PROVO -- The No. 15 Cougars are ready to defend their home turf as they play host in the 45th-annual PING Cougar Classic at the Riverside Country Club in Provo on Friday April 20 and Saturday April 21.
Coming off a somewhat disappointing showing at the U.S. Intercollegiate Championship last week in Georgia, the BYU men's golf team is eager to show why it is one of the top ranked teams in the country.
"Every team in the field is coming into this tournament very with a lot of momentum," said head coach Bruce Brockbank, "We have struggled to play at the top of our game lately but we hope to come out strong this weekend and see if we can set the pace and have our guys respond to the challenge."
The 16-team field includes: BYU (15), New Mexico (54), Colorado State (58), Air Force, Boise State, UC Davis, Denver, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, UTEP, Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley State College, Weber State, and Wyoming. (Rankings based on golfstat head-to-head rankings.)
The Cougars will return to Riverside to defend their 2006 team title, while seniors Jake Ellison, Nick Becker and Clay Ogden will look for an individual win in their last home tournament of their college careers. BYU took the team honors in 2006 with a 36-under-par 828, after a dramatic comeback. Following a three hour rain delay, the Cougars stormed back from six shots behind to defeat UNC Charlotte by one stroke. Individually Barry Schenk from Weber State was on top with a 15-under-par 201.
The public is invited to attend the event at Riverside Country Club and admission to the event is FREE. It will be a great opportunity to see some of the top young college golfers in the nation including BYU seniors Jake Ellison, Clay Ogden and Nick Becker who will be competing in their final home event. On Friday teams will play 36 holes with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Saturdays final 18 holes will be tee times beginning at around 8 a.m.