USU golf: Utah State's Tanner Higham places second at Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational

For the second tournament in a row, Utah State's Tanner Higham recorded his best-ever collegiate finish after shooting a 6-under 210 to place second at the U.S. Air Force Academy hosted Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational held at the Eisenhower Blue Golf Course.

Utah State finished the invitational in eighth-place in the 16-team field with a 19-over 883 following rounds of 299, 297 and 287. USU began the final round tied for 11th but climbed to eighth following the third-best team outing of the day. Colorado finished first with a 12-under 852 (281-286-285), while the Buffaloes' Jason Burstyn led the individual finishers, shooting a 9-under 207 (68-71-68).

Higham, a junior from Shelley, Idaho, shot 2-under 70 in all three rounds to record Utah State's best individual finish since 2007 when then sophomore Devin Daniels placed second at the Western Athletic Conference Championship. Higham's 6-under 210 (70-70-70) is USU's best 54-hole score since Daniels carded an 8-under 208 (71-68-69) to place third at the CS Northridge hosted Bill Cullum Invitational during the 2008-09 season.

Other Utah State finishers at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational include freshman Reed Platke (Whitefish, Mont.) who finished tied for 31st at 5-over 221 (74-75-72), freshman Seokwon Jeon (Salt Lake City, Utah) who ended the tournament tied for 49th with a 9-over 225 (79-73-73), senior Kris Sayer (Idaho Falls, Idaho) who finished tied for 55th with an 11-over 227 (76-79-72) and freshman Will Higham (Shelley, Idaho) who concluded play in 84th-place with a 27-over 243 (81-82-80).

Utah State returns to action on Monday, Sept. 24, when it travels to Boise, Idaho, to compete in the Boise State Invitational.

TEAM RESULTS

1. Colorado - 281-286-285 --- 852 (-12)

2. Coastal Carolina - 287-290-287 --- 864 (E)

2. UNLV - 288-284-292 --- 864 (E)

4. Colorado State - 293-290-283 --- 866 (+2)

4. Air Force - 288-287-291 --- 866 (+2)

8. Utah State - 299-297-287 --- 883 (+19)

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. Jason Burstyn, Colorado - 68-71-68 --- 207 (-9)

2. Tanner Higham, Utah State - 70-70-70 --- 210 (-6)

3. Derek Fribbs, Colorado - 70-73-68 --- 211 (-5)

3. Sebastian Soderberg, Coastal Carolina - 73-70-68 --- 211 (-5)

5. Kyle Westmoreland, Air Force - 71-68-73 --- 212 (-4)

UTAH STATE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

2. Tanner Higham - 70-70-70 --- 210 (-6)

T31. Reed Platke - 74-75-72 --- 221 (+5)

T49. Seokwon Jeon - 79-73-73 --- 225 (+9)

T55. Kris Sayer - 76-79-72 - 227 (+11)

84. Will Higham - 81-82-80 --- 243 (+27)

Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.