at Wyoming Cowboy Classic
Dates: April 4-5 (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 travel to Chandler, Arizona, for the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, April 4-5.
 
The tournament will be held at the par-72, 7,334-yard Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club. Two rounds are set for Monday, while the final 18 holes will be contested on Tuesday. Both days will have a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start.
 
The Anteaters are part of a 25-team field that features seven programs in the top-75 of the Golfstat rankings including No. 19 Kansas, No. 38 Nevada, No. 53 UC Davis, No. 59 San Diego, No. 68 TCU, No. 71 Loyola Marymount and No. 72 San Diego State. Also in the tournament are Cal State Fullerton, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Southern Utah, UC Santa Barbara, UNCW, UNLV, Utah State, Utah Valley, UTSA, Weber State and host Wyoming.
 
Darien Zhao, Kolbe Irei, Nathan Irwin, Henry Fitzhugh and Johnny Bai make up UCI's 5-count-4 lineup.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Darien Zhao led UC Irvine with a fourth-place finish at the UC San Diego Invitational at La Costa Champions Course, March 21-22. It was Zhao's second top-five showing of the year. He had the Anteaters' best score in each round, closing out the tournament with a 54-hole season-low 4-under 212 (69-70-73). Kolbe Irei (72-71-76) and Nathan Irwin (71-73-75) both tied for 20th at 219. Henry Fitzhugh also tied for 56th (227), while Matt Gunson tied for 78th (235). As a team, the 'Eaters tied for sixth with a total of 875 (286-288-301).
 
NEWS & NOTES
• The Anteaters will be competing in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic for the second-straight year.
• In 2021, UC Irvine finished 14th in a loaded field that featured six ranked teams.
• Nathan Irwin and Darien Zhao tied for the team lead as they both carded a 217 (39th).
• Darien Zhao, who has a pair of top-five finishes on the season, leads the 'Eaters with a 73.24 average.
• He tied for 2nd at the OC Collegiate Classic (219) and came in fourth at the UC San Diego Invitational (212).
• Zhao has four sub-70 rounds this season with a career-low 68.
• Kolbe Irei earned his first collegiate victory in February, winning the individual title at the OC Collegiate Classic.
• Irei came in at even-par 216 with a career-best 68 in the second round.
• He is second on the squad with a 73.43 scoring average.
• Senior Nathan Irwin had a top-20 showing at the Nick Watney Invitational (T19th) and UCSD Invitational (T20th).
• He also led the 'Eaters at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate and the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.
• Irwin, who has three sub-70 rounds including a collegiate-best 68, ranks third on the team with a 73.62 average.
• UCI carded its best 18-hole score of the year with a 277 in the second round of the Visit Stockton Invitational.
• In that round, Zhao, Irwin and Irei all registered a 2-under 69.
• Henry Fitzhugh has played in every tournament since his arrival at UC Irvine in 2020.
• Four of the seven returning 'Eaters are seniors - Irwin, Matt Gunson, Ethan Han and Trueman Park.
• The Anteaters also welcome two newcomers in redshirt freshman Johnny Bai and true freshman Jin Nakao.
• Back in November, UC Irvine signed Rei Harashima and Andy Zou to National Letters of Intent for 2022-23.
• UCI kicked off the spring season on one of its home courses for the fourth year in a row.
• The 'Eaters co-hosted the Orange County Collegiate Classic at Coto de Caza in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
• In 2019, they began the spring portion of their schedule with the Anteater Invitational at Big Canyon CC.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make its way to Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California, for the prestigious Western Intercollegiate, April 11-13. It will be the Anteaters' final tune-up before the Big West Championships, May 1-3.