BREMERTON, Wash. – Men’s golf (272-280-275–827) shot 13-under par in the final round to win The Tindall at Golf Mountain Golf Club on Tuesday.
“Gold Mountain tests every part of your game,” said director of golf Todd Miller. “You have to be in control of your ball to shoot great scores. This team has the ability to play any course in a dominating fashion as they did this week.”
BYU claimed the title with two players earning top-three finishes and three players placing in the top 25. The Cougars shot 37-under par while leading the 14-team field in birdies made and par-4 scoring. In addition, BYU was the only team in the field to not card a double bogey throughout the 54-hole event.
“The guys were able to maintain the lead all week because they refused to make dumb mistakes,” said Miller. “We stayed under the hole and chipped out when we got in trouble off the tee. As a team, we didn’t make a single double [bogey] in 54 holes. We haven’t done that too often in my coaching career.”
Utah (277-281-274–832) ended up five strokes behind BYU to finish in second place. The rest of the top five includes host Washington (285-281-280–846) in third at 18-under par and Cal Berkeley (289-277-285–851) and San Diego (284-279-288–851) both posted a 13-under par to tie for fourth.
Salt Lake native Peter Kim (68-67-67–202) secured the co-victory with a 14-under par performance. This marks the second win of Kim’s career. The junior made six birdies including four in a row on holes 15 through 18, to keep him in contention midway through the final round. Kim tied for the most birdies made in the tournament with co-champion and Ute golfer Gabriel Palacios.
“My mindset today was to stay relaxed, loose and just play golf today, and it helped me stay calm under pressure,” said Kim. “I think the key for me to build on this is to keep doing the right things with my game during practice and preparation. I think going forward having the mindset of staying loose and playing loose is going to be key for me.”
“Kim’s iron play allows him to shoot low scores,” said Miller. “When he is on, he makes golf look easy. It was fun to watch him plod his way around Gold Mountain and get the victory.”
The other top five finisher for BYU was Senior Simon Kwon (67-71-68–206). The Salt Lake native went bogey-free on Tuesday while recording four birdies to put him at 10-under par to finish in a tie for third.
Freshman Kihei Akina (67-70-72–209) earned a share of sixth after shooting even-par in the closing round with three birdies and a seven-under par.
Senior Tyson Shelley (73-73-68–214) joined Kwon in posting a bogey-free round on the final day. Shelley made four birdies to post a 2-under par to finish in a tie for 19th.
Oklahoma State transfer Parker Bunn (70-72-73–215) tied for 26th overall. The freshman made three birdies on Tuesday and is the only Cougar to make an eagle in the event.
The rest of the team, freshman Jackson Mauss (69-73-73–215), sophomore Kevin Wu (73-70-75–218), and junior Angus Klintworth (76-75-66–217), competed in The Tindall Individual at Gold Mountain Golf Club - Cascade Course.
Mauss made 12 birdies in 54 holes on his way to a tie for 12th at 1-under par.
Klintworth ended his third round by making seven birdies in his last nine holes. The South African native finished in a tie for 14th.
Wu tied for the lead in the individual field with two eagles in the tournament, with one in round one on the par-5 18th and one in round three on the par-5 5th hole. Along with 11 birdies, Wu finished tied for 16th at 2-over par.
Along with BYU women’s golf, the Cougars’ next event will be in Fayetteville, Arkansas as they tee it up at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational at Blessings Golf Club on Sept. 29-Oct. 1.