FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – BYU men’s golf shot 11-over-par to share second place after the opening round of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Monday at Blessings Golf Club.
“There is a lot of momentum change when you play with your teammates,” said director of golf Todd Miller. “As much as we try to have the guys focus on their own game, sometimes everyone gets off track at the same time.”
BYU led the field with 16 birdies, 12 of them coming between holes 10 and 16, to help propel the Cougars up the leaderboard.
Host Arkansas snagged the first-round lead after carding a 5-over par 293 on the day. Tied with the Cougars for second is Louisville at 11-over par. Kansas State sits in fourth place at 13-over par, with Kent State in fifth at 14-over par to round out the top five.
Simon Kwon shot a 1-under par 71 on the opening day, making him the only player to break par on day one. Kwon opened his day by holing out for eagle on the par-4 fourth hole to quickly get under par. Kwon followed that up with four birdies on the back nine to post his fifth consecutive under-par round.
“I stayed present throughout the entire round,” said Kwon. “I focused on embracing the challenge and enjoying the process, playing the exact same way I have been playing and not changing a single thing, no matter what happens. I am going to play with gratitude and joy.”
“Simon is playing great golf right now,” said Miller. “He practices hard, does his homework as far as course management, and is in control of his ball. It also helps that his putting has been on fire over the last month.”
Preseason All-American Kihei Akina finished Monday with a 1-over par 73. Akina had the most birdies on the team with five, including three in a row on holes 14, 15 and 16.
The Tindall co-champion, Peter Kim, shot a 5-over par 77 to share the 26th spot. Tyson Shelley sits just outside the top 25 in a tie for 35th after a 6-over par 78. Parker Bunn posted a 14-over par 86 on day one.
“I was really proud of how the guys bounced back after a really uncharacteristic start,” said Miller. We started to find our groove, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going tomorrow.”
The Cougars tee it back up on Tuesday for round two at 8:30 a.m. MST. Live scoring can be found on Scoreboard.