SUNRIVER -- BYU's men's golf team finished fifth at the 2004 NCAA West Regional earning an automatic invitation to the NCAA Championship tournament for the first time in four years.
BYU, who started the day in third place, fought through windy and wet conditions to finish the day tied for fifth with USC. With the weather causing havoc and scores soaring, the fifth seeded Cougars made enough putts to its fourth best regional finish since regional competition began in 1991.
"I'm just real pleased with the way these guys kept their composure and hung in there," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "We work all year for this opportunity. It's a real accomplishment to advance."
The Cougars were led by Oscar Alvarez, who earned his seventh consecutive top 20 finish and third consecutive top 10 finish as he placed fourth overall. The Sophomore from Colombia had a final round 72 to finish three-under for the tournament and two shot out of first place.
First-team All-MWC Greg Machtaler who struggled in the first two rounds put together a gutsy final round 76 to help the Cougars quest for a national championship. Ron Harvey Jr. and Todd Miller both shot 78 and finished in 43rd and 57th place respectively, while Freshman Jake Ellison shot a final round 80 in his first NCAA Regional to finish tied for 46th place.
The Cougars will join the other top 10 finishers at the three regional championships on June 1-4 at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va. For the NCAA Men's Championship. BYU last advanced to the Championship in 2000 and finished seventh in the NCAA finals in 1999. BYU has a long tradition of success at the NCAA Championships including 12 top five finishes and 18 top 10 finishes and the 1981 National Championship.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. UCLA 283-288-294--865 +1
2. New Mexico 284-286-296--865 +2
3. Arizona 288-287-297--865 +8
4. Arizona State 286-289-298--873 +9
T5. Brigham Young 286-289-306--881 +17
T5. USC 286-294-301--881 +17
T7. California 301-277-304--882 +18
T7. Toledo 286-292-304--884 +18
9. Pepperdine 292--298-294--884 +20
10. Washington 293-290-302--885 +21
11. UNLV 300-292-297--889 +25
12. Central Florida 296-293-302--891 +27
13. San Diego St. 287-296-309--892 +28
14. UC Riverside 293-297-306--896 +32
15. Colorado St. 297-290-314--901 +37
27 TEAMS PARTICIPATING (Top 10 Teams Advancing)
BYU's Individual Scores
T4 Oscar Alvarez 69-70-74--213 -3
T43 Ron Harvey Jr. 71-74-78--223 +7
T46 Jake Ellison 74--70-80--224 +8
T57 Todd Miller 72-75-78--225 +9
T81 Greg Machtaler 77-77-76--230 +14