(Editor’s note: UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming’s Glenn “Red” Jacoby Golf Course will be the site of one of the elite events in the region on Tuesday, July 10 when it hosts a U.S. Golf Association qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Championship. It is the first time in the history of Jacoby Golf Course that it is hosting a U.S. Amateur qualifier.
Four current members of the University of Wyoming men’s golf team will be competing in the event. Dan Starzinski, who will be a junior at UW this coming fall, will be one of the Cowboys competing. Starzinski captured the low amateur honors in this past weekend’s Laramie Open. Other current UW team members competing in Tuesday’s U.S. Amateur qualifier will be senior John Murdock, sophomore Jared Edeen and incoming freshman Kirby Coe-Kirkham.
The field for the tournament will include 31 top-level amateurs from around the country. The winner qualifies for the U.S. Amateur Aug. 13-19 at Pebble Beach, Calif. Ten different states will be represented in this year’s U.S. Amateur qualifier in Laramie. That is the most states ever represented in a U.S. Amateur event held in the state of Wyoming. Players from the states of Wyoming, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas will be competing.
Joe Jensen, UW Director of Golf and the head coach of the Cowboy golf team said he has been working for several years to attract a U.S. Amateur qualifier to Jacoby, and he’s “just thrilled” that the effort has succeeded. “This puts our golf course on the map as a national qualifier,” Jensen said. “To play in the U.S. Amateur is a big, big deal in any amateur’s career, so it’s pretty neat to get this.”
A new irrigation system and other improvements to the course in recent years have created conditions that make it possible to host such tournaments, says Jensen, who notes the course is in great shape this summer. “The new irrigation system was a game-changer,” he says. “I’m really proud of where we are right now, because the improved turf conditions are such a good thing for everyone who uses the facility.”
The higher-level competitions are a nice addition to the array of offerings at Jacoby, which include a strong “first tee” program for beginning youth golfers as well as local membership programs, Jensen says.
“Now that we’re hosting more state events, national events and professional events, more people are coming to town, which benefits the local economy,” Jensen says. “But our local membership is important, too, and we appreciate their support and that of the community which allows us to have events like this.
“Because we are part of the university, which is a teaching institution, we are all about teaching the game as well,” Jensen adds. “Serving all of these constituents means we stay busy, and I love that feel. There’s always something going on.”
