University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, April 20
Provo, Utah
University of Northern Colorado
at
BYU Cougar Classic Day 2
Photo by: Woody Myers
@UNC_MensGolf picks up fifth top 5 finish of season
4/20/2019 10:44:00 PM | Men's Golf
UNC men's golf finished in the top 5 at the Ping Cougar Classic
PROVO, Utah – Northern Colorado men's golf put together another complete team effort to finish the Ping Cougar Classic on Saturday. The team moved up two spots on the leaderboard to finish in fourth place. The Bears shot a 6-under, 282 in the final round to earn their fifth top 5 team finish of the season. The Bears were the only team to shoot under par on the par 4s during the tournament going 1-under with a stroke average of 3.99.
Three UNC golfers finished the tournament below par in Joshua Matz, Jack Castiglia and Coby Welch. Meanwhile, Li Chen ended the event at even-par and Nick Sharp was 4-over.
Matz led the team by shooting a 4-under, 212 for the event to finish tied for 10th. The top 10 finish is his sixth of the season. Northern Colorado teed off on the back nine on Saturday and Matz took advantage of the course shooting a 5-under 31 on it. He made birdie on holes 12, 13, 15,16 and 17. He added two more birdies to his round on the front nine where he shot a 37. Through each round of the tournament, he improved his score.
Castiglia shot the lowest 54-hole total of his career with a 3-under, 213. The final round was his best of the weekend, shooting a 3-under 69. He made five birdies on the day and did most of his damage on holes 10-18. With a 3-under 33 on the back nine, he shot an even-par 36 on the front. Castiglia finished tied for 14th at the event.
Welch snuck in under par with a 1-under, 71 on Saturday. The final score of 215 earned him a finish of tied for 22nd. He came out and birdied his first two holes of the day, ending up with four for the round.
Li Chen and Nick Sharp each shot a 74 in the final round. Sharp and Castiglia tied for the second most pars at the event with 40.
Host BYU won the tournament with a team score of 840, five strokes better than second place Boise State.
Prenzlow's Perspective
"It was truly a quality event for the Bears as we beat some ranked teams from some very good golf conferences!! The guys played today with desire, made good decisions and enjoyed the competition. All the guys contributed to our final position and score. Joshua played well the final two rounds, Jack was solid all tournament. Li, Coby and Nick all played well also. Hopefully, we are peaking at the right time and this event helped with our confidence going into conference next week!"
What's ahead
It's off to the Big Sky Championship next week at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada. UNC won the Big Sky title last year on the same course. The Championship runs from April 26-28.
To stay up to date on all things UNC men's golf, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNC_MensGolf.
Three UNC golfers finished the tournament below par in Joshua Matz, Jack Castiglia and Coby Welch. Meanwhile, Li Chen ended the event at even-par and Nick Sharp was 4-over.
Matz led the team by shooting a 4-under, 212 for the event to finish tied for 10th. The top 10 finish is his sixth of the season. Northern Colorado teed off on the back nine on Saturday and Matz took advantage of the course shooting a 5-under 31 on it. He made birdie on holes 12, 13, 15,16 and 17. He added two more birdies to his round on the front nine where he shot a 37. Through each round of the tournament, he improved his score.
Castiglia shot the lowest 54-hole total of his career with a 3-under, 213. The final round was his best of the weekend, shooting a 3-under 69. He made five birdies on the day and did most of his damage on holes 10-18. With a 3-under 33 on the back nine, he shot an even-par 36 on the front. Castiglia finished tied for 14th at the event.
Welch snuck in under par with a 1-under, 71 on Saturday. The final score of 215 earned him a finish of tied for 22nd. He came out and birdied his first two holes of the day, ending up with four for the round.
Li Chen and Nick Sharp each shot a 74 in the final round. Sharp and Castiglia tied for the second most pars at the event with 40.
Host BYU won the tournament with a team score of 840, five strokes better than second place Boise State.
| Name (Place) | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Northern Colorado (4) | 282 | 285 | 282 | 849 |
| Joshua Matz (T10) | 75 | 69 | 68 | 212 |
| Jack Castiglia (T14 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 213 |
| Coby Welch (T22) | 66 | 78 | 71 | 215 |
| Li Chen (T27) | 71 | 71 | 74 | 216 |
| Nick Sharp (T46) | 72 | 74 | 74 | 220 |
Prenzlow's Perspective
"It was truly a quality event for the Bears as we beat some ranked teams from some very good golf conferences!! The guys played today with desire, made good decisions and enjoyed the competition. All the guys contributed to our final position and score. Joshua played well the final two rounds, Jack was solid all tournament. Li, Coby and Nick all played well also. Hopefully, we are peaking at the right time and this event helped with our confidence going into conference next week!"
What's ahead
It's off to the Big Sky Championship next week at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada. UNC won the Big Sky title last year on the same course. The Championship runs from April 26-28.
To stay up to date on all things UNC men's golf, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNC_MensGolf.
Players Mentioned
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