LAKESIDE -- The BYU men's golf team came closer to repeating as champions at the Barona Collegiate Cup by firing a field-leading 15-under par 273 in the first round before fog suspended play early in the second round Monday in Lakeside, Calif.
The No. 13 Cougars managed the par-72 Barona Creek Golf Course well enough to mark their lowest opening-round total this season, finishing Round 1 with five golfers under par and four in the top 15. BYU completed between seven and 10 holes of the second round before the fog took over and ended the first day of competition.
"To be leading after one round is obviously where we want to be," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "We played the course pretty well today and we had a great finish."
The Cougars stayed near 8- and 9-under par for much of the back nine of the first round before junior Clay Ogden carded three consecutive birdies to finish. Junior Nick Becker added two more to close to send the team to first place at 15-under.
BYU picked up where it left off from last year's competition in which it shot 42-under-par and outdistanced the runner-up by 19 strokes. Brockbank said his team feels comfortable with the course and is doing well at taking advantage of scoring opportunities.
"This course is definitely in perfect shape right now and is very scoreable," Brockbank said.
Ogden continued to improve by finishing in a sixth-place tie with a 5-under 67. Senior Oscar Alvarez joined Ogden in the top 10 by scoring a 4-under 68. Becker and junior Jake Ellison tied for 13th at 69 (-3).
Sophomore Daniel Summerhays also finished under par with a 71 and is tied for 34th, while freshman Nick Killpack shot a 1-over 73 as an individual in his second collegiate tournament.
In the 19-team field, the Cougars are joined by two other top-25 teams, host San Diego State (No. 15) and Louisville (No. 24), as well as four more teams in the top 50. Mountain West Conference opponents Utah and Colorado State are also participating.
With rain and chilly temperatures in the forecast, BYU will tee off at 7 a.m. Tuesday to finish the second round before completing the competition in the afternoon.
Results after Round 1
Fin. School Score
1 BYU 273 (-15)
2 Fresno State 274 (-14)
3 Denver 275 (-13)
4 San Diego 276 (-12)
T5 Texas Tech 278 (-10)
T5 UTEP 278 (-10)
7 Washington State 281 (-7)
8 Kansas State 282 (-6)
T9 Wisconsin 283 (-5)
T9 Louisville 283 (-5)
11 San Diego State 284 (-4)
T12 Nevada 285 (-3)
T12 Hawaii 285 (-3)
T12 Wichita State 285 (-3)
T15 Utah 286 (-2)
T15 UC-Santa Barbara 286 (-2)
T17 Colorado State 287 (-1)
T17 San Diego St B 287 (-1)
19 Missouri 289 (+1)
BYU Individual Scores
Fin. Golfer Score
T6 Clay Ogden 67 (-5)
T8 Oscar Alvarez 68 (-4)
T13 Jake Ellison 69 (-3)
T13 Nick Becker 69 (-3)
T34 Daniel Summerhays 71 (-1)
T62 Nick Killpack* 73 (+1)
100 participants
*Competing as an individual