ERIE, Colo. – The Washington State men's golf team finished eighth ( 2, 866) at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, Tuesday, at the Colorado National Golf Club.

WSU shot 4-over par in the third round, and finished 22 strokes back of tournament-champion Colorado (-20, 844). Wyoming (-19, 845) and Utah (-11, 853) finished second and third, respectively. In-state rivals Gonzaga and Seattle University tied for 12th ( 6, 870).

"The course set up great for us, but we just got off to a rough start and were having to try and catch up," WSU Head Coach Dustin White said. "It certainly wasn't a lack of effort. We just didn't put it together this week."

Leading the Cougars was junior Derek Bayley, who moved up six spots on the leaderboard and finished in the top-10. Bayley tied for ninth place, shooting 5-under par (211) with five birdies in the final round. 

Senior Nick Mandell was even-par through three rounds with an overall score of 216. Mandell tied for 30th place. 

Sophomore AJ Armstrong shot 2-over par in the final round to bring his score to 218 ( 2). Armstrong tied for 41st with two other golfers, three strokes ahead of junior Zach Anderson, who tied for 60th ( 5, 221).

Freshman Nicklaus Chiam shot 3-over par in the final round, his lowest round of the tournament. Chiam finished with an overall score of 233 and tied for 99th. 

"We have some time before our next event and we will do our best to be prepared and be ready for the challenge," White said.

Next up, the Cougars will compete at the Paintbrush Intercollegiate at Parker, Colo., Oct. 10-11, at the Colorado Golf Club.

Washington State Results

Team

T-9. Derek Bayley: 70 (-2), 70 (-2), 71 (-1) = 211(-5)

T-30. Nick Mandell: 70 (-2), 72 (E), 74 ( 2) = 216 (E)

T-41. AJ Armstrong: 73 ( 1), 71 (-1), 74 ( 2) = 218 ( 2)

T-60. Zach Anderson: 76 ( 4), 72 (E), 73 ( 1) = 221 ( 5)

T-99. Nicklaus Chiam: 80 ( 8), 78 ( 6), 75 ( 3) = 233 ( 17)