@UNC_MensGolf Nets 8th Place Finish at Paintbrush Invite

Monday, October 10

Parker, CO

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Paintbrush Invite

10/11/2016 8:34:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: UNCBears.com

FINAL RESULTS

PARKER, Colo. – The men's golf team picked up where they left off after play was suspended on Monday, completing the second and third round of the Paintbrush Invite on Tuesday. Overall, the Bears finished in the Top 10, tying for 8^th with a team score of 885 (298, 288, 299).

UNC tied with Washington State and defeated a Big 10 school in Iowa, and two Mountain West programs in Colorado State and Air Force.

How It Happened:
Northern Colorado players had two holes remaining in the second round after play was suspended due to darkness. The team shined in the second leg of the tournament, posting a team-best 288.

Junior, Sam Marley and sophomore, Josh Matz both posted under-par rounds of 69 (-3) and 71 (-1) in the second 18 holes of play.

Freshman, Coby Welch also had a solid second round, coming into the clubhouse with a 72 (E).

Junior, Andrew Romano and sophomore, Eric Chen finished up round two with a 76 (+4) and a 77 (+5).

Welch had the best overall tournament for the team. The true freshman ended with a 219 (73, 72, 73 = +3) after signing off on a 73 (+2) during the last round of the invite. At four-over-par for the tournament, Welch secured a Top 25 finish, tying for 23^rd.

Romano was just one stroke off of Welch, carding a 220 (71, 76, 73 = +5). He completed the third round two-over-par, earning himself at Top 25 placement as well, coming in tied for 25^th on the leaderboard.

Matz tied for 31^st overall in the 88-member field. His 54-hole total came to 221 (75, 71, 75 = +6), finishing the third round three-over-par.

Rounding out the team was Marley and Chen. Marley fired a 225 (79, 69, 77 = +9) and tied for 41^st. Chen notched a 242 (82, 77, 83 +26), coming in tied for 83^rd.

UNC also sent freshman, Phillip Lee to the invite to compete as an individual. Lee tied for 75^th place after a total of 233 (80, 76, 77 = +17).

Oklahoma State won the team honors. The Cowboys posted a team score of 850 (-14). Denver's Petter Mikalsen won the individual title, shooting a 203 (-13). He won the tournament by three strokes.

Game Changer:
Coby Welch had the most consistent tournament of any Bear at the invite. Welch ended his 54-holes, finishing in the Top 10 in pars with 33, along with eight birdies and one eagle.

Key Stat:
Birdies were easy to come by for UNC during the invite. The Bears holed 48 birdies as a team, the ninth best total in the 15-team field. The team also tallied 143 pars, the seventh-best total at the event.

Coach Prenzlow's Thoughts:
"Even though we did not have our best day today, we fought through adversity and on very tough golf course and beat some quality Division I programs. Our counting four guys made some great shots and saved the round by fighting for every shot. Coby [Welch] had another nice tournament, as did Andrew [Romano], Sam [Marley], and Joshua [Matz]. For the fall season, we end with a record over .500 against some tough D1 competition for our five events. Now we need to keep getting better and have a good spring season beginning in February."

Up Next:
Northern Colorado completed its fall schedule for 2016, but will host the UNC Individuals Invite next Monday, Oct. 17 at the Boomerang Links in Greeley. The invite will give individuals from teams from all around Colorado an extra chance to compete this fall.