CARLSBAD, Calif. — After BYU's third-round scores from Thursday were posted on Sunday afternoon, BYU freshman Kihei Akina sat in a tie for seventh at 6-under par with rounds of 69-70-71–210 to advance to the final round of the individual championship on Monday.
To accommodate its longstanding policy of not competing on Sunday, the NCAA made provisions for BYU to play its third round of the championship on Thursday afternoon at Omni La Costa Resort. That score of 287 was posted on Sunday, along with the scores from the other 29 teams in the field who competed on Sunday, leading to the 54-hole cut.
“[Kihei] has had an All-American type year,” head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “To have a scoring average like he’s had this season is great for him, the golf team and BYU athletics. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a guy put up the performances he’s been having. If he has a great day tomorrow, he may be able to track down a national title, which is something nobody has ever done at BYU.”
“Obviously, I'm bummed not to be playing alongside my team tomorrow to give ourselves a shot at a national championship,” Akina said. “I’m in an interesting position where I have more golf to play, so I have to refocus my attention on the round tomorrow and see if I can put out a low one. I am disappointed that I left a few out there for my team. I feel like I could have contributed more because I wanted to see our two seniors play at least one more round.”
No. 22 men’s golf (296-290-287–873) capped off the National Championship in 18th place at 9-over par to miss the cut.
“The guys did a really nice job this year,” Brockbank said. “They were determined to accomplish some pretty high and lofty goals. Unfortunately, we just gave away too many shots this week to make that first cut. In order to get into match play, you have to be a little more consistent. It may be my last time coaching, but I’m still going to do everything I can to help these kids out, whether I’m right next to them or hundreds of miles away. I’ve had a great season with this team, and I’m so glad my last season was with these guys was spent with great players and even better kids.”
The 15 teams advancing to the next round, in order, are No. 1 Auburn, No. 3 Texas, No. 11 Vanderbilt, UCLA, No. 12 Arizona, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 10 UNC, Duke, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 4 Virginia, No. 2 Florida, No. 7 LSU, San Diego, No. 18 Tennessee and No. 15 Stanford.
Akina posted a 1-under-par round three to be one of the top nine individuals not on an advancing team to move on. The freshman made the cut as the second-best individual out of players not on a top-15 finishing team. Akina will look to be the first Cougar in program history to earn individual medalist honors at the National Championship.
“Kihei has a knack for rising to the occasion in the biggest events," Brockbank said. “He has a knack for hitting the shots when conditions get difficult. That’s why he’s one of the top players in the country.”
“The venue this week is unbelievable, and it is an awesome experience to play a national championship here,” Akina said.
Simon Kwon (72-76-70–218) concluded his final tournament at BYU in a tie for 72nd at 4-over par. Kwon’s third round on Thursday included six birdies, with three of them coming from holes 5-8.
“I can’t thank Simon enough as our team captain,” Brockbank said. “He did a great job.”
“I'm sad to see our season end, especially for Simon Kwon and Tyson Shelley,” director of golf Todd Miller said. “They have been a big part of the success of this program. One of the great things about being a collegiate coach is our ability to select those who we recruit and bring on to play for our program. I don’t believe we could have found two better student athletes in the country to represent BYU and who strive for excellence in everything they do.”
Parker Bunn (77-76-71–224) finished tied for 109th at 8-over par. Peter Kim (78-73-75–226) turned in a 10-over-par scorecard to place himself tied for 127th. Senior Tyson Shelley (79-71-81–231) ended his last collegiate event tied for 141st at 15-over par.
Akina will be paired with William Jennings from Alabama and Willy Walsh from Pepperdine for the concluding round of stroke play on Monday. The group will tee off at 1:53 p.m. MDT. Follow live scoring on Scoreboard, with live coverage of individual play beginning at 3:30 p.m. MDT on the Golf Channel.