THOUSAND OAKS -- Mentally struggling all day, the BYU men's golf team finished in sixth-place at the USC Collegiate Invitational on Monday.
The par 71 North Ranch Country Club was the Cougars' most challenging opponent for the day. Contrary to past years, the golf course was dry, firm, fast and tricky.
"It was kind of a funny day today, we didn't play particularly well," said head coach Bruce Brockbank, "The golf course played tough, the guys were frustrated and it showed. Some of them handled it better than others."
Individual competitor Nick Killpack found a way to handle the tough golf course and with a three-under-par 139, he sits on top for the Cougars after 36 holes.
"Nick (Killpack) was impressive today, " said Brockbank, "as an individual competitor you play to gain experience and prove yourself; that is exactly what he did."
Next for the Cougars is All-American Daniel Summerhays with a one-over-par 143 and tied for 11th place. A couple of spots behind is senior Nick Becker with a two-over-par 144. Freshman Robbie Fillmore hung in there with a couple of 73s to finish at 146 and tied for 25th for the day. Senior Clay Ogden's attitude got the best of him as he struggled mentally against the golf course and finished with an 11-over-par 153.
All American Jake Ellison fought against pain caused by an infection all day, to shoot a four-over-par in the first 18 holes of the tournament. Ellison had to withdraw with about six holes to go to finish the second round when the pain became unbearable. He was taken straight to the hospital and it is still uncertain if he will be feeling well enough to finish the tournament.
"We might be playing only four players tomorrow," said Brockbank," We are going to need to adjust and find a way to be more mentally tough."
Host Southern California leads the tournament with even par. Loyola Marymount's Brian Locke was the low individual with a six-under-par 136.
The tournament continues Tuesday with tee times starting at 7:30 amComplete results and live scoring can be viewed at www.golfstat.com
TEAM RESULTS
1 Southern California 291-277--568 E
2 Stanford University 284-285--569 +1
3 UCLA 281-289--570 +2
4 Tennessee 284-290--574 +6
5 California 288-297--585 +17
6 Brigham Young 291-295--586 +18
7 TCU 297-291--588 +20
8 Pepperdine 288-301--589 +21
9 Oklahoma 292-298--592 +22
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
6 Nick Killpack* 67-72--139 -3
T11 Daniel Summerhays 72-71--143 +1
T14 Nick Becker 70-74--144 +2
T25 Robbie Fillmore 73-73--146 +4
T61 Clay Ogden 76-77--153 +11
W Jake Ellison 76-W--W
* competing as an individual