Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Cowboy Classic (Wyoming)
Purser Wins; Wildcats Finish 7th at Cowboy Classic
4/8/2015 12:16:00 AM | Men's Golf
CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Weber State's Devon Purser defeated a pair of opponents in a sudden death playoff for individual medalist honors, leading the Wildcats to a seventh place finish at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club.
The Wildcats shot a six-under-par 282 and a one-under-par 287 on Monday, and closed the event with a three-under-par 285 on Tuesday to reach 10-under-par with a total of 854.
"We played really good this week," said WSU head coach Scott Erling. "This is probably the best field top to bottom that we've played in all year and to play all three rounds under par and finish double digits under par as a team is a big time effort by our guys. And obviously what Devon did individually was tremendous."
Purser opened his tournament on Monday morning with a two-under-par 70 with four birdies against a lone double bogey and was tied for 21st heading into the afternoon round. Over his second 18 of the day, he moved into medalist contention, tying for fifth after a 69, which was fueled by four birdies and an eagle.
On Tuesday, Purser kicked off the round with three birdies over his first five holes to get to eight-under-par for the tournament. After offsetting a pair of bogeys with another two birdies over his next 12 holes, Purser birdied the 462-yard, par 4 fourth hole--his last of the day--to reach nine-under-par and join Idaho's Jared du Toit and McNeese State's Robert MacIntyre in the playoff.
Purser's back-to-back pars on the 18th hole outlasted the pair as du Toit posted a double bogey on the first playoff hole, while MacIntyre bogeyed the hole the second time through.
"I struck the ball really well this week, and played the par 5's really good," said Purser. "But my play on the par 3's was really the key for me. In the playoff, I just really focused on hitting the green. It's a tough hole, and I wanted to give myself a birdie putt and didn't want to get tempted into going at the flagstick."
McNeese State earned the team title, shooting a total of 838 for a two-shot victory over Idaho. Colorado finished third at 842.
Weber State's Lee Shepherd opened the tournament with a four-under-par 68 and finished at one-over-par 217 to tie for 44th place overall. Colton Dallimore shot 219 to tie for 61st, Michael Johnson shot 222 to tie for 71st and Luke Crapo rode a pair of 70's to a tie for 77th at 224.
"We have played better and better every tournament this spring," said Erling. "It's been a step-by-step process, but we're starting to get to where we want to be as a team and we're definitely heading in the right direction with the conference tournament coming up later this month."
Purser's medalist honor marked the first individual title for a Wildcat since May 4, 2011 when Nick Despain earned the title at the America Sky Men's Golf Conference Championships at Troon North in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
