KAPOLEI, Hawaii – BYU men’s golf finished the Kapolei Invitational in a tie for sixth place after a 15-under-par final round, bringing their 54-hold score to 826. Senior Max Brenchley led the Cougars as he finished in a tie for eighth.
"Today was our best round of the tournament," said director of golf Todd Miller. "We fell behind early but made a run when the course was playing its toughest in windy conditions. All three days, I felt like we left shots out there on the Par 5's, which is unusual for this team. LMU beat us by 16 shots in Par 5 scoring."
LMU finished the tournament at 58-under par after rounds of 276-264-266–806. Florida Gulf Coast maintained its spot in second place (268-278-267–813; -51), with Baylor (269-277-271–817; -47) in third.
The Cougars carded rounds of 277-276-273–826 to finish the tournament at 38-under-par. The squad combined for 88 birdies and three eagles.
Brenchley fired off a final round of 67 to move up 11 spots on the individual leaderboard. The Cougar ended 12-under for the tournament, marking his lowest 54-hole collegiate tournament.
Zac Jones carded rounds of 66-72-69–207, 9-under, to tie for 22nd. Kenau Akina (73-68-67–208; -8) finished in a tie for 25th.
"I was feeling good going into the final round," said Akina. "I put on a stripe show and had a ton of looks on my first 10 holes. My putts just weren’t falling until my last three holes, I made a 20-footer and two seven-footers to have a nice finish. I learned to stay patient."
Cooper Jones finished in a tie for 37th after rounds of 71-68-70–209, 7-under. Peter Kim (75-70-72–217) rounded out the Cougar squad in 85th.
Playing as an individual, Cole Ponich ended at 5-under after carding rounds of 69-70-72–211 and tied for 50th.
The conclusion of the Kapolei Invitational marks the end of the fall slate for the Cougars, giving the team just under three months to continue refining their game. BYU will tee it up again at the Arizona Intercollegiate on Jan. 29-30.