TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats concluded play at the John Burns Intercollegiate Friday in Lihue, Hawaii with a total score of 877 (+13). The Wildcats finished the tournament in eighth place.
Senior Kolton Lapa notched a 72 (E) in the final round of play to finish the tournament 215 (-1). Lapa netted four of his 11 birdies in the third round, and posted an eagle in day two of the competition. The senior finished tied for 12th, his best finish of the year and best since the 2014 Arizona Intercollegiate.
"Overall, this week was good and bad,” said senior Kolton Lapa. “We got off to a really good start and unfortunately we didn't play our best when we needed it the most. I think a lot of us are looking forward to getting back to Tucson and playing on our home golf course. Personally I am really happy. I didn't have my best stuff today and I still shot a good round of golf. This week was a huge confidence booster and I am headed in the right direction."
Sophomore Jake Kreuz shot a 74 (+2) in the closing round of the tournament to give him an overall score of 217 (+1) to earn him a tie of 22nd place. Kreuz had three of his tournament's eight birdies in the third round. Sophomore Jordan Gumberg earned himself a share of 36th place notching a 73 (+1) in the third round to give him a tournament score of 220 (+4).
Freshman Tyler Moore and sophomore Max Donohue both tied for 69th with a score of 228 (+12). Moore shot a 75 (+3) in the third round while Donohue shot a 77 (+6). Competing as an individual, sophomore Peter Koo notched a 75 (+3) in the final round of play to give him a score of 226 (+10) to give him a share of 57th place.
"We believe we are getting very close as a team,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “The hard part is seeing our group peek over the edge and then stumble. We made a couple critical mistakes at the end of our round, which totaled 11 shots. Mistakes will happen but we need to do a better job of avoiding those that cough up bunches of strokes. We will be familiar with the course going home for next week's NIT in Tucson. We expect more competition at home and we could see a mix up in our lineup. Kolton was outstanding all week and his confidence is growing thanks to his very strong work ethic and great course management decisions.”
Up next, the Wildcats will compete at home, in the National Invitational Tournament at Omni Tucson National Golf Course on February 28, 2016.
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