Utah Golf Posts Strong Second Round on Day One of Pac-12 Championships

STANFORD, Calif. – Javier Barcos is tied for 16th at 3-under and the University of Utah men’s golf team shot 2-under in round two to move up two spots into ninth at the 2023 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships, which got underway with 36 holes on Friday at the Stanford Golf Course.
 
“The afternoon was a lot better than the morning,” said head coach Garrett Clegg. “Unfortunately, in the morning round, we had two players really struggle and we had to count a high score. In the afternoon, everyone played a bit better and the guys are in a much better mood.
 
“Javi played solid golf today! He didn’t do anything really special, he just played solid golf all day, then made three birdies in his last four holes. Overall, we have a lot to improve on, but we did some good things this afternoon to build off of.”
 
Barcos was in the red in both rounds, starting his day with a 1-under 69 in the morning in which he shook off two early bogeys, closed the first half of his round with three birdies in four holes, then posted nothing but pars on the front nine, landing him in a tie for 20th.
 
In round two, which Barcos’ again started on hole No. 10, the junior from Spain recovered from a bogey on the 12th with birdies on the 16th and 18th. He then finished strong, closing the round with another stretch of three birdies in four holes for a round score of 68 that moved him four spots up the leaderboard and allowed him to enter the clubhouse 3-under for the day.
 
Another Ute who improved his position in round two was Go Nakatsukasa, who started the opening round on hole No. 10, played even golf on the back nine and closed with six consecutive pars for a 1-over 71. He sliced two strokes off the number in the afternoon, with 18 holes that began with a 3-under 32 on the back nine. Nakatsukasa added one more birdie on the back nine to card a 1-under 69 that improved his position by 10 places and earned him a share of 28th.
 
Brandon Robison was 1-under on the front nine in round one, one-under on the back nine in round two and finished both rounds with a 71, putting him 2-over and deadlocked with two other players in 40th. Hunter Howe was 3-under over his final 13…