TUCSON -- BYU's eighth-ranked men's golf team went even par during Friday's second round and moved into a tie for 11th place at the NCAA West Regional at Tucson National Golf Course.
The third-seeded Cougars started off the day in fourth place with an early morning tee time along side top-seeded Florida and Arizona State. BYU made a few birdies early in the round, but began to struggle with their putting. They got a few shots back toward the middle of their round, but came into the clubhouse a bit sloppy. On the last hole the Cougars counted three bogies to fall back to even par on the day.
"We finished sloppy today," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "We didn't make many putts today-three of our guys missed four-footers on the last hole to make par. We weren't able to capitalize on some of our good shots."
Clay Ogden was the lone Cougar to go under par with a second-round three-under 69. He moved into a tie for 31st place. Sophomore Daniel Summerhays was even par on day two while Nick Becker is even par for the tournament after going two-over on Friday.
2006 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Jake Ellison bogied four out of his last five holes to finish one-over-par on the day. He is three-under-par for the tournament and moved from sixth place into a tie for 31st. The junior from St. George is expecting the birth of his first child at any point during the tournament, but still has been able to remain focused on returning to his third national championship tournament.
BYU's lone senior, All-American Oscar Alvarez, continued to struggle to regain his form from earlier in the season. Alvarez finished the day five-over-par with a pair of double-bogies on hole No. 1 and No. 9.
Tournament host Arizona and North Carolina State both shot 15-under-par to move into first and second place respectively. First-round leader Florida was six-under on the day and is tied with North Carolina State at 21-under-par. With the top 10 teams advancing to the NCAA Championship, BYU should qualify if they can put together a strong final round. BYU is just one stroke away from being in the top 10 and six strokes from being in the top 5.
The Cougars are looking for their third straight NCAA Championship appearance, but must put together a strong final round. BYU is a team filled with upperclassmen who have been in this situation before, having finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships the past two years. Brockbank believes that could be a key factor in Saturday's play-well-and-move-on final round.
"Our backs are against the wall," Brockbank said. "We need to be a little more patient and putt a little better tomorrow for us to have a chance to advance."
BYU INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T31. Jake Ellison 68-73-141 -3
T31. Clay Ogden 72-69-141 -3
T57. Nick Becker 70-74-144 E
T68. Daniel Summerhays 73-72-145 +1
T94. Oscar Alvarez 72-77-149 +5
TEAM SCORES
1. Arizona 279-273-552 -24
2. North Carolina St. 282-273-555 -21
3. Florida 273-282-555 -21
4. Arizona State 284-273-557 -19
5. East Tenn. St. 284-280-564 -12
6. Loyola Marymnt. 284-281-565 -11
7. Fresno State 280-286-566 -10
8. UC Irvine 283-284-567 -9
9. Washington 288-281-569 -7
9. Nevada 282-287-569 -7
11. Brigham Young 282-288-570 -6
11. Pepperdine 283-287-570 -6
11. New Mexico St. 287-283-570 -6
14. Stanford 283-290-573 -3
15. New Mexico 290-285-575 -1
16. Cal Poly 290-287-577 +1
17. San Diego St. 290-289-579 +3
18. Alabama +5
19. Baylor +7
19. Houston +7
21. W. Kentucky +13
21. Denver +13
23. Santa Clara +15
25. Louisville +16
25. San Diego +17
26. Bucknell +21
27. Jackson State +37