of 9-over.
 
Also playing even golf was Brandon Robison and his play enabled him to jump 20 positions. Robison rebounded from a couple early bogeys and was 2-under over his final 15 holes, including a 2-under 34 on the back nine for a 71 of his own. Robison left Corvallis 13-over for the tournament and tied for 58th. Martín León finished 11-over and sharing 58th, while Braxton Watts tied for 74th.

Hunter Howe was one of two Utes playing in the event as an individual and wound up even with six competitors in 17th. Howe was at his best on the back nine, recording a 1-under 35 to put him at 4-over for the day and for the…