HILO, Hawai'i-- After two rounds in strong 40-50 m.p.h. Kona winds, BYU sits in sixth place thanks to the efforts of tournament leader Scott Miller at the Taylor Made/Waikoloa Intercollegiate on Friday.
"We're not playing exceptionally well, but under these windy conditions, I'm pleased with how we are doing," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "Scott (Miller) is just playing awesome for us. He's right there in the hunt to win this tournament."
Miller is tied for the lead with Texas's Matt Brost. Miller leads a field made up of seven of the nation's top individual players includng no. 1 Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech. Miller, a senior from Napa, California, has been a key performer for BYU in his career, but he has yet to win a tournament as a Cougar.
The University of Texas leads after the first round with the Cougars 16 shots behind. Seven of the nation's top 20 teams including eighth-ranked BYU make of the challenging field of 24 teams. BYU leads No. 1 Georgia Tech by 13 strokes.
Brockbank was pleased with the Cougars' effort, but stressed how the weather continues to trouble the Cougars' play.
"Our guys usually hit their four and five irons about 200-220 yards," Brockbank said. "Today with these winds they were hitting the four and five irons about 130 yards. Most of the holes today were into the wind or across it."
Play at the Taylor Made/Waikoloa Intercollegiate will finish on Saturday.
1. Texas 302-310--612
2. Oregon 308-305--613
3. TCU 307-308--615
4. Arizona State 313-304--617
5. USC 320-307--627
6. Brigham Young 317-311-628
6. Oklahoma 325-303--628
8. Texas A&M 332-304--636
9. Nevada 329-308--637
10. UCLA 320-319--639
11. Georgia Tech 321-320--641
24 Teams
BYU Individual Scores
1. Scott Miller 75-72--147
Billy Harvey 80-80--160
Jesse Hibler 80-81--161
Jared Overton 82-85--167
Manuel Merizalde 85-78--163