UW golf celebrates great season

From the University of Wyoming

The 2019-20 Wyoming Cowboy Golf season was one of the best in school history despite it being cut short by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Wyoming as a team and the Cowboys as individuals reached a number of milestones, including multiple Top 5 team tournament finishes, school records and an individual tournament title.

Team Accomplishments

The Wyoming Cowboys placed among the Top 5 teams in 4 of 8 tournaments

That included a season best second-place showing out of 17 teams at the Ram Masters Invitational at Colorado State. UW placed third out of 12 teams at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, and also finished third out of nine teams at the University of Denver Ron Moore Intercollegiate. The Pokes finished fifth out of 18 teams at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

Wyoming's 20-under par tournament total of 844 at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational ranks as the second lowest tournament score by a Cowboy Golf team in school history

The Pokes 844 (-20) at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational ranks second only to an 835 (-29) tournament score shot by the 2017-18 Cowboy team at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational on Sept. 10, 2017.

The Cowboys shot under par as a team in 4 of 8 tournaments

In addition to the Pokes' lowest tournament score of the season at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational to finish 3rd out of 12 teams, UW also shot an 846 (-6) at the Ka'anapali Classic in Hawai'i in a field that included eight of the Top 50 ranked teams in the nation. The Cowboys finished 11th of 20 teams at the Ka'anapali Classic.

Wyoming fired an 850 (-2) to capture 3rd place out of nine teams at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in Denver.

UW's other under-par tournament score came at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational where the Cowboys shot an 863 (-1) to finish 5th out of 18 teams.

Individual Accomplishments

Kirby Coe-Kirkham Sets a New UW Single-Season School Record for Scoring Average of 71.50

Cowboy sophomore Kirby Coe-Kirkham had an amazing season in 2019-20, resulting in him setting a new UW single-season record for lowest individual scoring average at 71.50 strokes per round. That edged out the previous record of 71.58 strokes per round shared by John Murdock and Drew McCullough, who both set that record in the 2017-18 season.

In addition to Coe-Kirkham's school record, three other members of the 2019-20 Cowboy squad also posted season-scoring averages that rank in the UW Single -Season Top 20. Dan Starzinski's 72.08 average ranks No. 8. Carl Underwood's 73.00 average ranks No. 15, and Tyler Severin's, 73.21 average ranks No. 17.

UW Men's Golf Single-Season Top 20 Individual Scoring Averages

1. 71.50, Kirby Coe-Kirkham, 2019-20

2. 71.58, John Murdock, 2017-18

71.58, Drew McCullough, 2017-18

4. 71.77 John Murdock, 2018-19

71.77, Dan Starzinski, 2018-19

6. 71.97, Gabe Maier, 2010-11

7. 72.06, Drew McCullough, 2015-16

8. 72.08, Dan Starzinski, 2019-20

72.08, Ryan Wallen, 2016-17

15. 73.00, Carl Underwood, 2019-20

17. 73.21, Tyler Severin, 2019-20

Tyler Severin Captures His First Collegiate Tournament, Winning the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate

Cowboy sophomore Tyler Severin shot the best round of the day in the final round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate to come from three strokes out of the lead entering the day to capture a two-stroke victory. Severin's final round 66 (-6) improved his 54-hole total to 207 (-9), giving the Longmont, Colo., native the first collegiate victory of his career.

Severin began Sunday's final round tied for ninth at 141 (-3) and was three strokes back of the tournament leader Tom Gueant of Oregon. But Severin showed right from the beginning of the final round that he was out to win his first collegiate tournament. After recording pars on the first three holes on Sunday, Severin would birdie Holes 4, 5, 6 and 8 on the front nine. His birdie on Hole 6 came on a chip-in from off the green. On the back nine, Severin would also birdie Hole 10 and close out his round with a birdie on the 18th. In addition to his six birdies, he made par on the other 12 holes in the final round.

Kirby Coe-Kirkham, Dan Starzinski, Tyler Severin and Carl Underwood Each Post Multiple Top 25 Finishes in 2019-20

Sophomore Kirby Coe-Kirkham, senior Dan Starzinski, sophomore Tyler Severin and junior Carl Underwood each posted multiple Top 25 finishes during the 2019-20 season. Coe-Kirkham and Starzinski each finished in the Top 25 in five of eight tournaments. Severin and Underwood each had three Top 25 finishes in the 2019-20 season. Two more Cowboys, Liam Clancy and Bryce Waters, each had one Top 25 finish this season.

Senior Dan Starzinski Played in the Prestigious Patriot All-America Invitational in December

Wyoming senior Dan Starzinski played in the prestigious Patriot All-America Invitational held December 27-31, 2019, at The Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

Each player's golf bag was emblazoned with the name and branch of service of a fallen military member. At the conclusion of the event, those golf bags were auctioned with all proceeds designated for the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving the United States. The fallen military member who was featured on Starzinski's bag was Chief Master Sergeant William N. Kendall, 52, who retired in 2013 after serving honorably for 30 years.

Starzinski tied for 31st out of 84 top amateur golfers from across the

nation. Starzinski shot a 213 (-3).

Coe-Kirkham Played in Exclusive Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase

Kirby Coe-Kirkham was one of a select group of collegiate golfers invited to play in this year's Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase Pro-Am on Feb. 10. Coe-Kirkham played in a foursome that included a PGA Tour professional and two amateurs/donors representing the University of Wyoming. Wyoming was one of only 10 collegiate golf programs invited to play in this year's Collegiate Showcase, with 13 collegians from those 10 schools participating.

The event was created in 2015 in connection with the TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods Charity. Each collegiate golfer played their own ball throughout the Pro-Am.

The top collegiate finisher was Sean Yu of San Jose State. He earned a spot into the PGA Genesis Invitational later in the week. The events were played on the famed Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

"In the end, we really did have a very solid year," Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf, said. "Knowing that I have a good team coming back really adds to the excitement moving forward for our program. As a team for us to shoot under par in half of our tournaments and to place in the Top 5 of half our tournaments were two accomplishments that shows the progress we are making."