PROVO -- BYU's Ron Harvey Jr., playing as an individual, stole the show Saturday at the PING Cougar Classic as he golfed a third-round 66, matching the career low he had set just the day before.
Harvey, a junior, took third place in the individual standings after a three-way tie--between Harvey (66-74-66--206), Hawaii's Matthew Kodama (70-67-69--206), and Colorado State's Martin Laird (73-69-64--206)--was broken with a sudden-death playoff.
Harvey's scores couldn't help the Cougars, however, as BYU slipped from second to fifth place in the final round of competition on Saturday. BYU (281-290-290--861) finished one stroke behind fourth-place Utah (281-287-292--860). A 16-under-par effort on the last 18 holes by Colorado State, driven by Martin Laird's final-round 64, pushed the Rams into first place and gave them their third consecutive victory at the Cougar Classic.
BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said he thought his team would have played better on Saturday, but was still pleased with his players' efforts.
"That's college golf," Brockbank said. "I honestly thought we'd play really well today, but I couldn't be more proud of these guys. There are still a lot of positives."
The Cougars had four players in the top 20, but only two counted towards BYU's score as Harvey and sophomore Clay Bingham (70-72-71--213) both competed as individuals. Sophomore Oscar Alvarez (68-73-71--212) and junior Greg Machtaler (67-71-74--212) both tied for eighth. Rounding out the Cougars' five were junior Todd Miller (73-72-74--219), and freshmen Jake Ellison (73-74-73--220) and Clay Ogden (75-78-72--225).
For Harvey, the Cougar Classic was the first action he had seen since the John Burns Invitational in February and his scores gave head coach Bruce Brockbank something to think about with the Mountain West Conference Championships looming.
"He did something he needed to do to get my attention," Brockbank said.
Harvey said his new career low didn't surprise him.
"I'm glad I did what I set out to do," he said. "I knew I had to play well to be considered."
The Cougar Classic, played on the par-72 course at the Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah, is the only home tournament of BYU's season. The Cougars complete their regular season having placed fifth or better in 10 of their 11 outings, including a win at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in March.
BYU tied for second place at last year's Cougar Classic, shooting 285-282-291--858 and losing by one stroke to champion Colorado State 283-288-286--857. Junior Greg Machtaler was BYU's best individual in the 2003 event, tallying a four-under-par 69-73-70--212. Colorado State's Martin Laird was the best individual overall with his seven-under 67-69-73--209.
BYU has won or tied for first at the Cougar Classic four out of the last seven years. Former All-American and current LDS missionary Andy Miller was the last Cougar to take individual honors when he shot a third-round record 63 in 2000.
BYU rests until April 29 -- May 1 when they travel to Sunriver, Ore. to play in the Mountain West Conference Championship.
PING Cougar Classic Provo, Utah
April 23-24 Riverside Country Club
Par: 72 Yardage: 7,001
Fin. Name Score
5 Brigham Young 281-290-290--861 (-5)
T 8 Greg Machtaler 67-71-74--212 (-4)
T 8 Oscar Alvarez 68-73-71--212 (-4)
T 35 Todd Miller 73-72-74--219 (+3)
T 40 Jake Ellison 73-74-73--220 (+4)
T 56 Clay Ogden 75-78-72--225 (+9)
T 2 *Ron Harvey, Jr. 66-74-66--206 (-10)
T 10 *Clay Bingham 70-72-71--213 (-3)
Fin. School Score
1 Colorado State 286-287-272--845 (-19)
2 Texas El Paso 285-288-284--857 (-7)
3 Boise State 288-284-286--858 (-6)
4 Utah 281-287-292--860 (-4)
5 Brigham Young 281-290-290--861 (-3)
6 Fresno State 292-282-290--864 (E)
7 Southern Utah 294-289-285--868 (+4)
8 Hawaii 296-291-284--871 (+7)
T 9 Denver 287-292-293--872 (+8)
T 9 Wyoming 296-293-283--872 (+8)
11 Nevada 286-293-294--873 (+9)
12 UC Davis 293-289-295--877 (+13)
13 Weber State 286-303-301--890 (+26)
14 Air Force Academy 294-299-300--893 (+29)
15 Utah State 293-302-300--895 (+31)
Fin. Top 20 Players School Score
1 **Matthew Kodama Hawaii 70-67-69--206 (-10)
T 2 Martin Laird Colorado State 73-69-64--206 (-10)
T 2 *Ron Harvey, Jr. Brigham Young 66-74-66--206 (-10)
4 Nolan Martin Colorado State 69-71-67--207 (-9)
5 Chris Baryla Texas El Paso 66-70-72--208 (-8)
6 Graham DeLaet Boise State 69-69-71--209 (-7)
7 Ryan Carter Fresno State 73-66-72--211 (-5)
T 8 Oscar Alvarez Brigham Young 68-73-71--212 (-4)
T 8 Greg Machtaler Brigham Young 67-71-74--212 (-4)
T 10 Eric Baily Wyoming 74-70-69--213 (-3)
T 10 *Clay Bingham Brigham Young 70-72-71--213 (-3)
T 12 Casey Watabu Nevada 69-73-72--214 (-2)
T 12 Tyler Goulding Air Force 70-73-71--214 (-2)
T 12 Casey Fowles Utah 71-70-73--214 (-2)
T 12 Mike Goldwater Texas El Paso 73-73-68--214 (-2)
T 12 Kenny Ebalo Southern Utah 72-71-71--214 (-2)
T 17 Chad Spencer Fresno State 73-72-70--215 (-1)
T 17 Garrett Clegg Utah 69-74-72--215 (-1)
T 17 Adam Choy Boise State 73-72-70--215 (-1)
T 20 Tad Hunt Southern Utah 72-71-73--216 (E)
T 20 Luke Swilor Utah 71-74-71--216 (E)
T 20 Jason Ferrin Nevada 72-70-74--216 (E)
T 20 Jason Williams Boise State 70-71-75--216 (E)
T 20 Erik Hill UC Davis 73-70-73--216 (E)
T 20 Kevin McAlpine Colorado State 74-74-68--216 (E)
* Played as an individual
** Playoff winner