Wyoming Rides Lickteig’s Ace, Career Day to Victory at Southern Dunes

Senior Arron Lickteig had the round of his life to lead the Wyoming Cowboy golf team to victory at the Wyoming Southern Dunes Invitational on Sunday, carding a 64 (-8) as the Pokes posted a final-round 277 (-11) for a tournament score of 854 (-10). Thanks to six birdies and a hole-in-one on the par-three, 165-yard fourth hole, Lickteig moved up 24 spots on the individual leaderboard to finish in fifth place with a score of 213 (-3). John Murdock carded a final-round 71 (-1) on Sunday to finish as the top Cowboy in fourth place overall, shooting 211 (-5) for the tournament as the Cowboys earned their second team victory of the 2017 fall season.

“It was a special day for Arron (Lickteig),” UW head coach Joe Jensen said on Sunday. “I give Arron the credit that his round propelled us to the win. Every guy got jacked up about (Arron’s round). When you host an event and you win, you bring in so many people you’ve worked with for so many months and everybody has a little piece of it. It was a great win, not only for us, but for anyone who touches our program or supports our program in any way.”


Lickteig sandwiched the first hole-in-one of his collegiate career in between two birdies to start the day, reaching four-under par after just three holes. He parred the next eight holes before a string of three birdies got him to seven-under with four holes remaining. Lickteig rolled in an incredible 30-foot putt on the par-four, 449-yard first hole for his final birdie of the day, capping his career-low round that also proved to be the best in the field by four strokes on Sunday. The Marion, S.D., native was the only player in the field with two eagles during the tournament.

“Ryan (Wallen) told me hit an eight iron just left of the flag, so I just aimed five to 10 feet left of the flag, pushed it a little bit and it went in,” Lickteig said Sunday about the hole-in-one. “Whenever you go up there and don’t see your ball on the green and it’s in the cup, it’s a great feeling. It definitely gave me a little incentive. I was just concentrating one shot at a time. It was one of those rounds where you have everything going right. I just tried to think about what I had to keep doing.”

Murdock and senior Drew McCullough each excelled Sunday as the Cowboys pieced together the best team single-round score of the tournament. Murdock played a clean back nine, posting birdies on holes No. 13 and 17 to finish one-under. His fourth-place finish was his fourth consecutive top-five finish to start the season. The Laramie, Wyo., native has finished as the top Cowboy at each event, finishing under-par in 11 of 12 rounds. McCullough posted a 68 (-4) on Sunday, the second-best round of the day behind Lickteig, to finish with a share of sixth place with a 54-hole total of 214 (-2).

 

Final round of @wyo_golf @AkChin_SoDunes Invitational today #PlayTroon #GoWyo #OneWyoming pic.twitter.com/IwFcHVK8z3

— Troon (@Troon) October 15, 2017


Seniors Quintin Pope and Glenn Workman each carded a 74 (+2) in the final day of competition at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club. Pope tied for 25th overall on the final leaderboard with a tournament score of 222 (+6), while Workman earned a share of 34th with a 54-hole score of 224 (+8). Individuals Carl Underwood and Dan Starzinski each had solid days on Sunday, as Underwood shot 71 (-1) while Starzinski recorded a 74 (+2). Underwood tied for 29th in the field at 223 (+7), while Starzinski tied for 38th at 225 (+9).

The Pokes will conclude the fall portion of their 2017-18 season Nov. 3-5 at the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational in Ka’anapali, Maui, Hawai’i. Stay tuned to @wyo_golf on twitter for additional coverage as Wyoming looks to stay hot in the Aloha State.

Wyoming Results
4. John Murdock: 70+70+71 = 211 (-5)
5. Arron Lickteig: 70+79+64 = 213 (-3)
T6. Drew McCullough: 77+69+68 = 214 (-2)
T25. Quintin Pope: 72+76+74 = 222 (+6)
T29. Carl Underwood (I): 76+76+71 = 223 (+7)
T34. Glenn Workman: 76+74+74 = 224 (+8)
T38. Dan Starzinski (I): 75+76+74 =225 (+9)

Team Standings
1. Wyoming: 288+289+277 = 854 (-10)
2. Loyola Marymount: 294+279+283 = 856 (-8)
3. Boise State: 290+290+286 = 866 (+2)
4. Sam Houston State: 293+288+286 = 867 (+3)
5. Western Kentucky: 301+285+290 = 876 (+10)