No. 16 Utah Golf Remains Steady, Holds First Place at John Burns Intercollegiate

LIHUE, Kauai – The No. 16 University of Utah Men’s Golf team added another strong round of play at the John Burns Intercollegiate on Friday, putting together an 8-under performance to push its total to 15-under for the tournament while controlling first place. Sergio Jimenez leads the pack in first place with Gabriel Palacios sitting right behind in a tie for second.

Three of the Utes’ five golfers moved up the leaderboard as Brandon Robison climbed 18 spots to move his way into the top 20. Both Jimenez and Palacios also earned their way up the ranks, advancing two and five spots respectively. Utah continues to lead the field in scores under par, amassing four eagles and 40 birdies while owning a tournament-best +8 on par 3s.

 

“Overall, we had a really solid day today,” said head coach Garrett Clegg. “We got off to a great start but struggled in the middle of the round. However, we were able to have a strong finish to stay out in front. I’m really proud of the grit the team showed today, it will be a battle tomorrow, and we are excited to get after it. Sergio and Gabriel were absolutely fantastic! They are playing great golf right now. I’m really proud of Brandon for coming back like he did today, his round was huge for us. Tomorrow we will need our best to stay out in front!”

 

Jimenez highlights the field with another excellent round of golf in the tournament, bettering his first-round score by two strokes. The sophomore began the second round in the right direction, grabbing a birdie on his first hole of the course. The remainder of the front nine jumped around as Jimenez recorded two more birdies with a pair of bogeys to head into the back nine 1-under. Across the next six holes, Jimenez carded three red marks before finishing the back end with four consecutive even scores. On the final hole of the round, Jimenez scored another birdie to conclude the round 5-under while jumping into sole possession of first place.

 

Attaining another great start, Palacios started Friday with an eagle on the first hole to grab his first of the tournament. Following the fantastic score, Palacios totaled ten consecutive even scores before adding three birdies and one bogey across the next five holes. Finishing with a pair of even marks, Palacios finished 4-under and claimed a stake of second place.

 

The…