Four Utes named GCAA All-America Scholars

NORMAN, Okla. – Javier Barcos, Hunter Howe, Martín León and Braxton Watts were named GCAA All-America Scholars when the Golf Coaches Association of America released its annual list of honorees on Wednesday.
 
Barcos can add this to an already extensive list of achievements during a junior season in which he was named to the All-Pac-12 Second-Team, reached the Morgan Hill Regional and collected his first collegiate victory. Barcos also finished the season with the team’s best stroke average, crafting a mark of 71.7 across 36 rounds. The junior from Estella, Spain captured fourth at the Pac-12 Championships as well, the second-highest finish ever by a Utah golfer at that event, and he ended the year with four top-10 performances to his credit.
 
Howe was in Utah’s lineup for eight tournaments and played some of his best golf towards the end of his first season as a Ute. Over his last eight rounds, Howe carded just one score higher than 72 and that run included 4-under 209 at the Thunderbird Collegiate that left him just outside the top 10 in a tie for 12th, his highest finish of the season. Howe started the campaign with a second-round 67 at the Fighting Irish Classic, tied for Utah’s third-lowest 18-hole score of 2022-23.
 
León also saw action in eight events and recorded his highest finish at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in March, where his play earned him a share of 15th. The sophomore from Santiago, Chile posted his lowest score of the season at the John Burns Intercollegiate, where he shot 1-under and his second round 68 at the Isleworth Collegiate tied for the team’s ninth-lowest round of the year.  
 
Only Javier Barcos played more rounds of golf for the Utes in 2022-23 than Braxton Watts and the sophomore’s three top 20 finishes were second-most on the roster as well. Watts was in top form at the John Burns Intercollegiate in February, finishing the tournament with back-to-back 67s that put him 10-under and earned him a share of 10th place. He also was responsible for the squad’s lowest score at the Bandon Dunes Championship in March.
 
To be eligible for GCAA All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their Associate’s Degree and in their last year of…