ST. GEORGE, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's golf team wrapped up their first official competition of the 2021 campaign on Monday afternoon, as they finished third at the Pizza Hut-Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational at Sunbrook Golf Club.
"We gave Utah Valley a good run today, but just couldn't get all the shots we needed down the stretch of the tournament to climb into second," SUU Director of Golf Richard Church said. "Congratulations to Utah and UVU, they both played great golf this week. Our seniors did a good job setting the tone for us today, both Ali and Jake played really well, and what Anfield did as a freshman was really impressive, We're anxious to see what we can do for the rest of the season."
Ali Hameed was the top play in the field for the Thunderbirds, finishing play in a tie for third. He shot a four-under 68 on the final day, bringing his three-day total to a 207 (70, 69, 68).
After shooting a 74 on Sunday, Jake Vincent bounced back in a big way on Monday by shooting a six-under 66. That shot him back up the leaderboard into a tie for seventh, and brought his three-day total to a 209 (69, 74, 66).
The 66 Vincent carded matches the fifth-lowest score ever shot at Southern Utah University.
In his very first round of collegiate golf, Atthasit (Anfield) Srichun finished play with an even 216 (71, 69, 76) to finish in a tie for 26th on the leaderboard.
Tyler Jones (217; 74, 72, 71) and Jaxon Long (218; 72, 71, 75) rounded out the scoring lineup for Southern Utah.
As a team, the Thunderbirds shot a 280 on Monday, thanks in large part to the play of Vincnet and Hameed. That brought the T-Bird three-day total to a 843 (282, 281, 280), shaving off one stroke each day of play.
Southern Utah had four individuals in the field as well. Ryker Smith shot a 220 (73, 76, 71) to finish with the best score out of the group. Austin Jaramillo and Jaden Milne both shot 233's, while Hayden Plewe finished with a 235.
The University of Utah won the event with a 823 (266, 281, 276), led by the play of individual champion Blake Tomlinson, who shot a 201 (65, 67, 69).
The Thunderbirds will be back in action on February 19, as they're scheduled to compete in the 2021 wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
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