FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — BYU men’s golf concluded the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in third after shooting 7-over par on Wednesday at Blessings Golf Club.
"The Blessings club is a championship golf course," said head coach Bruce Brockbank. "Always a great challenge for all the players. Each hole requires a premium shot off the tee and even more difficult shots into the greens. We were careless the first nine holes making too many big numbers. The guys bounced back and played some good golf the last 45 holes. The course will expose the weak parts of your game, and we surely saw some of that this week."
The Cougars improved by one spot on last year’s fourth-place finish in Fayetteville. BYU’s 28-over-par matched its total score from its 2024 appearance at the event.
Host Arkansas (293-289-279–861) took home the title with a 3-under total, as the Razorbacks were the lone team to break par in the 54-hole event, including a 9-under par final round. Louisville (299-290-289–878) secured second after posting a 14-over-par total, going 1-over in round three. BYU (299-298-295–892) finished third at 28-over, followed by Kansas State (301-299-295–895) in fourth at 31-over par and Mississippi State (311-298-297–906) at 42-over par to round out the top five.
Simon Kwon (71-73-75–219) finished in seventh place after shooting 3-over par on the final day. Kwon posted a 3-over-par total this week, a four-shot improvement from his 7-over performance at Blessings last year. This gives the senior three top-10 finishes in three events this season. Kwon was one of four players to make an eagle this week and led the field with two eagles.
“I drove the ball extremely well, making it so I didn’t make a double bogey all week,” said Kwon. “I was the only person in the field not to make a double. I always found a way to give myself at least a chance for par.”
"Really proud of Simon," said Brockbank. "He has played some great golf the first three events and is fun to watch."
Freshman Kihei Akina (73-78-72–223) and junior Peter Kim (77-72-74–223) tied for 16th with a 7-over par performance. Akina led all Cougars in birdies made at the event with 11 after adding three more in his even-par final round. Kim posted a round of 2-over on Wednesday.
Tyson Shelley (78-75-74–227) finished tied for 24th after shooting his best round of the week on Wednesday, a 2-over-par showing. Along with Akina, Shelley had three birdies in his final round and improved his total score from last year’s Blessings Collegiate Invitational by 11 strokes.
Parker Bunn (86-79-76–241) tied for 48th after carding his best round of the event of 4-over par in the final round.
“As a team, we all need to do a deep dive into this last tournament and learn what went wrong,” said Kwon. “Failure is the most important time, and it is the greatest opportunity to learn.”
Up next for the Cougars is a trip back to the south for The Bryson Invitational at the Daniel Island Club in Daniel Island, South Carolina, on Oct. 13-14.