Freshman Trent Mierl and junior Virgilio Paz led University of Missouri men’s golf at the spring-opening National Invitational Tournament, both finishing in the top 40 in Arizona.
Mierl carded his third-straight round under par for a career-best seven-under 209 during the tournament. The rookie followed up back-to-back two-under 70s with a three-under 69 to place 17th overall in Arizona. He tallied two birdies in the final round of play Tuesday and also added an eagle three on the second hole (his second-to-last hole of the day) to move up three spots in the standings and lead Mizzou.
“It was great to have a solid finish this week in Tucson and post some good numbers,” Mierl said. “This wasn’t the finish we were hoping for as a team but I look forward to seeing what we can do together moving forward into the spring.”
Paz matched his season-best round with a five-under 67 to anchor the Tigers during the final round. Paz recorded seven birdies during a nine-hole stretch from the fifth to the 13th – including four straight on eight, nine, 10 and 11 – as his 67 matches the lowest round by a Tiger this season. Overall, Paz finished the tournament at -3 (71-75-67), placing 32nd overall and improving his final standing by 17 spots on Tuesday.
As a team, the Tigers finished 13th after a final round of -2 – bettering their first two rounds by at least six strokes on Tuesday. Overall, Mizzou posted a team score of +7 (293-292-286).
“It definitely was not the finish and play we’re looking for but there were a couple really nice performances,” said Missouri head coach Glen Millican. “Trent had a great tournament and Virgilio finished with a really good final round. It’s nice to have a quick turnaround and get back at it next week with an opportunity to bounce back from this one.”
Brock Snyder at +9 (78-73-74), Trevor Mierl at +13 (72-74-83), Veikka Viskari at +13 (74-79-76) and Dagbjartur Sigurbrandsson at +16 (81-74-77) rounded out the performances for Mizzou.
The Tigers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 13, competing at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Lihue, Hawaii.
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