TUCSON -- No. 16 BYU fired a four-over-par 288 to increase its lead to eight strokes after the second day of the 2007 Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship at Omni Tucson National Golf Course.
The Cougars, who are eight under par for the tournament, extended their lead over sixth-ranked UNLV as the Rebels shot nine-over 293 for a 36-hole total of even-par 568. Through nine holes the Rebels had jumped in front of first-round leader BYU, but on the back nine UNLV struggled with the strong winds and the trickiness of the course as BYU soared back in front. No. 28 TCU had the best team total of the day at one-over 289 and are just nine strokes back of the Cougars.
We didn't play particular well, but we increased our lead because we hung in there and fought through some tough conditions," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "We played 11-17 pretty well while a lot of the other teams didn't play those holes quite as well."
Holes 11-17 were the difference on the day for the Cougars, but their lead could have been even larger if it weren't for No. 18. On hole 18 BYU carded three bogies and a double leaving the one negative on an impressive second round.
Leading the charge for BYU were Daniel Summerhays, Clay Ogden and return missionary freshman Robbie Fillmore. All three are among the top five individuals for the tournament. Summerhays, the fourth ranked individual in the nation, is two strokes behind three individuals tied for the lead at six under par. Summerhays is coming off his first career victory at last week's PING Cougar classic and has now shot five consecutive rounds under par. Ogden follewed up his first round 66 with a two-over 73 and is tied with Fillmore in fifth place. Fillmore, in his first conference championship, continues to impress as he carded a two-under 69 on Friday--leading all BYU scores. Seniors Nick Becker and Jake Ellison are tied for 14th at two over and tied for 32nd place at eight over par respectively.
Colorado State and four-time defending MWC tournament champion New Mexico are tied for fifth place in the team standings at 576. The Rams carded a five-over 289 in the second round, while the Lobos posted a 287. Utah is in seventh place at 15-over 598 while Wyoming is eighth at 605 and Air Force is ninth at 612.??
BYU is in the driver seat heading into Saturday's final round. The Cougar haven't won a conference championship since 2001 despite coming very close on two other occasions.
"Our team is excited about the position we are in," Brockbank said. "You set your goals at the beginning of the year to be in this position. This tournament is three round not two, so we need to go out tomorrow play our best because I'm sure UNLV remembers Hawaii and they'll be gunnin' for us."
Earlier this spring the Cougars came from 10 strokes behind on the final day to beat UNLV by eight strokes at the John Burns Invitational in Hawaii on February 23. This and several other meetings between these two top 20 teams sets up what could be great drama on the final day of competition.
The final round of the 2007 MWC Men's Golf Championship will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The Cougars, Rebels and Horned Frogs tee off at 10:10 a.m. The public is invited to come out and watch some of the best teams in collegiate golf. Live scoring is available at www.TheMWC.com and www.Golfstat.com.
Team Standings
1. BYU 272-288=560 (-8)
2. UNLV 275-293=568 (E)
3. TCU 284-285=569 (+1)
4. San Diego State 282-289=571 (+3)
5. Colorado State 287-289=576 (+8)
New Mexico 289-287=576 (+8)
7. Utah 299-299=598 (+30)
8. Air Force 298-314=612 (+44)
9. Wyoming 299-306=605 (+37)
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Individual Scores
1. Robby Ormand, TCU 68-68=136 (-6)
Seung-su Han, UNLV 65-71=136 (-6)
Adam Porzak, San Diego St. 67-69=136 (-6)
4. Daniel Summerhays, 68-70=138 (-4)
5. Jesse Speirs, TCU 72-67=139 (-3)
Robbie Fillmore, BYU 70-69=139 (-3)
Clay Ogden, BYU 66-73=139 (-3)
8. Charlie Beljan, New Mexico 72-68=140 (-2)
9. Steve Saunders, New Mexico 73-68=141 (-1)
10. C.J. Gatto, UNLV 68-73=141 (-1)
14. Nick Becker, BYU 68-76=144 (+2)
32. Jake Ellison, BYU 74-76=150 (+8)