It was an outstanding day for the University of Wyoming golf program on Tuesday as Cowboy John Murdock finished as the first alternate in the U.S. Amateur Qualifier played at UW’s Glenn “Red” Jacoby Golf Course. Murdock, a Laramie native, fired a 36-hole score of six-under par 136 on his home course to finish two strokes back of Rosswell Sinclair of Albuquerque, who posted an eight-under par score of 134 for the win.
Rosswell automatically qualifies for the U.S. Amateur Championship to be played Aug. 13-19 at Pebble Beach, Calif. Murdock and third-place finisher, Jordan Costello of Pinedale, Wyo., who shot a four-under par score of 138, both earned their spots as the first and second alternates, respectively. Cowboy golfer Dan Starzinski, from Phoenix, Ariz., shot an opening round five-under par 66 to lead the tournament after the opening round. He finished the qualifier tied for fourth, with a two-round score of three-under par 139.
“It was a great tournament with a group of outstanding players competing for 36 holes,” Joe Jensen, Director of Golf and Head Men’s Golf Coach for the University of Wyoming said. “I’m proud of the way our guys played. This is big for John (Murdock). He played solid in the Laramie Open last weekend, and he followed that up with a good performance today. John and Dan (Starzinski) are good players in our conference and both have had good summers. Rosswell Sinclair plays at the University of New Mexico, so it was a good competition between Mountain West players.
“The way the alternate situation works is all the alternates from around the country go into a pool. The USGA determines, based on a set of criteria, the order of the alternates scores. If a qualifier is unable to play in the U.S. Amateur, then an alternate will be selected in his place, based on the criteria.”
The day was also memorable for UW Golf in that it marked the first time that Jacoby Golf Course had hosted a U.S. Amateur Qualifier.
“It has been a great run the last few days,” Jensen said. “With us hosting the Laramie Open last weekend and then segueing into a USGA qualifier, that legitimizes Jacoby and it sets us apart as being a championship course. It also benefits our players to stay here this summer and play in very high level events. They competed against guys from all over the country today. All the players seemed to be appreciative of the event and the course. When you develop these events and put them on the calendar, you hope that they turn out the way you would like, and I would say this has been a very good week.”
In addition to Murdock and Starzinski, two other current members of the University of Wyoming men’s golf team competed in the event. Jared Edeen, of Cheyenne, shot a four-over par 146 to tie for 11th and incoming freshman Kirby Coe-Kirkham, from Sheridan, posted a nine-over par 151 to tie for 20th.
The field for the tournament included 30 top-level amateurs from around the country. Ten states were represented in this year’s U.S. Amateur qualifier in Laramie. That is the most states ever represented in a U.S. Amateur event held in the state of Wyoming.
Players from the states of Wyoming, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas will be competing.
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