Men’s Golf Kickoff Season With a Win In Warrensburg. 

The University Of Central Oklahoma men’s golf team won their first tournament of the season last week at The Mule in Warrensburg Missouri for the second year in a row.

The 54‑hole event hosted by Central Missouri gave UCO and the All-American junior, Nick Canales consecutive titles. UCO scored a  total of 14 under par for a total of 826. The Bronchos finished two of the three rounds on Monday with a score of 544. They followed up with a 282 in their third and final round on Tuesday. Canales led the way for UCO securing an individual win with a 3-under par for a total of 207 with rounds of 71, 67 and 69. In addition, he was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Athlete of the Week.  

Derrick Thompson, the UCO men’s head golf coach said, “Winning always feels good, but it’s a long season and we’ve still got a lot to clean up. I actually thought the course played more difficult this year so the score we shot kind of surprised me. That golf course is not easy to score and our guys found a way to get it done.”  

Alongside Canales, the Bronchos had several players in the top 12 for the tournament. Senior Karsten  Paciotti and sophomore Bryant Polhill tied for the fifth spot with an even-par score of 210. On the other  hand, junior Baylor Bostick finished in ninth with a final score of 1-over-par. Sophomore player Rhett Hughes ended up getting twelfth place with a 4-over-par. “After the first event, it was evident that our guys worked really hard this summer. Our returners came back ready to play and compete.” Thompson said.  

Despite their winning performance, the Bronchos faced some challenges as their coach explains, “The  biggest challenge we faced was health related. Health of a couple of our players and with some of our  equipment. Nick was sick all week and battled through nicely. Bryant had a driver face break on him and  had to switch to a different head in the middle of the final round.” 

Thompson said he emphasizes mental preparation and team alignment in his coaching approach. “I try to  help my players get out of their own way. Golf is an extremely challenging game mentally and when players don’t understand how the brain works, they struggle to deal with the thoughts they may have  during their round. I hope to give them the tools to keep them present and to trust the work that they have  put in.”  

The Bronchos will play in the Skip Wagon Invitational, their first home tournament of the season,  October 6-7 at Kickingbird Golf Club in Edmond.