Men's Golf | 4/7/2023 9:07:00 PM

Utah Tech makes its fourth and final trip to southern California of the 2022-23 season this Monday and Tuesday to play at the at the UC Santa Barbara Collegiate Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at the par-72, 7,071-yard Sandpiper Golf Club. 
        Along with the Trailblazers, the 12-team tournament field will include fellow WAC members Utah Valley and Southern Utah, along with Utah State, Weber State, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, CSUN, Westmont, Cal Lutheran and the host Gauchos with an A and B team. 
        The five player lineup for the Trailblazers will feature seniors Davis Heslington and Tyler Jones, and freshmen Zach Felts, Parker Reese and Maddox Vincent

HEAD COACH BRAD SUTTERFIELD: Brad Sutterfield (Brigham Young, 1994) is in his 11th season as head coach of the Utah Tech men's golf program. Last season, Sutterfield led the Trailblazers to three top-10 team finishes in 10 events, highlighted by a fifth-place showing at the SUU Pizza Hut/Pat Hicks Inv'l. 
        In the 2018-19 campaign, Coach Sutterfield and the Trailblazers enjoyed arguably their most successful season in the program's four-year era, posting six top-five team finishes and 11 total top-10 showings in 12 total team events, highlighted by a wire-to-wire victory at the 2019 NCAA Division II Men's Golf South Central/West Regional Championships. UT also placed ninth-overall at the 2019 NCAA National Championships and recorded a runner-up finish in its debut at the RMAC Championships.
        In 2018, Sutterfield led UT to its third Pacific West Conference team title in four seasons, which earned him his second conference Coach of the Year award. The Trailblazers collected four tournament wins overall that season, along with seven-straight top-three team finishes and nine total top-10s in nine events overall.
        Under his direction, the program finished in the top-three overall in the PacWest in six seasons overall, including consecutive PacWest team titles in 2015 and 2016, and a runner-up finish in 2014, for which Sutterfield was named conference Coach of the Year. Prior to his arrival at Utah Tech, Sutterfield, who played collegiately at BYU, played professional golf for 15 years as a member of the PGA Tour, European Tour, the Web.com Tour, Canadian Tour, Asian Tour and European Challenge Tour.

LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech put together its finest performance to date during the program's current NCAA Division I transition as the Trailblazers placed sixth-overall at the 2023 UC San Diego Invitational, which was played this past March 27-28 at storied Torrey Pines Golf Course.
        The Trailblazers stood atop the 15-team leaderboard after opening with a 10-under par 278 on the North Course, which tied for the seventh-lowest 18-hole score in program history overall, and tied for the second-lowest 18-hole score in UT's new D-I era.
        Utah Tech followed that up with a 5-under 283 on its second loop, which actually moved them down four spots to t-fourth at minus-15 561. However, the Blazers' 561 combined score was not only the lowest 36-hole score in UT's D-I era, it also tied for the second-lowest 36-hole total in program history.
        UT then closed with a 1-under 287 to finish with a three-day total of minus-16 848. The 848 total score was the fourth-lowest in program history and was the lowest total in the Blazers' D-I transition.
        The freshman duo of Vincent and Felts led the Trailblazers as the duo both finished in the top-15 on the player leaderboard.
        Vincent posted his first collegiate top-five showing as he tied for fourth overall with a collegiate career-low minus-9 207. His three-round 207 total tied for the seventh-lowest 54-hole individual score in program history and was lowest D-I era final score).
        Vincent, who ranked fourth in the 88-player field with 16 total birdies, followed an opening 3-under 69 with a career-low 4-under 68 in round two to stand tied for sixth at minus-7 137. 
        Meanwhile Felts fired a career-low 5-under 67 in round one and a 2-under 70 on his second loop to join his teammate at minus-7 137. With the matching 137s, the duo both recorded the lowest individual 36-hole score in the program's D-I era, and tied for the fourth-lowest 36-hole score in program history overall.
        Vincent then went to card a final round 70, which vaulted him into fourth place, while Felts, whose 14 total birdies were good for t-seventh in the field, posted a 1-over 73 to wind up in a three-way tie for 11^th at minus-6 210.  
        Heslington also put together a solid tournament, bracketing a pair of even-par 72s around a second round 1-under 71 to finish in a four-way tie for 33^rd at minus-1 215. In addition, Reese (70-74-75) joined three others tied for 58^th at plus-3 219, and Jones (74-74-72) wound up t-62^nd at 4-over 220. 

TRAILBLAZERS AT A GLANCE: Through eight events this season, Heslington leads the team with a 72.58 scoring average in 24 competitive rounds and a team-best 11 par or better rounds, highlighted by his medalist performance at the USAFA Miranda (9/9-11/22) individual tournament. 
        Felts is second at 73.21 with eight par or better rounds in 24 total loops, which includes a t-sixth showing at the USAFA Miranda in his first collegiate event. 
        Bolstered by his performance at UCSD, Vincent is third at 73.27 with seven par/better rounds, followed by Jones in fourth (74.46; seven par/better rounds) and Reese in sixth (75.59; two par/better rounds). 

NEXT UP: Utah Tech will enjoy a 10-day break from competition before wrapping up its 2022-23 regular season at the PING BYU Cougar Classic, which will be played on April 21-22, at Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah.