CARMEL, Calif. — The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate suspended play due to darkness on Monday with BYU men’s golf leading the field at 26-under par at Santa Lucia Preserve.
“The guys were very consistent off the tee today, which allowed them to control their spin on these tough greens,” said director of golf Todd Miller. “They’ve all been working on hitting their short irons with less spin so the ball doesn’t come off the false fronts. I feel like the guys are very comfortable on the bent greens, which are very similar to our practice facility. ”
The Cougars currently have three players in eighth place or higher, and four inside the top 25 on the leaderboard. The whole lineup broke par in the first round on their way to leading the field in birdies made with 49.
Behind the Cougars sits Grand Canyon in second at 23-under par. Oregon and San Diego hold a share of third at 19-under par, followed by Saint Mary’s to round out the top five with its 17-under-par total.
Simon Kwon completed the day in a tie for second at 9-under par. After posting a 4-under 68 in round one, the senior added five birdies and an eagle to his scorecard with three holes to go in round two. Kwon will be looking for his fourth top-10 finish of the season.
“The course is set up well for us,” said Kwon. It’s a course that requires a lot of good iron shots. The biggest adjustment was to only focus on the positives and make no excuses.”
Kihei Akina, with three holes left, concluded his day at 7-under par and tied for sixth. Akina made four birdies in his final six holes on Monday.
The final Cougar in the top 10 is Tyson Shelley. Shelley posted a 6-under-par day one to put him tied for eighth with four holes to go.
Peter Kim is tied for 22nd at 3-under par with two holes left to play.
Jackson Mauss ended his day tied for 37th after recording an even-par score with two holes to go.
Parker Bunn, competing as an individual, is currently tied with Kim in 22nd at 3-under par.
“The guys need to continue to find fairways and do their homework before they hit their shots into the green,” said Miller. “We will make plenty of birdies if we continue to do that.”
The Cougars will finish the second round, then play the final 18 holes beginning at 9:30 a.m. MDT on Tuesday. Follow live scoring on Scoreboard.