AUSTIN -- The BYU men's golf team took first place Tuesday at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, edging No. 8 Texas Christian by two strokes.
The No. 18 Cougars (281-285-292--858), winning their first tournament this season, gained momentum behind a stellar first-round 65 from freshman Jake Ellison (65-71-75--211) and also rode strong performances from junior Greg Machtaler (74-69-69--212) and sophomore Oscar Alvarez (68-73-73--214).
BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank was happy with the win.
"It's pretty exciting for us," he said. "We played against a great field, but everybody hung in there and we took care of business."
Ellison, whose first-round 65 was his career low and the low for BYU this season, deflected attention from his achievement.
"The win was really good," he said. "It was an awesome feeling as a team."
Ellison, Machtaler, and Alvarez all placed in the top 20. Ellison and Machtaler had their best finishes of the season, coming in third and seventh, respectively. Alvarez placed 12th. Rounding out the Cougars' five were junior Todd Miller (74-73-76--223) and sophomore Clay Bingham (80-72-75--227), who overcame a tough first round to a respectable finish.
The top individual was Arkansas' Andrew Dahl (64-68-74--206).
The Morris Williams, hosted by No. 7 ranked University of Texas, was held at the Austin Country Club on a par-72 course that measures 6,906 yards. The tournament drew a competitive field of the following 14 schools: Texas (7), TCU (8), Oklahoma State (10), California (13), Arkansas (16), Oklahoma (23), Pepperdine (29), Texas A&M (31), Tulsa (34), SMU (40), Baylor, Fresno State, Houston and Virginia.
Last season, BYU placed 14th in the Morris Williams. Oklahoma State (286-285-290--861), the winner of the 2003 tournament, placed third on Tuesday.
BYU has finished in the top five in all eight of its tournaments this season.
The Cougars will be back in Texas April 2-3 for the Border Olympics in Loredo.
Morris Williams Intercollegiate Austin, Texas
March 15-16 Austin Country Club
Par: 72 Yardage: 6,906
Fin. Name Score
1 Brigham Young 281-285-292--858 (-6)
T 3 Jake Ellison 65-71-75--211 (-5)
T 7 Greg Machtaler 74-69-69--212 (-4)
T 12 Oscar Alvarez 68-73-73--214 (-2)
T 41 Todd Miller 74-73-76--223 (+7)
T 56 Clay Bingham 80-72-75--227 (+11)
Fin. Team Score
1 Brigham Young 281-285-292--858 (-6)
2 Texas Christian 284-283-293--860 (-4)
3 Oklahoma State 286-285-290--861 (-3)
4 Tulsa 286-293-286--865 (+1)
5 California 286-295-286--867 (+3)
6 Texas 287-295-287--869 (+5)
7 Arkansas 288-284-298--870 (+6)
8 Oklahoma 288-292-297--877 (+13)
9 Pepperdine 303-287-290--880 (+16)
10 Baylor 298-288-296--882 (+18)
11 Virginia 290-294-299--883 (+19)
12 SMU 296-293-297--886 (+22)
T 13 Houston 292-307-294--893 (+29)
T 13 Texas A&M 296-300-297--893 (+29)
15 Fresno State 309-295-298--902 (+38)
Fin. Top 20 Players School Score
1 Andrew Dahl Arkansas 64-68-74--206 (-10)
2 Jason Hartwick Texas 70-71-69--210 (-6)
T 3 Jeff Bell Texas 72-71-68--211 (-5)
T 3 Will Dodson SMU 72-68-71--211 (-5)
T 3 Jake Ellison Brigham Young 65-71-75--211 (-5)
T 3 Anthony Kim Oklahoma 70-67-74--211 (-5)
T 7 Randy Creighton Pepperdine 73-70-69--212 (-4)
T 7 Greg Machtaler Brigham Young 74-69-69--212 (-4)
T 9 David Inglis Tulsa 71-70-72--213 (-3)
T 9 Adam Meyer Texas Christian 71-71-71--213 (-3)
T 9 Zach Mowbray Houston 69-72-72--213 (-3)
T 12 Oscar Alvarez Brigham Young 68-73-73--214 (-2)
T 12 Ryan Baca Baylor 74-67-73--214 (-2)
T 12 Mitch Cohlmia Tulsa 71-71-72--214 (-2)
T 12 Farren Keenan* Texas 72-73-69--214 (-2)
T 12 Michael Putnam Pepperdine 73-69-72--214 (-2)
T 12 Brad Tilley Virginia 71-71-72--214 (-2)
T 12 Peter Tomasulo California 72-73-69--214 (-2)
T 19 Colby Beckstrom Texas Christian 69-72-74--215 (-1)
T 19 Carlos Del Moral Oklahoma 68-76-71--215 (-1)
T 19 Casey Wittenberg Oklahoma State 71-71-73--215 (-1)
* Played as an individual