PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — BYU men’s golf posted a 2-over par opening round and sits in 12th place after round one of the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Poppy Hills Golf Course.

Stanford posted the round of the day, shooting a 15-under par 269 as a team in the opening round. San Francisco is eight shots back after carding a 7-under 277. Santa Clara and Oregon turned in matching 4-under 280 totals for the first 18 and sit in a tie for third. San Diego rounds out the top-5 with a 2-under first-round total.

“We played some solid golf today,” said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. “We hit a couple of bumps down the stretch today, but considering how we’ve played the last few events, we showed signs of improvement. We just need to play smart and get some more putts to drop in order to be in contention the next two days.”

Carson Lundell and Cole Ponich led the Cougars in round one, each shooting 1-under 70 to move into a tie for 21st. Tyson Shelley sits in a tie for 33rd after an even par 71 in the opening round. David Timmins posted a 75 on his first trip to Poppy Hills and Keanu Akina carded a 77.

Elijah Turner, who is competing as an individual, fired a 78 on his opening 18 holes.

BYU finds itself four shots outside the top-5 at 2-over par entering the second round. The Cougars tee off at 9 a.m. PST in their second round and will be playing with Long Beach State and LMU. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — BYU men’s golf tees it up in its final event of the fall season at the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Poppy Hills Golf Course, Nov. 8-10.

“We are looking forward to getting back on the course and watching our team compete,” said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. “We haven’t played our best golf as of late, but we're hoping we can find our groove like we did in Albuquerque early this fall.”

Coming off a fifth-place finish at the Stockton Invitational, the Cougars look to get back to their winning ways. Carson Lundell, Cole Ponich, Keanu Akina, Tyson Shelley and David Timmins will tee it up for the Cougars as they take on the Saint Mary’s Gaels and the rest of the 19-team field.

Coastal Carolina, Colorado State, Fresno State, Long Beach State, LMU, Nevada, Northern Illinois, Oregon, Oregon State, New Mexico, Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle, Stanford and Washington State will join the Cougars and Gaels during the three-day event. 

The 54-hole tournament will be played on the 7,002-yard, par-71, Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California, where the teams will play 18-holes each day.

"We’re going to have to play some great golf next week to be in contention down the stretch,” said Brockbank. “Anytime you get the chance to play a championship golf course that has hosted great events, including previous NCAA Championships, it definitely creates some excitement and draws a great field that we get to compete against this week in California."

BYU did not play the Saint Mary’s Invitational last year due to COVID-19, but has participated in the tournament in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. In both the 2018 and 2019 editions of the tournament, Peter Kuest won the individual title with the Cougars finishing second. 

Live scoring for the tournament will be available each day at golfstat.com.