High 25 mph winds forced the Dixie State University men’s golf team off the green in the final round of the Chico-Interwest Insurance Wildcat Classic Tuesday holding its spot in sixth place overall.
The weather warning announcement was made at the Sevillano Links field shortly before the shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. PST. The players and coach Brad Sutterfield were prepared to move up in the ranks during the final round but were let down by the weather warning.
“This is not a big setback, but since we finished so low, it hurts our region ranking,” Sutterfield said. “The wind made the course unplayable, so the players understood, although, they were disappointed to not be able to improve our standing.”
The Red Storm entered the tournament ranked No. 19 and finished in sixth place with a 599 score.
The tournament was held in the small community of Corning, Calif., featuring 15 teams in the region to determine the 2013 champions.
Day one ended with Dixie State golfer Kenny You, a sophomore business major from Sandy, who carded an even-par opening round and followed with a one-under par second round sitting him at sixth place overall.
You sat six strokes behind the leader Ricky Owaki of Chico State University, who carded a second-round 66 to tie the tournament record.
You finished ahead of his teammate, junior Hayden Christensen, by eight strokes. The rest of the Red Storm were all within five strokes of each other.
“We did not play our best in Chico,” said Cody Was, a sophomore psychology major from West Haven. “That is why we are working very hard during the time we have in between tournaments. The team is preparing by practicing on our own every day like always.”
Wass tied for 48th and sophomore Conner Van Gilder tied for 40th.
The fall portion of DSU’s schedule will finish after a week-long break from competition. It will head to the Cal State Monterey Bay Invitational Oct. 21-22.
