PROVO -- With just one senior on the 2008-09 roster, the BYU men’s golf team exceeded expectations, had multiple successful tournament appearances and grew in maturity and experience during the campaign.
“We were a young team, but we had our moments of greatness,” said head coach Bruce Brockbank. “Our guys got some great experience and as a team we learned a lot through both struggles and success.”
During the fall season, the Cougars placed fourth at the Husky Invitational at 21-over-par where junior Robbie Fillmore led the team with a third-place finish at even-par, scoring 2-under-par 70 in the first and third rounds for his best finish of the fall season.
BYU finished in sixth at two other tournaments during the fall. At the Tucker Intercollegiate, the team finished at 24-over-par led by Fillmore and sophomore Esteban Calisto, who finished tied for 20th place at 5-over-par. The Cougars finished 13-over-par at the Pacific Invitational with juniors Fillmore and Brady Johnson tying for ninth place at 1-over-par.
The regular season got underway in February in Hawaii at the John A. Burns Invitational, where the Cougars finished at 5-under-par at the par-72 Leilehua Golf Course. Playing as an individual, freshman Jordan Hammer finished in fourth place at 8-under-par following an incredible first-round score of 6-under 66.
The Cougars followed that up with another great performance three days later at the USC Intercollegiate, coming in second place at 3-under-par after shooting an impressive season round low of 275 in the opening round. BYU finished ahead of ranked schools Cal (29), USC (4), UCLA (19), Pepperdine (39), San Diego State (28) and Washington (9), falling only to No. 7 Stanford. Johnson tied for fifth overall at 4-under-par, while Fillmore and senior Nick Killpack followed close behind at even-par and 3-over, respectively.
“I was very pleased with how we performed in Hawaii and at the USC tournament,” Brockbank said. “They were both pretty tough courses and it was nice to be in contention with a good Stanford team at the USC tourney. I thought it was something to build on and one of the highlights of the year.”
Two weeks later, the team competed at the Fresno Lexus Classic, finishing in sixth place with a 17-over-par effort at the Belmont Country Club. The Cougars gradually improved in each round as Killpack played his best tournament of the year finishing tied for ninth place at 1-over-par following a 1-under first round.
The highlight of the 2008-09 campaign occurred in April as BYU hosted and won the PING Cougar Classic as the Cougars finished with a 22-under-par score ahead of a ranked Colorado State team. Johnson had his best finish of the year ending up in second place at 10-under-par after shooting two rounds of 4-under 68. Calisto also enjoyed his best finish tied for sixth at 7-under-par.
Playing as an individual in the PING Cougar Classic, freshman Stephen Archibald placed tenth overall at 4-under-par following two rounds of 2-under 70. Redshirt freshman Daniel Reid also competed as an individual and shot 7-over-par in which he scored a 1-over-par second round.
“Our Cougar Classic was the best tournament of the year for us,” Brockbank said. “It was a very positive thing for us to play well at our home tournament and it was nice to win and have that experience for our program.”
At the MWC Championships, BYU placed sixth as Fillmore tied for seventh place overall at 1-under-par and freshman Jordan Rodgers coming in 16th place at 2-over-par.
Following the MWC tournament, Fillmore and Johnson earned individual bids to the NCAA West Regional. Fillmore ended the competition at 1-over-par following a 2-under final round, while Johnson finished as the top individual golfer at 8-under-par in fifth place overall, advancing to the NCAA Championships at the Inverness Country Club in Toledo, Ohio, to go up against the nation’s top collegiate golfers.
He had an impressive outing as he finished at 13-over-par in 96th place in the championship field of 150 linksters.
Fillmore and Johnson’s postseason competitions will provide the duo with a wealth of experience as they look to carry the team into a successful 2009-10 campaign.
“As a head coach, I’ve never had so much fun,” Brockbank said. “Our team is full of great student athletes who work hard and are great ambassadors for our program. I have confidence that they’ll continue to work hard and that we can make it to the postseason next year.”