Cougars Win With Dramatic Comeback
PROVO -- The final round of the PING Cougar Classic was not short on drama...Following a three hour plus rain delay, the fourth-ranked BYU Cougars stormed back from six shot back to defeat UNC Charlotte by one stroke.
It was the Cougar's first outright win at the Riverside Country Club tournament since 2000; and their third tournament victory of the season. It took four birdies on the final hole to seal the BYU victory. Jake Ellison, Nick Becker, Daniel Summerhays, and Clay Ogden all birdied the last hole.
UNC Charlotte head coach, Jamie Green, said that the Cougars deserved the victory. "Four birdies on the last hole...that's how you win golf tournaments," he said. "We didn't lose today...BYU won."
BYU head coach, Bruce Brockbank was pleased with the team's effort. "We needed everyone to play their best today and that is exactly what we got," he said. "These are a special group of kids and I am just grateful to be their coach."
Jake Ellison finished in a tie for second place after shooting 11-under-par for the tournament. Jake said the key to his performance was staying relaxed. "It was great having my family here following me," he said. "I just stayed loose out there and played well."
Clay Ogden also had a big day for the Cougars with a sizzling 66 on the day finishing in 19th place individually.
"I thought that I hit the ball really well this weekend," Ogden said. "The difference from today and yesterday was putting...I made the tough putts today that just didn't seem to fall yesterday.
Daniel Summerhays had the highlight of the day when he eagled the par-5 5th hole. After hitting his second shot on the fringe of the green, Summerhays sunk his putt, which measured close to 50 feet in length.
Barry Schenk from Weber St. was the tournament winner shooting 15-under-par. He won with consistency, shooting 67,66, and 68 over the three rounds. It was Schenk's first career tournament victory.
After receiving a four shot penalty for too many clubs in his bag, Nick Becker was relieved that the Cougars were able to pull off the victory.
"I would have felt terrible if we had lost by a couple strokes," Becker said. "We responded today like we needed to. This is a great momentum boost for us going into the conference championship."
The three-hour rain delay forced UTEP to withdraw from the tournament in order to catch their flight home. The Miners were tied for 8th place going into the final round.
The Cougars have a little time to enjoy this victory before they head off to the MWC Championship on April 27-29 in Sun River, Oregon.
1. Brigham Young Univ. 281-276-271--828 -36
2. Charlotte 276-275-278--829 -35
3. Weber State Univ. 278-278-282--838 -26
4. UNLV 283-286-270--839 -25
5. Nevada 289-276-276--841 -23
6. Fresno State 275-281-286--842 -22
Colorado State 283-284-275--842 -22
8. Hawaii 287-279-292--858 -6
9. .Wyoming 295-282-283--860 -4
10 . Utah 284-297-283--864 E
11. Utah Valley State 288-284-293--865 +1
12. Boise State 289-289-288--866 +2
13. Southern Utah 289-293-287--869 +5
Air Force Academy 289-290-290--869 +5
15. Utah State 287-300-292--879 +15
DNF Texas El Paso 286-283--DNF
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Barry Schenk Weber St. 67-66-68--201 -15
2. Graham DeLaet Boise St. 69-67-69--205 -11
Dustin Pimm Utah 64-70-71--205 -11
Jake Ellison BYU 70-67-68--205 -11
5. Andres Gonzales UNLV 68-70-68--206 -10
Ray Sheedy Charlotte 66-71-69--206 -10
Jonas EnanderHedin Charlotte 71-67-68--206 -10
8. Daniel Summerhays BYU 71-68-68--207 -9
9. Jeff Franks Wyoming 76-65-67--208 -8
Jon Rosa Fresno St. 68-67-73--208 -8
Andrew DiBitetto Charlotte 69-69-70--208 -8
*Greg Hunt BYU 68-69-71--208 -8
13. Adam Hagen Nevada 72-69-68--209 -7
Nic Van Vuuren UVSC 69-69-71--209 -7
Jason Anthony Fresno St. 67-74-68--209 -7
Casey Watabu Nevada 73-68-68--209 -7
Trevor Murphy Charlotte 70-68-71--209 -7
Brian Kelley Fresno St. 70-66-73--209 -7
19. Tyler Goulding Air Force 70-69-71--210 -6
Jared Texter UNLV 72-71-67--210 -6
Sevng-Su Han UNLV 71-73-66--210 -6
Clay Ogden BYU 72-72-66--210 -6
23. Oscar Alvarez BYU 69-70-72--211 -5
Kevin McAlpine Col. St. 68-72-71--211 -5
Ryan Pugsley Weber St. 73-69-69--211 -5
Matt McArthur So. Utah 71-70-70--211 -5
Nick Becker BYU 71-71-69--211 -5
Travis Toyama Hawaii 72-69-70--211 -5
29. Derrick Whiting Col. St. 70-68-74--212 -4
John Cassidy Nevada 74-68-70--212 -4
31. Nate Pettitt Col. St. 72-69-72--213 -3
32. Pierre-Henri Soero Hawaii 72-67-75--214 -2
Clay Bingham Weber St. 70-72-72--214 -2
34. Zen Brown Col. St. 77-75-63--215 -1
Matt Kinsinger UNLV 74-72-69--215 -1
Dustin Hall Nevada 72-73-70--215 -1
*Nick Killpack BYU 71-72-72--215 -1