Goodyear, Ariz. – Jose Suryadinata carded a four-under 68 to lead Idaho to a final round four-under (284), the lowest round to par of the year for the Vandals at the Loyola Intercollegiate at the Palm Valley Golf Club.
Three other Vandals recorded even-par 72s to push the Vandals up three spots in the final tournament leaderboard to 8th at 866 (+2) on the weekend.
"I am really proud of the guys' progress day-to-day," head coach
David Nuhn said. "I thought each guy showed that capability to perform at the highest level, and now we need to work through the spring to make that level of play more consistent and put it together collectively."
Suryadinata did not record a single bogey in the third round and battled to a final score of 222 (+6) and a T70th finish after struggling in the second round.
Sam Johnson closed the weekend with the best individual finish for the Vandals at 23rd with a three-round score of 214 (two-under). He recorded three birdies on Tuesday, including two in his final two holes to finish his third round at even-par.
Fellow freshman
Joe Sykes also finished even-par to close the tournament at one-under (215) to tie for 24th.
Senior
Colt Sherrell was one-over for the tournament (217) and closed the day with an even par.
"I was impressed with the freshman and their steady scores all week," Nuhn said. "Jose came up big today in round three, settling into some new swing adjustments over the winter months. I believe we'll see great things from him moving forward. Colt was as solid as always and a cold putter kept him from a top 10 finish."
Johannes Hounsgaard was 15-over (231) for the tournament to finish T102 but improved every round at Palm Valley Golf Club. His final round was a two-over 74.
Tommy McKenzie, golfing as an independent was one-over 73 on the day and finished T65th with a three-round score of 221.
The Vandals next play at the Idaho-hosted Bandon Dunes Championship at the legendary Bandon Dunes Resort on the Oregon Coast on March 12-14.
"Now we shift the focus to our Bandon Dunes event," Nuhn said. "We'll prepare to battle some outdoor elements and be the more mentally tough team out there. All signs point to positive things for these Vandals as we get rolling once again."
