
MGOLF | Saint Mary’s Heads to the Desert to Compete in the Cowboy Classic
3/30/2025 1:09:00 PM | Men's Golf
MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's men's golf has started to develop some momentum in their last two events, recording back-to-back top-five finishes. The Gaels played their way into title contention for the first time this spring as they were tied for first after the two rounds on Monday in last week's Duck Invitational. They would fall to fifth with an eight-over final round but still finish ahead of ranked Grand Canyon who placed seventh in the fifteen team field.
Aidan Lee has led the recent charge for Saint Mary's, recording back-to-back top-ten finishes. Lee finished seven-under-par at the Duck Invitational good for third place, his second top-three finish of the year. Connor Reis and Go Nakatsukasa finished t-25th as Nakatsukasa recorded his best finish of the spring season in his seventh start of the year.
Head coach Scott Hardy will go with the same starting lineup from last week and also give sophomore James Williams his third appearance of the year as an individual in this week's Cowboy Classic hosted by Wyoming. After finishing seventh in last year's event, Saint Mary's will seek their third straight top-five finish and first at the Cowboy Classic dating back to 2016.
"Playing in a 22 team field presents a great opportunity this week", said head coach Scott Hardy. "We will need to be focused and prepared to play well on this desert golf course. Wind can be a factor at Southern Dunes as well so playing smart and putting ourselves in the right position each hole will be crucial. We hope to carry the momentum we started to build in San Diego and Oregon to this week's event" (Hardy).
TOURNAMENT INFO
Wyoming Cowboy Classic | Maricopa, Ariz.
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club | 7,337 yards | Par 72
Rounds: 3 | Teams: 23
Format: 54 holes, 36 Monday, 18 Tuesday | 5 counts 4 | 7:30 AM Shotgun start
Live Scoring (Golfstat)
STARTING LINEUP
1. Zack Missigman
2. Aidan Lee
3. Go Nakatsukasa
4. Connor Reis
5. Avery Lazarski
Individual: James Williams
LAST TIME OUT (5th place at Duck Invitational)
The Gaels, after a two-week break, battled hard during The Duck Invitational, finishing in 5th place behind three ranked teams and in front of 46th ranked Grand Canyon. They finished one under as a team, placing top five in back-to-back tournaments. The 15 teams included four ranked programs in #36 Oregon, #45 Colorado State, #40 Little Rock, and #46 Grand Canyon. Tournament host Oregon barely snuck out with the win, finishing eight under par, just above tied second-place teams Wyoming and Colorado State, who were seven under.
The Gaels came out tied first with Oregon on the first day of the tournament, with junior Aidan Lee starting two under through his first two holes, eventually improving to three under through his first five. He finished three under in total for the opening round, collecting three more birdies along the way. Teammate Go Nakatsukasa would finish two under, and Connor Reis also finished one under par in the first round to help the Gaels to a 280 (-4) opening score.
The second day and final round would prove to be a difficult one for the Gaels as they were caught scrambling on many holes. Lee would end up being the only one under par on the day, and they would collectively finish eight over par and drop to fifth in the standings. All in all, the Gaels put up a solid performance against a handful of very high-quality ranked opponents to record their second consecutive fifth place finish and fifth top-five finish of the year.
Lee would have his best round of the week on day one, finishing three under in both rounds and totaling seven under par, good for t-3rd place and his second top-three finish of the year. Nakatsukasa and Reis followed for the Gaels in a tie for 25th place at two over par for the week. Missigman also had a three under par day during the second round and concluded the event t-49th at seven over.
Live scoring for this week's Cowboy Classic can be found HERE or at golfstat.com. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Aidan Lee has led the recent charge for Saint Mary's, recording back-to-back top-ten finishes. Lee finished seven-under-par at the Duck Invitational good for third place, his second top-three finish of the year. Connor Reis and Go Nakatsukasa finished t-25th as Nakatsukasa recorded his best finish of the spring season in his seventh start of the year.
Head coach Scott Hardy will go with the same starting lineup from last week and also give sophomore James Williams his third appearance of the year as an individual in this week's Cowboy Classic hosted by Wyoming. After finishing seventh in last year's event, Saint Mary's will seek their third straight top-five finish and first at the Cowboy Classic dating back to 2016.
"Playing in a 22 team field presents a great opportunity this week", said head coach Scott Hardy. "We will need to be focused and prepared to play well on this desert golf course. Wind can be a factor at Southern Dunes as well so playing smart and putting ourselves in the right position each hole will be crucial. We hope to carry the momentum we started to build in San Diego and Oregon to this week's event" (Hardy).
TOURNAMENT INFO
Wyoming Cowboy Classic | Maricopa, Ariz.
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club | 7,337 yards | Par 72
Rounds: 3 | Teams: 23
Format: 54 holes, 36 Monday, 18 Tuesday | 5 counts 4 | 7:30 AM Shotgun start
Live Scoring (Golfstat)
STARTING LINEUP
1. Zack Missigman
2. Aidan Lee
3. Go Nakatsukasa
4. Connor Reis
5. Avery Lazarski
Individual: James Williams
LAST TIME OUT (5th place at Duck Invitational)
The Gaels, after a two-week break, battled hard during The Duck Invitational, finishing in 5th place behind three ranked teams and in front of 46th ranked Grand Canyon. They finished one under as a team, placing top five in back-to-back tournaments. The 15 teams included four ranked programs in #36 Oregon, #45 Colorado State, #40 Little Rock, and #46 Grand Canyon. Tournament host Oregon barely snuck out with the win, finishing eight under par, just above tied second-place teams Wyoming and Colorado State, who were seven under.
The Gaels came out tied first with Oregon on the first day of the tournament, with junior Aidan Lee starting two under through his first two holes, eventually improving to three under through his first five. He finished three under in total for the opening round, collecting three more birdies along the way. Teammate Go Nakatsukasa would finish two under, and Connor Reis also finished one under par in the first round to help the Gaels to a 280 (-4) opening score.
The second day and final round would prove to be a difficult one for the Gaels as they were caught scrambling on many holes. Lee would end up being the only one under par on the day, and they would collectively finish eight over par and drop to fifth in the standings. All in all, the Gaels put up a solid performance against a handful of very high-quality ranked opponents to record their second consecutive fifth place finish and fifth top-five finish of the year.
Lee would have his best round of the week on day one, finishing three under in both rounds and totaling seven under par, good for t-3rd place and his second top-three finish of the year. Nakatsukasa and Reis followed for the Gaels in a tie for 25th place at two over par for the week. Missigman also had a three under par day during the second round and concluded the event t-49th at seven over.
Live scoring for this week's Cowboy Classic can be found HERE or at golfstat.com. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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