Henzlik leads Cowboy golfers in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Wyoming sophomore Phil Henzlik is tied for seventh place after the first round of the 63rd annual Western Intercollegiate on Sunday and the Cowboys are in 13th place.

Henzlik had a tremendous opening round and was one of only eight players in the 93-man field to shoot par or better. With an even par 70, Henzlik is currently tied for seventh and is only two strokes off the leaders.

As a team, the Cowboys matched their best round of the spring season by shooting a combined 303 (+23) on Sunday. That score places the Pokes in 13th place out of 18 teams. They also shot a 303 in the final round of their last tournament, the University of Arizona National Invitational.

Sophomore Mike May also had a solid opening round for the Cowboys, shooting a 74 (+4). That mark places May in a tie for 31st place.

“We had a pretty good start today but there are two rounds left and still a lot of golf left to be played,” said UW head coach Joe Jensen. “Phil had a really good start today and I am proud of him. As a team, we need to see a few more good rounds tomorrow. We need to get four guys playing well in rhythm and the good team scores will follow. I am hoping we can play a little better tomorrow and creep up the leaderboard.

“This is a great field and a really good, tight golf course. It is one of the most difficult courses we will play all year, which is exciting.”

Fresno State had the best opening round and shot a 278 (-2) on Sunday. Colorado is in second place (283, +3) and Oregon and Michigan State are tied for third (290, +10).

Individually, Colorado’s Pat Grady and Fresno State’s Bhavik Patel lead the tournament after shooting identical opening round scores of 68 (-2). Four other players are tied for third with first round scores of 69 (-1).

The second round of the 2009 Western Intercollegiate will begin on Monday morning with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. The tournament will play its third and final round on Tuesday.
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Wyoming Team Results
Phil Henzlik, So., 70 (E, T 7th)
Mike May, So., 74 (+4, T 31st)
Zach Zaremba, So., 78 (+8, T 69th)
Gabe Maier, So., 81 (+11, 83rd)
Max Curnow, R-So., 89 (+19, 93rd)