PROVO -- Zac Blair sits five strokes off the lead in a tie for fourth place after leading the BYU men's golf team on day one of the PING Cougar Classic at the Riverside Country Club on Friday.
"Playing at home brings expectation and a lot of our guys are trying too hard," said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. "We made the course harder than it needs to be at times, but we had bright spots."
Blair, who finished tied for 13th at last year's event, followed up a first-round 71 (-1) with a 3-under 69 in round two, carding a two-round total of 140 (-4).
"Zac's doing what he's done all year," Brockbank said. "Unfortunately, he is not getting much support."
Sophomore Alton Anderson and Senior Esteban Calisto join Blair in the top-25, finishing day one tied for 11th and 20th respectively. Anderson, who is competing as an individual, shot a 2-under in round one, followed by a 72 (E). Calisto bested a first-round 73 with an even-par performance in round two.
After a first-round 76, Cameron Edens came back and birdied three of his last six holes in round two to card a 1-under 71 and move into a tie for 40th place.
Freshmen Cole Ogden and Justin Keiley carded two-round totals of 152 (+8) and 153 (+9) respectively in the Cougar Classic competition of their careers. Ogden is tied for 72nd, while Keiley is tied for 79th.
Adam Tebbs and Daniel Reid, who are also competing as individuals, finished day one tied for 53rd and 93rd respectively.
The third and final round begins Saturday at 8:22 a.m. MT. Follow the action live by visiting www.golfstat.com.
The Field - 2011 PING Cougar Classic
1. UNLV
T2. Colorado State
T2. Pacific
T4. UC Davis
T4. Washington State
6. Idaho
7. Nevada
T8. BYU
T8. Utah
10. Weber State
T11. Wyoming
T11. Northern Colorado
13. Fresno State
14. Air Force
15. Southern Utah
16. Utah State
17. Texas El Paso
18. Boise State
T8 Brigham Young University -21 292 290 582
_____________________________________________________________________________
T4 Zac Blair -4 71 69 140
T20 Esteban Calisto -6 73 72 145
T40 Cameron Edens E 76 71 147
T72 Cole Ogden +8 74 78 152
T79 Justin Keiley +9 74 79 153
T11 Alton Anderson* -2 70 72 142
T93 Daniel Reid* +13 82 77 159
T53 Adam Tebbs* +5 74 75 149
* competing as an individual