SUNRIVER,Ore. (April 30, 2002) -- Heading into the final round of the 2002 Mountain West Championships, BYU trails leader UNLV by three strokes after both schools fired one-over 289 rounds on Tuesday at the Sunriver Resort, Ore.
With sunny skies and cold temperatures, scores improved in the second round as UNLV (587) maintained its three shot lead over BYU. Air Force (589) and New Mexico (589) both shot even-par 288s in Tuesday's round to jump in front of the Cougars (580) by one stroke. Utah (590), San Diego State (590), Colorado State (592) and Wyoming (593) round out the field.
"We're right in the thick of the battle," BYU head golf coach Bruce Brockbank said. "I can't say enough about how pleased I am in the way our team is performing."
The Cougars have two individuals in the top 10 including sophomore Devin Heid who sits in third place at one-under 72-71--143 heading into the final day. In sixth place is BYU's All-American Manuel Merizalde (71-73-144) who is one stroke behind Heid at even par. Rounding out the Cougars scores are Greg Machtaler at 75-72--147, Ron Harvey Jr. at 73-76--144, and Kyle Wight at 77-73--150.
With the 2002 MWC Championship on the line in Wednesday's third and final round the Cougars hope to continue their solid play and bring home another conference title. BYU has won the conference championship in two out of the last three years.
"We have the potential to get it done tomorrow and it will be exciting to see how are kids play," Brockbank said. "We've got four teams that are playing great golf right now and it's going to come down to the wire. It'll be a real shootout."
Wednesday's final round of the championship tournament will begin at 9 a.m.
Team Standings Scores
1. UNLV 288+289=577
2. New Mexico 292+287=579
Air Force 292+287=579
4. BYU 291+289=580
5. Utah 298+292=590
San Diego State 293+297=590
7. Colorado State 301+291=592
8. Wyoming 296+297=593
Individual Scores
1. Mark Warman, San Diego State 68+72=140
2. Martin Laird, Colorado State 72+70=142
3. Clark Corbett, UNLV 71+72=143
Devin Heid, BYU 72+71=143
Madalitso Muthiya, New Mexico 72+71=143
6. Manuel Merizalde, BYU 71+73=144
J.C. Deacon, UNLV 72+72=144
8. Ryan Moore, UNLV 72+73=145
Adam Wasinger, Air Force 73+72=145
Matt Sakowitz, Air Force 76+69=145
Brandon Askew, UNLV 73+72=175
Daryl McCoy, Air Force 73+72=145
BYU Individual Scores
Devin Heid 72-71--143
Manuel Merizalde 71-73--144
Greg Machtaler 75-72--147
Ron Harvey Jr. 73-76--149
Kyle Wight 77-73--150