AMARILLO, Texas (October 15, 2025) – Coming off a 17-stroke win at The Hrnciar last time out, The University of Texas Permian Basin men's golf team shot 11-under-par during round two and finished as the top NCAA Division II team in the field en route to a second-place finish at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational at the Amarillo Country Club (Par 71 – 6,915 Yards).

The 16-team field for the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational featured: UT Dallas, Odessa College, UT Tyler, Lubbock Christian, Dallas Baptist, Western New Mexico, Oklahoma Christian, William Jewell, Midwestern State, Colorado Mesa, Cameron, Hutchinson Community College, UT Permian Basin, Westminster and West Texas A&M (2 teams).

Second-place UTPB (283-273-279; 835; -17) and first-place Odessa College (274-278-270; 822; -30), which is ranked second in the Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA DI Coaches Poll, were the only two teams to shoot under-par during all three rounds of the tournament. The Falcons were just four strokes off the lead heading into the final round before Odessa ran away with the win thanks to a 14-under-par score during round three.

The remaining field of teams featured eight Lone Star Conference schools and four nationally-ranked opponents as the Falcons finished nine strokes ahead of the third-place teams. The Falcons, who are receiving votes in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek DII Coaches Poll, finished ahead of the likes of No. 16 Oklahoma Christian, No. 18 Colorado Mesa, No. 23 West Texas A&M and No. 25 Midwestern State.

"This was definitely a great finish for not only the kids here, but for our entire program," spoke UTPB Head Coach Paul Chavez. "To have the highest finish among DII schools is definitely a major accomplishment. Then to top it off, almost every team in our region was competing here, so that definitely gives up some great momentum heading into our last tournament of the Fall and into the Spring season."

Despite round two being split across two days due to a lightening delay during round one, UTPB tied its program record single-round score of 273. That set the Falcons up to break the program's three-round scoring record, which they did by eight strokes. UTPB's final score of 835 surpassed the previous record of 843 shot at this same tournament just last year.

"Anytime you break records, it definitely speaks volumes about the type of players we have in our program," added Coach Chavez. "Credit to them for playing hard, playing fearlessly and for playing with purpose. I think that is something they will carry with them for the rest of the season."

Ioan Rowe (67-68-71; 206; -7), who shot four-under during round one and was seven-under through two rounds, entered the final round tied for second place and was just two strokes off the lead after both round one and round two. Rowe would finish the tournament by shooting even-par during round three and finishing in third place in the field of 89 total golfers. He ranked third in the tournament in par-4 scoring (3.85; -5) and was tied for fourth in par-5 scoring (4.44; -5).

Playing in UTPB's top-five for the first time in his career, freshman Laurent Beech (70-70-68; 208; -5) was the lone UTPB golfer to shoot under-par during all three rounds of the tournament. He went three-under during the third and final round to move up eight spots on the leaderboard and draw into a three-player tie eighth place. Beech was also one of nine players in the tournament to record an eagle.

After beginning day two of the tournament (midway through the second round) tied with Rowe at three-under-par, just four strokes off the lead at the time, Will Tate (69-70-71; 210; -3) finished tied for 13th.

After tying with three others to shot the lowest scoring during round two (-5), Thonsaeng Nunya (77-66-69; 212; -1) made it four Falcons finishing under-par for the tournament as he improved by 15 spots on the leaderboard from round two to round three and tied for 23rd place. It was the second time in his career Nunya has shot a 66.

Rounding out UTPB's top-five was Nizar Bourehim (77-69-72; 218; +5), who moved up eight spots during the final round and ultimately tied for 47th place after coming off his first-place finish at The Hrncir last time out.

Competing as an individual, Quinn Robertson (72-74-70; 216; +3) made a great push during the final round, shooting one-under to make UTPB's biggest jump up the leaderboard, moving up 18 spots to tie for 37th place.

Coach Chavez concluded by saying, "It was another great team-victory. Everybody contributed, and it seems like it was a different person hitting the low score during each round. Once we get more consistency up and down the lineup, we will be able to pull out more victories."

UTPB men's golf will be back in action in two weeks to finish off the Fall season at the DBU Classic on Monday, October 27, to Tuesday, October 28. It will be played at the Rockwall Golf & Athletic Club, the same site as the Lone Star Conference Championships in April.