LAKEWOOD, Colo. — BYU men’s golfer Cooper Jones (70-71-72-213) finished third at 3-under par Tuesday at the Les Fowler Colorado Individual Invitational at Bear Creek Golf Club.
Jones recorded his second career top-five finish while competing in his first tournament since returning home from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in August.
“Coming off the mission has been tough as expected,” Jones said. “I feel like I should be as sharp as I was before, but I’m not quite there. Every round I’m knocking off rust, and my game feels better and better. There were lots of positives from this week, and I hope to continue with some momentum.”
Jones shot a 2-under 70 to open the tournament, his best round of the event. After a birdie on the first hole, the sophomore offset a bogey on the sixth with a birdie on the eighth to make the turn at 1 under. Jones then birdied Nos. 10 and 17 before finishing with a bogey on the final hole.
In the second round, Jones recorded three birdies, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. After bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18, he concluded the round with a 1-under 71.
The sophomore finished the third round at even par. After a three-bogey start, Jones made four birdies in five holes to move to 1 under. He added another birdie on No. 15 before consecutive bogeys on the final two holes gave him a 72.