PROVO -- The BYU men's golf team picked up the No. 8 ranking in the GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll, moving up one spot from No. 9 in the previous poll.
The Cougars earned 398 points, passing No. 9 TCU (346), who held the No. 8 spot previously. They narrowly missed a three-way tie for No. 6 with Southern California and Wake Forest (400) by two points.
BYU has finished three or more golfers in the Top 20 in six of their eight tournaments this season and boasts Golfweek's No. 19 and No. 37 collegiate golfers in the nation, Greg Machtaler and Oscar Alvarez respectively.
The Cougars' No. 8 selection resulted largely from their performance in the previous two tournaments. Seniors Machtaler and Ron Harvey, Jr. led the way for BYU in their previous two tournaments. Junior Oscar Alvarez and sophomore Jake Ellison provided back-up power to propel the Cougars into the No. 8 spot.
At the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii, the Cougars finished in fourth place, just one stroke back of third-place Arizona. Machtaler ended the tournament in a tie for second place with Golfweek's No. 2 collegiate golfer, New Mexico's Spencer Levin. Machtaler carded his second-best round (66), second-lowest tournament score (203) and second-best finish (second place) this season. Oscar Alvarez finished in a tie for 15th place while Nick Becker ended in a 17th-place tie as an individual.
At the Ashworth Collegiate Invitational in California, BYU missed a first-place finish by just two strokes to the tournament champion Tennessee, wrapping up the tournament in second place. Ron Harvey, Jr. led the Cougars with a season-best fourth-place finish, just one stroke back of third place. Greg Machtaler tied for sixth place while Oscar Alvarez and Jake Ellison finished in a 12th-place tie.
The GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll is voted on by a panel of head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Golf Coaches Association of America. The next Division I GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll will be released March 25.
Division I GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches Poll Top 25
Rank - University (First-Place Votes) - Points - Previous Rank
1. Oklahoma State (14) 587 1
2. Georgia Tech (5) 571 3
3. Georgia (2) 555 2
4. New Mexico (3) 535 4
5. Auburn 443 5
T6. Southern California 400 7
T6. Wake Forest 400 6
8. Brigham Young 398 9
9. TCU 346 8
10. Florida 339 18
11. Texas 334 10
12. Arizona State 333 11
13. UCLA 283 14
14. Michigan State 264 13
15. UNLV 263 16
16. Augusta State 253 15
17. Duke 240 12
18. Clemson 212 17
19. Tennessee 170 25
20. Minnesota 122 24
21. Arizona 114 23
22. Kentucky 103 19
23. Washington 80 22
24. Kent State 77 20
25. Georgia State 73 21