SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Following a third-place showing in their first tournament of the spring season, Santa Clara men's golf returns to the links Friday for the first round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, contested at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif. The 7,305-yard, par-72 Arnold Palmer-inspired layout was the site of the Bob Hope Classic for several years and this weekend it will host 21 of the top golf playing schools in the country.
"The third-place finish did not significantly impact our national ranking," head coach Rob Miller said of last week's result. "The problem is that the further we get into the season, the more difficult it becomes to move up. We need to make a move in the right direction starting this week."
A strong field will gather in the desert with three teams ranked among the top-50 in the recent Golfstat.com poll and two others just on the other side. No. 18 Texas Tech headlines the group followed by Kansas (39) and Colorado State (47). The Broncos enter the event at No. 82.
"This field offers us a good chance to improve our ranking with a solid showing," Miller added.
The top of the lineup remains the same for the Broncos with Matt McCarty anchoring the five-player team. The junior earned his fourth career top-5 two weeks ago finishing 54 holes at even-par to tie for fifth. Senior Derek Ackerman will play out of the No. 2 spot.
Making his season debut at the Anteater Invitational with a 1-over 217, including a final-round 2-under 70, sophomore Jack Avrit qualified for this week's lineup along with freshman Konrad Brauckmeyer and sophomore Zack Kaneshiro. Sophomore Berk Harvey will compete as an individual.
"Jack adds depth to our team that really needs to get more from the bottom of the line-up," Miller said of his second-year player who missed the fall due to injuries.
First round action at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will start from the first and 10th tee box beginning at 7 a.m. PT. Live scoring updates from the track will be available at Golfstat.com.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Name: Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate
Dates (Site): Friday-Sunday, Feb. 22-24 (Palm Desert, Calif.)
Host: Wyoming
Tournament Field (Rank): Boise State (84), Cal Poly (170), Cal State Fullerton (72), Colorado (76), Colorado State (47), Denver (137), Kansas (39), Little Rock (97), San Diego (228), San Francisco (52), Santa Clara (82), Seattle (116), South Dakota State (224), Southern Illinois (126), Southern Utah (225), TCU (51), Texas Tech (18), UC Riverside (186), UT Arlington (134), Western Carolina (249), Wyoming (93)
Details: The field will play a single 18-hole round over each of the three days in a five-count-four team scoring format. All three rounds will begin with a double-tee start from the first and 10th tee box at 7 a.m. PT.
Course: Classic Club
Yardage/Par: 7,305 yards / Par 72
Course Website: www.classicclubgolf.com
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
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