Akina and No. 27 BYU sits atop Bridgestone Collegiate through 36 holes

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — No. 27 BYU men’s golf (267-281–548) concluded two rounds of the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational in first at 28-under par at Silverado Country Club and Resort on Monday. 

“Coach Brockbank has been doing a lot of speed drills with the team during practice, and from what I watched today, it’s paying off,” director of golf Todd Miller said. “We made a lot of great putts in the first round. Our mental performance coach, Bobby Low, has the guys in a proactive mindset. They are sticking to their process and trying to keep their energy at a high level, even on 36-hole days.”

“It’s awesome to have your team come out and play as we did,” head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “To shoot 21-under in the first round, that means your guys are rolling. We hadn’t been able to put a round like that together for a little while, but I thought the guys hung in there really well and we got going to shoot a great score.”

The Cougars carded a tournament-best 21-under-par first round and led the field with 48 birdies on the day. BYU ended Monday with an 11-shot lead with one round to go.

North Alabama (287-272–559) capped off Monday in second at 17-under par, while scoring the lowest second round of the day. To round out the top-5 for the day, Tohoku Fukushi (271-292–563) and USF (279-285–563) tied for third at 13-under par and Santa Clara (278-286–564) posted a 12-under-par total to sit in fifth.

Kihei Akina (65-67–132) put himself in first place by three strokes through two rounds. Akina made 15 birdies to lead all players on his way to a 12-under-par day. 

“I was putting well, so that’s nice to be able to lean on that to free up the rest of my game,” Akina said. “There is definitely more pressure when you are leading, but I’m going to try to embrace it and have fun tomorrow. Sticking to my process and what I’ve been doing well will be important to put out a good score for my team.”

Tyson Shelley (67-72–139) and Peter Kim (67-72–139) wrapped up day one tied for sixth at 5-under par. Kim’s highlight of the day was making five birdies in the last seven holes in the first round, while Shelley’s was carding an eagle on his first hole of the second round. 

Simon Kwon (68-72–140) finished Monday at 4-under par and tied for 10th. The senior kept his scorecard clean with a bogey-free round one. 

Angus Klintworth (74-70–144) and Parker Bunn (69-75–144) posted even-par totals through 36 holes to grab a share of 33rd. Bunn did so while competing as an individual. 

“I look forward to watching them play some great golf tomorrow and finish this tournament off,” Miller said. 

BYU will tee off the final round at Silverado CC and Resort on Tuesday at 11:10 a.m. MDT. Follow live scoring on Scoreboard, with live updates on Instagram and X.