SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara University's men's golf team is preparing for the ninth annual Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, but the team may be without two of its top players when tournament play begins Monday morning.

"Rick Lamb scratched his cornea at San Diego and is likely to sit this one out and try to get healthy for the conference championship," said Santa Clara head coach Rob Miller. "Scott Lowe tweaked his shoulder practicing this week and is on the questionable, game day decision list."

The team's focus is on the upcoming West Coast Conference Championships April 18-19 at San Juan Oaks Golf Club in Hollister, which will determine the team's postseason fate. The Broncos enter the week ranked No. 86 in the latest national rankings by GolfStat.

Just when it looked like the Broncos were positioned to grab an at-large berth in to the NCAA tournament field, winning a tournament title in Long Beach March 8, the team struggled in two events during Spring Break, finishing in the middle of the pack at the Oregon Duck Invitational and San Diego State's event at Barona.

"Our national ranking dropped about ten spots," said Miller. "We are a long shot to get up into the top 70 but a win in Arizona would greatly improve our chances.  Regardless, the guys want to finish strong and get some momentum going into the conference championship."

Santa Clara has proved it has the talent to win. Senior Scott Travers and junior Cory Mehl, along with Lamb, are among of the top players in the WCC. Travers won his second collegiate event earlier this spring, capturing the individual title at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate at the Classic Club in Palm Desert on February 27.

Travers fired a 3-under par 69 in final round play to finish that tournament atop the standings, which spanned over 100 players and 20 teams. Mehl came out and shot an opening round 68 last week in San Diego.

University of Wyoming Cowboy Classic
Presented by Cleveland Golf/Srixon
Dates (Site): Monday and Tuesday, April 4-5, 2011 (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Host: University of Wyoming
Field (20 teams): San Diego (20), Oregon State (33), Baylor (50), UC Davis (57), Idaho (61), Arizona (64), Colorado State (73), San Francisco (76), Santa Clara (86), Nevada (90), UC Santa Barbara (91), Colorado (99), Kansas (108), Wichita State (117), Kansas State (130), Wyoming (140), Utah State (178), Gonzaga (182), Utah (188), Air Force (192)
Details: Both days will begin with a 7:45 a.m. shotgun start. The field will play two rounds of 18 holes on Monday and one final round of 18 holes on Tuesday.
Course: Talking Stick Golf Club, North Course
Yardage/Par: 7,133/ par 70
Course Website: TalkingStickGolfClub.com
Course Number: 480-860-2221
Live Scoring: N/A