Leid Wins Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational Individual Title

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., – The wait is over. Brody Leid, who has been achingly close to his first-career collegiate win for years, finally broke through on Monday.

Leid buried a birdie putt on Hole 18 of the Gene Miranda Falcon Invite to win by a shot over Denver’s Arthur Akpinar. Leid’s final score of 207 (-9) featured a final round 69 (-3).

“He’s a real steady customer,” head coach Joe Jensen said. “He had some ups and downs, but they didn’t destroy him. He took them in stride. He’s come a long way in his growth and his consistency, and I’m proud of him for that. His steadiness had a lot to do with him winning today.”

Leid’s victory helped the University of Wyoming men’s golf team take fifth as a team at 859 (-5) in a tournament played at the Eisenhower – Blue Course. Colorado won the tournament at 834 (-30), while UTEP and Denver tied for second at 849 (-15).

“We didn’t play as well as a team as we had been, but for our guys to be in the mix and finish fifth, is a solid tournament for them,” Jensen said. “It’s a great learning experience for these young guys. They felt some nerves today and had a really good finish in a really good field.”

Leid becomes the first Wyoming men’s golfer to win an individual crown since Tyler Severin did in 2020. Leid progressively got better as the Falcon Invite wore on, going from a 72 (E) in Round 1 to a 70 (-2) in Round 2 to his final round 69 (-3). His Monday round boasted four birdies and just one bogey.

Brody Knowlton shared 16th at 214 (-2). He closed with a 72 (E) that was filled with five birdies.

Conner Scheich tied for 37th at 218 (+2) after a final round 75 (+3). Kellen Ball shared 48th at 220 (+4) following a Round 3 score of 73 (+1), while Austin Barry shared 80th at 229 (+13) with a third-round score of 78 (+6). Jack Newton, who was playing as an individual on the Sliver Course, took 23rd at 225 (+9) following a Monday score of 75 (+3).

Wyoming will have one final tournament on the Front Range this fall. It’s set to participate in the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite from Sept. 29-30.

Team Leaderboard
1. Colorado – 834 (-30)
2. Denver – 849 (-15)
2. UTEP – 849 (-15)
4. Utah State – 858 (-6)
5. Wyoming – 859 (-5)
6. UC Santa Barbara – 863 (-1)
6. UC Davis – 863 (-1)
8. Air Force – 864 (E)
9. Northern Colorado – 865 (+1)
10. San Jose State – 866 (+2)
11. Gonzaga – 867 (+3)
12. Utah Tech – 877 (+13)
13. Utah Valley – 878 (+14)
14. UC San Diego – 880 (+16)
15. Southern Utah – 883 (+19)
16. CSU Northridge – 886 (+22)
17. Weber State – 889 (+25)
18. SIU-Edwardsville – 896 (+32)

Individual Top Five
1. Brody Leid (Wyoming) – 207 (-9)
2. Arthur Akpinar (Denver) – 208 (-8)
3. Brandon Knight (Colorado) – 209 (-7)
3. Ty Holbrook (Colorado) – 209 (-7)
3. Dylan Ma (UC Santa Barbara) – 209 (-7)

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