Two finish in top-20, team finishes in sixth at Desert Shootout

Day 1

GOODYEAR, Ariz.  — Tying for seventh place individually, Patrick Fishburn led the Cougars to a sixth-place finish at the Desert Shootout on Saturday.

“Everyone played some quality golf over the 54 holes played,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “We took a baby step in the right direction this week. This was the first tournament that we have had two guys finish in the top 20. It was nice to see Spencer get his first top-20 finish. Today we showed signs of strong play on the front nine, but we had some loose tee shots and inconsistent putting down the stretch.”

Fishburn finished the tournament at 10 under. He shot 3 under on the day, birdying five holes in Saturday’s 18 holes. Along with Fishburn, Spencer Dunaway finished tied for 15th. This is the first time of the 2015-16 season that the Cougars have had two players place in the top 20.

Dunaway shot under par in all three rounds: round one (-3), round two (-3) and round three (-1). Dunaway tied for 15th place in the Desert Shootout, shooting 7 under for the event. Dunaway also birdied five holes on the day.

Austen Christiansen shot even par for the tournament. He finished the event tied for 53rd place. Christiansen birdied four holes in today’s round of 18 and eagled the par-5 11th hole.

Kaimakani Ruiz and Zach Pritchard shot 2 over and 6 over, respectively. Ruiz birdied two holes in Saturday’s round. Pritchard shot 1 over on the day, birdying six holes. Ruiz and Pritchard tied for 62nd and 86th, respectively. 

BYU men’s golf will continue its spring season as the team travels to Palo Alto, California to participate in The Goodwin March 24-26.

Desert Shootout - March 18-19, 2016