SUNRIVER -- After being four strokes down going into day two of the Mountain West Golf Championship, the BYU's men's golf team put together a stunning performance leaving the team alone a top the leaderboard.
The Cougars started the day in third place behind second place Colorado State and first place San Diego State.
Freshman sensation Jake Ellison led the charge for the Cougars, picking apart the course and shooting a four-under par 68. Coach Bruce Brockbank said the freshman and his team put together a great round of golf.
"He (Ellison) played super," Brockbank said. "I'm happy for the team; they played really well today and are in a great spot to win."
After shooting a disappointing round of 77 on day one, Ellison tore apart the Crosswater Course firing a 68 today.
"Jake helped us out a lot today," said sophomore Oscar Alverez who shot a one under par score of 71. "I feel confident going into tomorrow."
Not only did the Cougars fire the ball well, but an incident involving a Colorado State player being disqualified and having to take a score of 80 helped push the Cougars to the top of a the leader board going into the final round tomorrow.
"Some of the rules of golf are ridiculous," said junior Todd Miller, who shot a three-over par 75 score today. "But those things happen; it's part of golf."
Junior Ron Harvey Jr. shot a course round of 73, leaving him one-over par for the day as well as junior Greg Machtaler who shot a team high 74, finishing the day two-over par.
"Our depth has helped us out all year long," Brockbank said. "We're going to have to shoot some scores tomorrow."
Miller noted, even though CSU is five strokes behind, they are the kind of team who likes to come from behind and fire some great scores on the final round.
"Team's are going to shoot well," Brockbank said. "We just have to find a way to win."
Team StandingsScores
1. BYU292-286=578 (+2)
2. New Mexico295-286=581 (+5)
3. San Diego State 288-294=582 (+6)
4. Colorado State289-295=584 (+8)
5. UNLV296-290=586 (+10)
6. Utah293-297=590 (+14)
7. Wyoming307-303=610 (+34)
8. Air Force320-306=626 (+50)
Individual Scores
1. Martin Laird, CSU64-73=137 (-7)
2. Nolan Martin, CSU72-67=139 (-5)
Mark Warman, SDSU69-70=139 (-5)
Ryan Moore, UNLV70-69=139 (-5)
5. Charlie Beljan, UNM71-71=142 (-2)
Jay Choi, UNM72-70=142 (-2)
7. Oscar Alvarez, BYU73-71=144 (E)
Greg Machtaler, BYU70-74=144 (E)
9. Jake Ellison, BYU77-68=145 (+1)
Spencer Levin, UNM74-71=145 (+1)
BYUScores
T7 Oscar Alvarez, BYU73-71=144 (E)
T7 Greg Machtaler, BYU70-74=144 (E)
T9 Jake Ellison, BYU77-68=145 (+1)
T13 Todd Miller, BYU73-75=148 (+4)
T18 Ron Harvey Jr., BYU76-73=149 (+5)