PHOENIX -- Sophomore Greg Machtaler finished tied for third in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational after shooting his career low of 11-under-par. On the ASU Karsten G.C. playing at a par of 72, Machtaler shot 69-66-70--205.
This is not only Machtaler's career low tournament but also his career low round in the second with a 66. Machtaler was just four strokes shy of the individual win. TCU's David Schultz won the tourney shooting 15-under-par carding 68-66-67--201.
"Greg really stepped it up for the team this tournament and has been a key player for us all year," said head coach Bruce Brockbank. "He played absolutely solid and had everything together in his game."
Also finishing under par was freshmen Daniel Summerhays and Oscar Alvarez. Summerhays shot four-under-par and tied for 32nd with 71-71-70--212. Alvarez shot 70-75-70--212 to finish one-under-par and tied for 48th.
In a steeply competitive field of nine top-20 ranked teams, with six of them being ranked top-10, the Cougars finished in the middle of the pack of 19 teams and ended up tied for 10th with Houston shooting 279-284-286--849 (-15).
"This was the best field of teams we have played with thus far," Brockbank said. "What was important was that we finished ahead of two Mountain West Conference teams, which will help our seeding in the upcoming [MWC] tournament."
Those two MWC teams are San Diego State and New Mexico, who finished behind BYU in 12th and 14th position. Arizona State won their home tournament by scoring 40-under-par (281-270-273--824) and ahead of Southern California by eight strokes.
The MWC Championship will be the Cougars' next to last event on May 1-3 at Sunriver, Oregon. BYU's next event will be its home tournament, the Cougar Classic, at Riverside C.C. in Provo on April 25-26.
Fin. School Scores
1 Arizona State U. 281 270 273 824 -40
2 Southern California 280 279 273 832 -32
3 Pepperdine Univ. 279 278 278 835 -29
4 TCU 278 281 277 836 -28
5 Oklahoma, U. of 277 287 276 840 -24
6 Texas, Univ. of 287 279 277 843 -21
7 Stanford University 288 277 279 844 -20
Arizona, U. of 283 277 284 844 -20
9 UNLV 288 284 274 846 -18
10 Houston, Univ. of 288 283 278 849 -15
Brigham Young 279 284 286 849 -15
12 San Diego State U. 278 289 285 852 -12
13 Arizona St. Maroon 294 282 279 855 -9
14 New Mexico, U. of 289 281 286 856 -8
15 Washington State U. 288 286 284 858 -6
16 Oregon, U. of 286 299 274 859 -5
17 Colorado, U. of 287 293 282 862 -2
Oregon State U. 286 289 287 862 -2
19 UCLA 285 292 295 872 +8
Fin.BYU PlayersScores
T3 Greg Machtaler 69 66 70 205 -11
T32 Daniel Summerhays 71 71 70 212 -4
T48 Oscar Alvarez 70 75 70 215 -1
T92 Ron Harvey, Jr. 69 76 78 223 +7
T102 Jared Overton 80 72 76 228 +12