June 2, 2017
RENO, Nev. - The 2016-17 Nevada men's golf team posted one of its best all-around seasons in recent memory, with team and individual accomplishments.
In its 11 events throughout the fall and spring, the Wolf Pack collected nine top 10 finishes that included a team win and five top fives. Head coach Jacob Wilner and his usual starting five lineup recorded a scoring average of 289.24, the third lowest in program history.
Nevada was firing on all cylinders out of the gate as it recorded three consecutive runner-up finishes to open the season. The Wolf Pack began the season at the Badger Invite in Wisconsin and used four top 20 individual finishes to notch second place at the event. Senior Nick Fuller paved the way with a fifth place showing after carding a career-low 66 in the second round.
The Pack then traveled over to Fort Collins, Colo. and used consistent play through all three rounds to notch another second place finish at the Ram Masters Invitational. Newcomer Kaleb Gorbahn shined in the event, shooting all three rounds at par or better. Gorbahn carded 3-under for the tournament and a tie for second in just his second event with the Wolf Pack.
In its third event of the fall, the Nick Watney Invitational, Nevada used a little final round magic to jump into the runner-up spot. The Pack began the tournament with back-to-back team scores of 287 but put together a 281 on the final day to jump a couple of spots in the standings. Nevada once again used four top 20 individual performances to grab hold of the top five finish. This time the Pack was led by junior Grant Booth who carded rounds of 72, 71 and 68 to tie for fifth.
Nevada traveled back to the Midwest for its fourth event, the Fighting Irish Golf Classic, where it struggled through the first two rounds. Thanks to a perfect round of golf from sophomore Travis Fredborg, the Pack jumped two spots on the final day to place ninth. Fredborg made four birdies and no bogeys to card a career-low 66. He moved from 31st on the individual leaderboard to ninth to notch his first career top 10.
For its final event of the fall, Nevada made the drive over to Pebble Beach, Calif. to end the first half of the season at the Saint Mary's Invitational. Nevada shot its highest team score of the fall in the opening round but saw vast improvements for round two. Booth went from a round of 78 on day one to a 67 on day two, which allowed him to jump from 63rd place all the way up to a tie for ninth. He finished the tournament in 12th to lead the team.
As the spring season began, Nevada struggled in its spring opener at the National Invitational Tournament, an event the Pack has become familiar with over the years. Playing in one of the toughest fields it faced all season, the Pack finished in 16th place but still managed two scores under 300.
The Wolf Pack rebounded though in the biggest way possible. When poor weather conditions caused Coach Wilner to withdraw from the Sacramento State Invitational, he added a trip to Las Vegas for his team and the Jackrabbit Invitational. Following an outstanding two days of golf Nevada claimed the team title at the event, the program's first win since 2011. The Pack bested No. 17 UNLV for the win and set the program record by finishing at an incredible 41-under par. Booth and Gorbahn each tied for second place individually and Gorbahn fired the second-lowest score in program history with a 64 in round two.
From there Nevada went on to play in another new event, the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. The Wolf Pack tied for third at the event which featured a strong field and seven Power Five schools. Booth once again finished as the top Pack golfer, taking 12th at 4-under par.
With three events remaining in the season the Pack headed to a familiar event to close out March and open up April, The Goodwin. Stanford's event is the largest and toughest field Nevada had to face all year with 24 teams and six ranked in the top 30 nationally, including the nation's No. 1 team in USC. Nevada held its own though and placed in the middle of the pack in a tie for 12th. The Wolf Pack did not play its best golf in the opening round, but turned it on for the last two to jump up to 12th.
For the regular season finale Nevada participated in the El Macero Classic, an event it co-hosted with UC Davis. Most of the Pack lineup struggled in the event as Fuller posted the second-best finish on the team in a tie for 28th. Booth had a solid run and wound up taking sole possession of third place. All of that geared Nevada up for the Mountain West Championship.
Like the El Macero Classic, Nevada was slow out of the gate. The Pack picked it up however in the later stages of the tournament and posted back-to-back team rounds under par to close out the event. Nevada jumped one spot on the final day of the championship to record a sixth place finish. Fuller, who was playing in his final collegiate event, led the team with a top 15 finish at 1-under par.
Thinking that the season might be over, the Wolf Pack received some exciting news. Booth had earned a selection to compete in the NCAA Regionals. He was the first Pack player to earn a selection since Kevin Lucas in 2012. Booth had a solid run at regionals as he earned a top 30 finish at the Stanford Regional. From round one to two, and round two to three, Booth jumped a total of 20 spots. For the event he turned in scores of 74, 69 and 71. Booth finished just six shots shy of advancing to the finals.
Booth, who also set the individual single season scoring average record, will return in the fall for this senior year. Wilner loses just one from his squad this year and will return a vast amount of experience.
