Brandon Kida practices on Sept. 17 in Salt Lake City. Kida led the Utes by finishing 20th among 88 individuals in their last tournament.
Erin Burns / The Daily Utah Chronicle File Photo
The Utah golf team ran into obstacles early in the John Burns Intercollegiate in Kahuku, Hawaii. The Utes finished 14 out of 16 teams in the tournament, and their fate was sealed in the first two rounds. No. 1 Cal won the tournament with an 850 score.
“The first two rounds is what really hurt us in the tournament,” said head coach Randall McCracken. “You can chalk some of it up to not really getting the opportunity to practice because of the weather here [in Utah]. But you can’t play too bad even without practicing, so the first two rounds is what shot us out of the tournament.”
As a team, the Utes shot 312 in the first round and 315 in the second, negating the effect of their final-round 298. Brandon Kida led the Utes as he finished 20th among 88 individuals.
“That was a really good event for Brandon,” McCracken said. “Not that that was above and beyond his abilities. That was a really good event to finish in the top 20 at that tournament.”
Kida’s eight-over-par 224 (75-77-72) was marred by a penalty in the second round he received because his bag contained too many golf clubs.
“But when you look at his entire score, he shot well enough to win the tournament,” McCracken said. “It was a real eye opener for him, a tough lesson learned. Obviously we know the quality of player Brandon is. He played very well in Hawaii, which we are proud to see.”
Kida missed an opportunity to climb the standings, but it’s not rattling him heading into next week.
“[I] basically just focus on the positive from this finish,” Kida said. “I don’t want to dwell on the stuff that I did wrong. I just want to focus and recapture the positives from last week and improve on the parts of my game for this week.”
With tough competition, adverse weather and a young roster, the Utes are looking internally for motivation to improve as they move forward.
“I came in my freshman year and wanted to be the best on the team,” Kida said. “I’m sure all the other guys have that same goal in mind. We definitely push each other as a group. Being as young as we are, I think that is why our team is maturing faster. We all are kind of growing as a group.”
John Weber followed Kida by shooting a 231. Gentry Hicks shot a 233 and Daniel Engle shot a 240.
The Utes have just a few days to work out their slumps before they head to Fresno, Calif., to compete in the Lexus Classic.