The No. 64 Arizona men’s golf team had a rough time at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational Sunday through yesterday in Orlando, Fla.
The Wildcats struggled through their worst round of the tournament yesterday, shooting 31-over 319 to finish in 15th place out of 18 competing teams.
“”Our guys didn’t take care of business,”” said UA assistant coach John Knauer. “”We made too many mistakes to win.””
Arizona finished the opening round of the tournament in seventh place after shooting a 7-over 295. It went downhill from there.
The Wildcats shot a 12-over 300 in the second round and were all but eliminated from contention; they entered the final round trailing tournament leader No. 57 Texas by 16 strokes.
In the final round, four teams passed the Wildcats, who ended the tournament with a 54-hole tally of 50-over 914. They finished 38 strokes behind the tournament winner Texas, which carded a 12-over 876 over three rounds.
No. 2 Florida and No. 18 Texas A&M rounded out the top three with final scores of 24-over 888 and 26-over 890, respectively.
No competitor in the tournament finished under par. No. 9 Georgia’s sophomore Brian Harman won the individual title by shooting an even-par 216 for the 54-hole tournament.
High winds, 51-degree weather and difficult final-round pin placements were the key factors for the poor play of the entire field, according to a press release.
No team finished under par in the final round.
Making his varsity debut, junior Creighton Honeck led Arizona, finishing tied for 33rd place with a 10-over 226.
“”(Honeck) was a bright spot,”” Knauer said.
Junior Trey Denton finished one shot back, grabbing a 35th-place tie with a final tally of 11-over 227.
Senior Josh Esler and junior Travis Esway finished in 53rd and 84th place, respectively. Esler carded a 14-over 230, while Esway finished at 25-over 241.
Freshman Pedro Oriol finished strong, shooting a final-round 6-over 78, Arizona’s low of the day. Oriol did not place because he had to withdraw on the first day with a pinched nerve.
Arizona will have little time to make adjustments as they will head to Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend for the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship.
