SUNRIVER -- Seventh-ranked BYU posted a ten-over-par 298 to move back to a tie for 25th place after Thursday's second round of the 2006 NCAA Championship.
BYU didn't have its best day at Sunriver. All five Cougars went over par on a drizzly, gray day in Oregon where BYU suffered through six double bogies and a triple bogey.
"For whatever reason we're making a lot of dumb mistakes," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "We need to make better decisions when we get in trouble and we're not making enough putts to offset our mistakes. We're hitting a lot good shots out there, but for whatever reason we haven't been able to do well on this golf course the last few times we've played here."
Coming into the tournament with hopes of their second national championship, the Cougars left the course disappointed and in jeopardy of not making the final cut for the first time in two years. With 30 teams in the championship field, only the top 15 will advance to Saturday's final round. Last year the Cougars were in eleventh place on the final day only to post a stellar round four and finished in fourth place. This year BYU will need two big rounds to have any hope of duplicating their 2005 effort.
"We're very capable of going out and making the cut tomorrow," Brockbank said. "If we shoot even par tomorrow we've got a good chance of making the cut."
Sophomore Daniel Summerhays had the best round for BYU on Thursday. He hit the ball solid all day, but couldn't get his putter going and finished one-over-par. Summerhays posted 15 pars and one birdie to move into 63rd place at two-over-par for the tournament. Just back of Summerhays on Thursday was MWC Player of the Year Jake Ellison who had four birdies and three double-bogies. Ellison remained among the top 25 individuals at one-under-par and tied for 23rd place. Oscar Alvarez birdied two out of his last three holes to finish three-over par and tied for 106th place.
Despite their less than stellar second round, BYU is only seven strokes from making the cut. Washington leads the tournament at 13-under-par with a three-stroke lead over Arizona State. Although the Cougars have beaten both Washington and Arizona State on several occasions this season, BYU may be on the outside looking in if it can find its early-season form on Friday.
"We've got to figure out what we need to do in the next 24 hours to play on Saturday," Brockbank said. "These guys are competitors and will give it their best effort tomorrow."
The Cougars will tee off in the afternoon on Friday hoping for good weather and another comeback performance. Follow the Cougars live on the internet at www.golfstat.com.
BYU INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T23. Jake Ellison 69-74-143 -1
T63. Daniel Summerhays 73-73-146 +2
T106. Oscar Alvarez 74-74-149 +5
T134. Clay Ogden 77-76-153 +9
T134. Nick Becker 76-77-153 +9
1 Washington -13 281-282--563
T2 Arizona State -10 287-279--566
T2 Wake Forest -10 277-289--566
4 Florida -7 284-285--569
T5 Clemson -6 282-288--570
T5 Kentucky -6 283-287--570
7 Oklahoma State -4 281-291--572
8 Minnesota -3 287-286--573
T9 Texas A&M University -2 291-283--574
T9 UCLA -2 280-294--574
11 Lamar University -1 292-283--575
T12 North Carolina St. +3 284-295--579
T12Arizona +3 296-283--579
T12Georgia +3 293-286--579
T15UNLV +7 293-290--583
T15Coastal Carolina +7 296-287--583
17 North Carolina +10 297-289--586
T18 Northwestern +11 292-295--587
T18 Charlotte +11 288-299--587
T18 Texas Tech +11 297-290--587
T18 Duke University +11 290-297--587
T18 East Tennessee St. +11 286-301--587
T23 South Carolina +12 292-296--588
T23 Auburn +12 295-293--588
T25 Brigham Young +14 292-298--590
T25 Nevada +14 296-294--590
T25 Pepperdine +14 296-294--590
T25 Oklahoma +14 284-306--590
29 Georgia Tech +19 301-294--595
30 Loyola Marymount +36 300-312--612