Men’s Golf Preview: Mountain West Championship (April 21-23)

Fresno State Men's Golf - Tournament #11
Tournament: Mountain West Championship
Format: Stroke play/54 holes/5-count-4 (18 holes/day)
Host: Mountain West Conference
Dates: April 21-23
Golf Course: Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National Resort (par 72, 7,194 yards)
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Fresno State Lineup:
1. Trevor Clayton
2. Alex Lee
3. Greg Gildea
4. Justin Avery
5. Russell Takeuchi

Participants:
Air Force (196)
Boise State (136)
Colorado State (80)
Fresno State (111)
Nevada (92)
New Mexico (45)
San Diego State (36)
San José State (163)
UNLV (14)
Utah State (131)
Wyoming (101)

(All numbers in parenthesis indicate the team's ranking by GolfStat, as of April 19, 2017)

Schedule of Events:
Friday, April 21 – First round tee times: first at 7 a.m. PT, last at 10:12 a.m. (Fresno State 9:00-9:32 a.m.)
Saturday, April 22 – Second round tee times: first at 7 a.m. PT, last at 10:12 a.m. (based on rd. 1 scores)
Sunday, April 23 – Final round tee times: first at 7 a.m. PT, last at 10:12 a.m. (based on rd. 2 scores)

Last year at the Mountain West Championship:
Champion: UNLV=846
Runner-up: New Mexico=849
3. Fresno State=859
T4. San Diego State=860
T4. Colorado State=860
6. Wyoming=861
7. Nevada=866
8. San Jose State=869
9. Boise State=872
10. Air Force=878
11. Utah State=882

Season Flashback:
• Sept. 12-13: USF Olympic Invitational
Team finish – T-7/14 (879); Low individual – Trevor Clayton, T-10 (216)
• Sept. 19-20: Ram Masters Invitational
Team finish – 7/18 (866); Low individual – Justin Avery/Alex Lee, T-14 (214)
• Oct. 3-4: Nick Watney Invitational
Team finish – 7/15 (870); Low individual – Alex Lee, T-8 (212)
• Oct. 10-11: Alister MacKenzie Invitational
Team finish – 12/15 (844); Low individual – Alex Lee, T-27 (210)
• Oct. 24-26: Saint Mary's Invitational
Team finish – 4/14 (883); Low individual – Trevor Clayton, T-9 (218)
• Feb. 17-19: Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate
Team finish – T-12/22 (891); Low individual – Alex Lee, T-22 (217)
• Feb. 27-28: Southwestern Invitational
Team finish – 13/14 (918); Low individual – Trevor Clayton, T-22 (220)
• Mar. 12-14: Bandon Dunes Championship
Team finish – 10/16 (880); Low individual – Trevor Clayton, T-6 (211)
• Mar. 30-Apr. 1: The Goodwin
Team finish – 21/24 (895); Low individual – Justin Avery, T-36 (218)
• Apr. 13-14: El Macero Classic
Team finish – T-2/14 (895); Low individual – Alex Lee, T-2 (217)

Notes:
• There are 11 Mountain West men's golf programs; each are vying for the automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA postseason at the Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National, Friday thru Sunday.
• Golfstat.com ranks three Mountain West teams inside its top 50 (No. 14 UNLV, No. 36 San Diego State, No. 45 New Mexico) while two others are in the top 100 (No. 80 Colorado State, No. 92 Nevada). Rounding out the league, six others are outside the top 100 (No. 101 Wyoming, No. 111 Fresno State, No. 131 Utah State, No. 136 Boise State, No. 163 San Jose State, No. 196 Air Force).
• In four years since joining the league, Fresno State logged its best finish at the Mountain West tournament last season coming in at third place. Prior to last season's triumph, its 2013 sixth place finish was its best, followed by Its other two finishes of 10th in 2014 and 11th in 2015.
• Fresno State returns the reigning Mountain West Individual Champion in Trevor Clayton. As a junior, he fired a final day 3-under-par 69 to comeback from two shots behind entering the day, to win the championship by two strokes with a 54-hole 9-under-par 207.
• Clayton was the first Bulldog to win an individual conference championship (2016) since Grant Doverspike won the 2007 WAC title.
• Aided by Clayton's individual high of 19 birdies at the 2016 MW Championship, Fresno State led the 11-team field with 59 birdies.
• Four of Fresno State's individuals entered for the 2017 edition participated in last season's championship (Avery, Clayton, Gildea, and Lee). Clayton's title was followed by Gildea (T-22nd), Avery (T-22nd) and Lee (T-43rd) in order of finish.
• Years of experience at the Mountain West Championship: Avery (2), Clayton (1), Gildea (1), Lee (1) and Neal (0).
• Clayton was recently ranked in the Golfstat Individual Top 250 poll; he was pegged No. 248.
• Clayton is the Bulldogs' leader for lowest season average during the 2016-17 season, averaging a 72.45 over 29 rounds.
• Alex Lee is No. 2 among season scoring averages in 2016-17, owning a 73.17 average over 30 rounds.
• Clayton, Lee, Avery and Greg Gildea each own at least one top 20 finish during the 2016-17 season.
• Clayton leads the 'Dogs in both number of rounds in the 60's (8) and par or better scores (12) this season.
• Through 10 events during the 2016-17 season, the Bulldogs' claimed it best finish of the season last time out, a runner-up finish at the El Macero Classic (Apr. 13-14).
• Also at the El Macero, Alex Lee posted is top career finish, as the tournament's runner-up.
• Weather at the MW Championship on Friday (High 92F, Low 60F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 10-15 mph winds; Saturday (High 95F, Low 61F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 5-10 winds; Sunday (High 97F, Low 62F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 10-15 winds.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – Follow the team on social media on Twitter at @FresnoStateMG.

Men’s Golf Preview: Mountain West Championship (April 21-23)

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Players Mentioned

Justin Avery

Trevor Clayton

Greg Gildea

Alex Lee

Russell Takeuchi

Fresno State Athletics