Wyoming Cowboy Classic
Dates: April 5-6 (Monday-Tuesday)
Time: 7:30 a.m. (PDT)
Location: Whirlwind Golf Club - Chandler, Ariz.
Par/Yardage: Par 72 - 7,334 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team is set to make their first and only out-of-state trip during the regular season as they head to Chandler, Ariz., for the 18th annual Wyoming Cowboy Classic, April 5-6.
 
TOURNAMENT INFO
The two-day tournament will be held at the par-72, 7,334-yard Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club. Thirty-six holes are scheduled for Monday, while the final round will be contested on Tuesday with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start on both days. The Anteaters are part of a 23-team field that features six programs ranked among the top-75 according to Golfstat.com, including No. 28 San Diego State, No. 36 Stanford, No. 51 UNLV, No. 57 Oregon, No. 60 San Diego and No. 74 TCU.
 
UCI's 5-count-4 lineup is comprised of Jonathan Kang, Nathan Irwin, Darien Zhao, Henry Fitzhugh and Kolbe Irei. This is the first time the 'Eaters will be competing in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic since 2015.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was last in action at the UC San Diego Invitational, March 22-23. The Anteaters tied for third with a 54-hole score of 904. Nathan Irwin (77-73-74) and Darien Zhao (73-71-80) led the 'Eaters in a tie for ninth at 8-over 224. It was the first career top-10 collegiate finish for both individuals. Jonathan Kang made a big leap on the leaderboard in the final round, climbing 10 spots to place among the top-20. He tied for the fourth-best score of the day at even-par 72, and closed out the tournament in a tie for 17th with a total of 228 (80-76-72). Henry Fitzhugh also tied for 27th (231), while Kolbe Irei, who was competing as an individual, came in 23rd overall (229).

NEWS & NOTES
• The Anteaters opened the 2021 campaign by co-hosting the OC Collegiate Classic, Feb. 8-9, at Coto de Caza.
• It is the third year in a row they started the spring season on one of their home courses.
• Junior Nathan Irwin had his top two collegiate finishes in each of the last two tournaments.
• He tied for ninth at the UC San Diego Invitational and tied for 16th at the Sacramento State Invitational.
• Irwin carded a career-best 216 (E) at Sac State and enters the week with a career-best 75.50 stroke average.
• Graduate student Jonathan Kang is back after the NCAA granted an extra year to the 2020 spring sport seniors.
• Since the start of the shortened 2019-20 campaign, Kang has registered a 73.53 average through 10 tournaments.
• During that stretch, he has finished at or below par in 12 of 30 rounds played with three sub-70 scores.
• Kang has seven career top-10 finishes including at each of the last two Big West Championships.
• This year, he finished sixth at the OC Collegiate Classic and leads the team with a 74.58 season average.
• Freshman Henry Fitzhugh has made an immediate impact, ranking second on the squad in scoring average (74.92).
• Fitzhugh had a top-20 performance competing as an individual in his collegiate debut at the OC Collegiate Classic.
• He has been part of UCI's team lineup ever since and recorded a season-best 1-over 217 at the Sac State Invite.
• Freshman Darien Zhao notched his first collegiate top-10 finish at the UCSD Invitational, tying for ninth at 224.
• Junior Ethan Han also had his first career top-10 performance at the season-opening OC Collegiate Classic.
• Han came in fourth with a personal collegiate-best 216 (E). He started the year with back-to-back rounds of 71 (-1).
• Junior Matt Gunson was the conference's top freshman at the 2019 Big West Championships where he was 10th.
• The 'Eaters have three true freshmen on their roster in Fitzhugh, Zhao and Kolbe Irei.
• Fitzhugh will be playing in his fifth tournament this weekend, while Irei and Zhao are both set for their fourth outing.
• All three made their collegiate debuts at the Orange County Collegiate Classic.
• Over the summer, Ethan Han and Jonathan Kang competed in the 109th California Amateur Championship.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make its way to Santa Cruz for the prestigious Western Intercollegiate, April 12-14. The three-day tournament is set to take place at Pasatimepo Golf Club with live coverage provided by GOLF Channel.