WAHIAWA -- An improved No. 10 BYU men's golf team turned heads today during the second round of the 2005 John A. Burns Intercollegiate, dropping 17 strokes on their team score and propelling them into a fourth-place position.
The Cougars started the day two under par and in eighth place, 12 strokes back of the co-leaders New Mexico (No. 4) and UNLV (No. 16). All seven BYU golfers shot under par, leaving BYU just eight strokes back of the current leader New Mexico.
"We played really good today," said head coach Bruce Brockbank. "It really shows the character of our team the way these guys bounced back after yesterday. You know, we always want to be in contention and it was fun to see these guys play the way they did today."
Junior Oscar Alvarez made huge improvements in his game during the second round as he led the Cougars with a career-best round of 65, putting him at six under par and in eighth place in the tournament.
Senior Greg Machtaler had another spectacular day on the course, topping his first-round score of 67 with a 6-under-par 66 and moving into fourth place at 10 under par, two strokes back from the leaders.
"Team-wise it was a lot better," Machtaler said. "I think it might have been a little bit of rust from the long break we had, but we were able to get into tournament mode today."
Other Cougar standouts included Jake Ellison, who shot a 69, as well as Todd Miller and Ron Harvey, Jr., who both shot 71s in the second round. Playing as individuals, Nick Becker and Clay Ogden played one of the best rounds of their collegiate careers. Becker shot a career-low 67, moving him into 18th place, while Ogden carded his third lowest round in his collegiate career at 70.
Machtaler, who leads the team in stroke average with 71.2, said seeing his teammates play in the fashion they did today really energized the team.
"It's a huge confidence boost," Machtaler said. "When you see everyone playing great golf, you want to keep going and play well for the team."
The Cougars wrap up tournament play tomorrow as they try to close the gap on the tournament leaders.
Leilehua Golf Course - Par 72 - 6,916 yards
TEAM RESULTS
1. New Mexico 274-275--549
2. Arizona 278-275--553
3. UNLV 274-282--556
4. BYU 286-271--557
T5. Texas Tech 280-280--560
T5. SDSU 280-280--560
7. SMU 286-276--562
8. Auburn 283-281--564
T9. Texas A&M 292-278--570
T9. Colorado St. 281-289--570
11. Denver 292-280--572
12. Hawaii 288-287--575
13. San Jose St. 291-289--580
14. Nevada 297-285--582
15. UC Santa Barbara 294-288--582
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T1. Will Dodson SMU 67-65--132
T1. Ryan Moore UNLV 67-65--132
T1. Spencer Levin New Mexico 65-67--132
4. Greg Machtaler BYU 68-66--134
T8. Oscar Alvarez BYU 73-65--138
T31. Jake Ellison BYU 73-69--142
T38. Todd Miller BYU 72-71--143
T50. Ron Harvey, Jr. BYU 73-71--144
T18. Nick Becker* BYU 73-67--140
T38. Clay Ogden* BYU 73-70--143
- Through 36 holes, 18 remaining
* Competing as individuals