UTEP men’s golf finishes T-3rd, Holmes Top 6 on final day at Mark Simpson
(Courtesy: UTEP Athletics)
ERIE, Colorado - The UTEP men’s golf team fired its lowest score of the season to secure a tied for third-place finish, while Greg Holmes penciled in his career-best 54 and first career top-10 finish on the final day at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado National Golf Club (par 72 | 7,787 yards) on Tuesday.
The Miners (281-284-289—854, -10) shot 1-over par 289 on the final 18 holes, dropping one spot to finish nine strokes behind tournament champion San Francisco (276-282-287—845, -19).
Colorado (285-282-280—847, -17) tore up the course with an 8-under par to move up two spots for a second-place showing. Colorado State (283-283-288—854, -10) stayed even to tie with the Miners.
Greg Holmes (67-75-69—211), who had a bit of a hiccup in the second round on Monday, rebounded in the third round to shoot a 3-under par 69 on Tuesday and 5-under par overall.
Holmes shot up 11 spots on the leaderboard after his third-round effort. Holmes was the top Miner, placing tied sixth with a career-low score 211. His career-best 67 during the first round of action helped his performance.
Holmes tied with three other competitors to shoot a tournament-best 6-under on par 4 holes, while he collected a team-high 37 pars.
Jacob Presutti (70-70-74—214) was a consistent 4-under through 36 holes and fired a 74 in the final round to finish 2-under par 214, and finished tied 17th. Presutti hit 13 birdies.
Braden Smith (72-69-74—215) fired a career-low 69 in the second round and shot 2-over par 74 in the third to place tied 21st. Smith tallied 36 pars.
Dylan Teeter (72-72-73—217) moved up a spot to finish tied 29th.
Patrick Foley (72-73-73—218) moved up five spots to tied 35th. Foley led the Miners with 14 birdies.
Mercer’s Tobias Jonsson (68-70-69—207, -9) won the individual title after firing a 69. Colorado’s Justin Biwer (71-68-70—209) moved up a spot to place second, while UT Arlington’s Arran Kanth (68-72-70—210) shot up four spots to tie for third with San Francisco’s duo of Renato Naula (70-69-71—210) and Benjamin Partridge (67-71-72—210).
The Miners led the field at 12-under on par 4 holes, while shooting 18-under in par 5s. UTEP tallied 166 pars and 59 birdies (second most in tournament). Mercer recorded a field-most 180 pars, while Colorado State led the way with 64 birdies. Valparaiso led with a trio of eagles.
THE 2023-24 UTEP MEN’S GOLF SCHEDULE
GolfWeek Collegiate Kickoff | Sept. 4-5 (Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Dalhousie GC)
William H. Tucker Intercollegiate | Sept. 25-26 (Albuquerque, N.M. | UNM Championship GC)
Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational | Oct. 2-3 (Boulder, Co. | Colorado National GC)
Little Rock Invitational | Oct. 16-17 (Little Rock, Ark. | Chenal Country Club)
The Clerico | Oct. 23-24 (Broken Arrow, Okla. | Cedar Ridge CC)
Los Vaqueros Intercollegiate | Feb. 5-7 (Cancun, Mexico | Iberostar Playa Paraiso GC)
John A. Burns Intercollegiate | Feb. 15-17 (Kauai, Hawai’i | Ocean Course at Hokuala)
Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate | March 18-19 (Tucson, Ariz. | Tucson CC)
Duck Invitational | March 25-26 (Eugene, Ore. | Eugene CC)
Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate | April 1-2 (Phoenix, Ariz. | Ak-Chin Southern Dunes)
Gaucho Invitational | April 8-9 (Santa Barbara, Calif. | Sandpiper GC)
CUSA Championship | April 22-25 (Texarkana, Ark. | Texarkana CC)
