Maier wins UW tourney in California

Wyoming junior Gabe Maier

PALM DESERT, Calif. – It had been five years since a University of Wyoming Cowboy golfer won an event. That changed on Tuesday.

Junior Gabe Maier won the very tournament that the Cowboys’ host during the fall season, the University of Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. On top of Maier's individual first-place finish, the Cowboys made up 12 shots on the tournament leaders and finished in a tie for third place.

Maier, a Cody native, closed out the tournament during Tuesday’s third and final round by shooting a two-under par 70. He led the tournament from start to finish, as he was tied for first place after an opening round 70 and then took sole possession of the lead after a second round 68 (-4). His three-round total of 138 (-6) matched the second best tournament score in Cowboy golf history.

As a team, the Cowboys used the best round of the day to catapult themselves from a fifth place tie to a tie for third place. The Pokes shot an even par 288 on Tuesday and finished with a three-round tournament score of 877 (+13). They tied with Nebraska in the 16-team field.

Redshirt freshman Clinton Boutelle had the best final round for the Cowboys and shot a career best 69 (-3). That round matched the best of the day in the 92-man field.

Boutelle tied with UW junior Zach Zaremba, and others, for 10th place in the tournament with a three-round total of 218 (+2). This is the first career top-10 for Boutelle and the fourth for Zaremba.

“Heading into our tournament, we had the team goals of placing in the top-three as a team and having an individual in the top-three and we achieved both goals,” UW Director of Golf Joe Jensen said. “I feel good about the way the event went, and I am really proud of the way our team played.

“In a team meeting this morning, we challenged ourselves to play really well today and we did that in having the best team round of the day.

"Gabe has played well this fall, has put himself in a very good position and is deserving of this win. It is hard to play with the lead and Gabe did a great job of that. It is nice to get an individual tournament championship and I believe this will lead to a lot of positive things for our team.”

Santa Clara University won the tournament with a three-round total of 872 (+8). Cal State Northridge was second (876 (+12), just one stroke lower than Wyoming and Nebraska.

Behind Maier in the individual standings were Santa Clara’s Scott Travers (211, -5) and Cal State Northridge’s David Kirkland (213 (-3).

This marked the second consecutive year that the Cowboy golf program hosted the UW Desert Intercollegiate at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif. The Classic Club, which hosted the PGA’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 2006, ‘07 and ‘08, plays to a par of 72 and measures 7,305 yards in length.

The Cowboys will close out the fall season Oct. 22-23 as they travel to Long Beach, Calif. to participate in the Long Beach State Del Walker Invitational.