Men’s Golf Preview: Mountain West Championship [April 26-28]

Fresno State Men's Golf - Tournament #11
Tournament: Mountain West Championship
Format: Stroke play/54 holes/5-count-4 (18/daily)
Host: Mountain West Conference
Dates: April 26-28 (Fri.-Sun.)
Golf Course: Omni Tucson National (par 72, 7,194 yards)
Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Fresno State Lineup:
1. Alex Lee
2. Tommy Stephenson
3. Kevin Huff
4. Michael Cliff
5. Cody Riecks

Participants-11:
Air Force (212)
Boise State (74)
Colorado State (44)
Fresno State (118)
Nevada (50)
New Mexico (70)
San Diego State (72)
San Jose State (49)
Utah State (178)
UNLV (34)
Wyoming (104)

(All numbers in parenthesis indicate the team's ranking by GolfStat as of April 24, 2019)

Schedule of Events:
Thursday, April 25 – Practice round
Friday, April 26 – First Round; tee times start at 7 a.m. PT
Saturday, April 27 – Second Round; tee times start at 7 a.m. PT
Sunday, April 28 – Final Round; tee times start at 7 a.m. PT

Fresno State Season Flashback:
• Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 24-25)
Team Finish – 11/12 (910), Low Individual – Kevin Huff, T-17th (221)
• Nick Watney Invitational (Oct. 1-2)
Team Finish – 6/12 (867), Low Individuals – Michael Cliff and Tommy Stephenson, T-15th (214)
• Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 8-9)
Team Finish – 13/15 (862), Low Individual – Cody Riecks, T-41st (214)
• Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational (Oct. 25-27)
Team Finish – 16/16 (871), Low Individual – Alex Lee, T-30th (213)
• Saint Mary's Invitational (Nov. 5-7)
Team Finish – 13/18 (886), Low Individual – Alex Lee, T-15th (212)
• John Burns Intercollegiate (Feb. 21-23)
Team Finish – 14/20 (870), Low Individual – Alex Lee, T-16th (212)
• Sacramento State Invitational (March 4-5)
Team Finish – 6/15 (868), Low Individual – Alex Lee, T-11th (213)
• Bandon Dunes Championships (March 10-12)
Team Finish – 5/17 (886), Low Individual – Alex Lee, 15th (219)
• SeattleU Redhawk Invitational (April 1-2)
Team Finish – 2/18 (883), Low Individual – Alex Lee, 4th (203)
• El Macero Classic (April 12-14)
Team Finish – 6/15 (879), Low Individual – Tommy Stephenson, T-27th (222)

Notes:

There are 11 Mountain West men's golf programs; each vying for the automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA postseason at Omni Tucson National, Friday thru Sunday.
Fresno State will be competing in its seventh Mountain West Championship since joining the conference in 2012.
In their previous six appearances at the MW Championships, the Bulldogs have placed third, fourth, tied for sixth, 10th and 11th (twice). Their best finish, third, came in 2016.
In Fresno State's previous six trips to the MW Championships, one Bulldog has emerged as the individual conference champion. Trevor Clayton won the crown in 2016 at OMNI Tucson National. The former 'Dog finished with a 54-hole, 9-under-par 207.
Senior Alex Lee has been the Bulldogs' top finisher at the previous two championships. He led the squad in 2017 as a sophomore by placing in a tie for 15th with a 1-under-par 215. In 2018, he tied his teammate Lane Pulliam for the top finish at ninth with an even-par 216.
Three of the five Bulldogs in the lineup for the MW Championship participated in the 2018 conference tournament – Lee (T-9th, 216), Cody Riecks (24th, 223) and Michael Cliff (T-37th, 228).
Years of experience at the Mountain West Championship: Lee (3), Riecks (1), Cliff (1), Kevin Huff (0) and Tommy Stephenson (0).
The Bulldogs enter the championship ranked No. 118 by Golfstat, which places them as the ninth-highest ranked team entering the event.
The Bulldogs own a 290.87 team scoring average (+4.87 vs. par) after 10 tournaments this season.
The 'Dogs carded their best single round team score vs. par (18-under 266) in the last 25 years during the second round of the SeattleU Invitational on April 1 at Chambers Bay.
Lee enters the event with a team-best 71.83 scoring average. He played in all 10 tournaments for Fresno State this season (30 rounds). Lee is the only Bulldog to play in all 10 tournaments on the schedule this season.
Lee is ranked No. 211 nationally in the latest Golfstat poll (April 24). He is the only Bulldog ranked inside the nations' top 250 individual rankings by Golfstat.
Freshman Tommy Stephenson, who shot a 9-under 62 in the second round of the SeattleU Invitational on April 1, carded the lowest score by a Bulldog on record dating back to the 1993-94 season, surpassing a trio of golfers in that span that posted 63 – Todd Angel, Bhavik Patel and Nick Watney.
Stephenson owns the second-lowest season scoring average on the team, sporting a 72.57 in seven tournaments played in.
Huff owns the third-lowest season scoring average on the team, sporting a 72.26 in nine tournaments played in.
Riecks owns the fourth-lowest season scoring average on the team, sporting a 73.26 in seven tournaments played in.
Cliff owns the fifth-lowest season scoring average on the team, sporting a 74.63 in eight tournaments played in.
Weather at the championships on Friday (High 96F, Low 61F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 10-15 mph winds; Saturday (High 94F, Low 60F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 5-10 winds; Sunday (High 92F, Low 61F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 10-15 winds.

Last year at the Mountain West Championship:
Team Leaderboard - 2018
1. UNLV: 284-288-284=856 (-8)
2. Colorado State: 284-293-290=867 (+3)
3. Nevada: 293-291-291=875 (+11)
4. Fresno State: 287-295-299=881 (+17)
T5. Wyoming: 289-293-300=882 (+18)
T5. New Mexico: 295-298-289=882 (+18)
7. Boise State: 296-296-291=883 (+19)
8. San Diego State: 284-303-297=884 (+20)
9. San Jose State: 288-297-300=885 (+21)
10. Air Force: 305-303-309=917 (+53)
11. Utah State: 304-309-309=922 (+58)

Fresno State Leaderboard - 2018
T9. Alex Lee: 71-76-69=216 (E)
T9. Lane Pulliam: 70-73-73=216 (E)
24. Cody Riecks: 75-72-76=223 (+7)
T37. Michael Cliff: 73-74-81=228 (+12)
T50. Justin Avery: 73-77-84=234 (+18)

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Men’s Golf Preview: Mountain West Championship [April 26-28]

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Players Mentioned

Justin Avery

Michael Cliff

Kevin Huff

Alex Lee

Lane Pulliam

Cody Riecks

Tommy Stephenson

Fresno State Athletics