Utah Men’s Golf Starts March with Three Days at the Desert Intercollegiate

Date: March 1-3
Location: Classic Club | Palm Desert, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par 72/7,305 Yards
Live Scoring: GolfStat.com or GolfStat app
 
THIS WEEK
After closing out their first tournament of the spring with their lowest team score of the season thus far, the University of Utah men’s golf team is preparing to get back to work at the Desert Intercollegiate, which is scheduled to be held from Wednesday through Friday at the Classic Club Golf Course in Palm Desert, Calif.
 
This will be the Utes first event in the Golden State since Oct. of 2021, when they took fourth at the Visit Stockton Invitational, shooting 22-under. Two Utah golfers finished in the top 10 in that event, with Javier Barcos posting his team’s top score at 13-under to take home third place. This will represent Utah’s first event in the Palm Desert area since the 2009-10 season, when they placed sixth at the Wyoming Desert Classic.
 
The Cowboys have hosted this tournament every year for more than a decade and they shot 1-over in this competition in 2022 to place third. The tournament will have a new champion in 2023, as the previous year’s victors, the Charlotte 49ers, are not returning to Palm Desert.
 
THE FIELD
There will be 16 teams vying for the tournament championship, including the host school Wyoming, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Colorado, Fresno State, Hawaii, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, Tarleton State, Texas State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UT Arlington, the Utes and Utah Tech.
 
UTAH’S LINE-UP
Six Utes will be teeing off in California, with Braxton Watts, Javier Barcos, Martín León, Go Nakatsukasa and Brandon Robison making up the team’s lineup and Tanner Telford playing as an individual.
 
COACHES THOUGHTS: Head Coach Garrett Clegg
“This is our first time in this tournament,” said Clegg. “I’m excited to see what we bring after a really good final round in Hawaii. The weather is going to be a major force tomorrow and then the final two rounds it’s supposed to be great. Should be a fun week for the team!”
 
LAST TIME OUT
Utah’s spring campaign started with 54 holes in Hawaii at the John Burns Intercollegiate and the Utes put together an extremely strong finish to move up six spots on the final day and tie for seventh in a field of over 20 teams. Their 15-under 273 during the final round…