BERTHOUD, Colo. — Tyson Shelley led the No. 39 BYU men’s golf team to a 3-over-par 291 in the opening round of the TPC Colorado at Heron Lakes Championship on Monday.
“Overall I’m happy with the way our guys played today,” said BYU director of golf Todd Miller. “We still have some things to clean up, especially how we handle the drivable par-4s where we hit balls in the water or short sided ourselves.”
No. 16 Colorado State holds the first-round lead after a 1-under 287 in round one and leads BYU by four. The No. 39 Cougars and Boise State are tied for second after shooting 3-over 291s on the opening day. Tarleton State (295) sits in fourth at 7-over with host Denver (296) and North Dakota State (296) tied for fifth at 8-over-par.
The Cougars were led by Tyson Shelley who holds a share of the 18-hole lead with Jack Castiglia of Northern Colorado after a 3-under 69 on day one. The sophomore carded six birdies with four coming on the more difficult back-9 on the way to his lowest 18-hole score of the season.
“Tyson has been really solid for us this fall,” said Miller. “He is hitting the ball really well, he is stripping his driver and making a lot of putts which is keeping us in the game.”
David Timmins is 2-shots back of Shelley at 1-under on the day. The fifth-year senior made the turn at 2-over before carding three-straight birdies to start the back-9 while tacking on another on 16 to shoot 71 and find himself tied for fourth.
Max Brenchley shot a 3-over-par 75 on day one to take a share of 31st into round two. Carson Lundell carded a 76 on day one to sit in a tie for 42nd after the first round. Zac Jones rounded out the scoring for the Cougar team with an 81.
BYU also had Keanu Akina, Brock Goyen and Elijah Turner tee it up as individuals at TPC Colorado this week.
“I’m proud of the way our individuals competed today,” said Miller. “They all played well on the front nine and Keanu [Akina] was able to keep it going on the tough back nine and make some keys birdies coming in.”
Akina fired an even-par 72 on day one and sits inside the top-10 in a tie for eighth. The junior from Kahuku, Hawai'i carded four birdies and four bogeys in the first round to jump into contention. Turner is tied for 31st after matching Brenchley with an opening 75. Goyen is one back of Turner after a 4-over 76 on the opening day.
The Cougars will tee off in a 9:30 MDT shotgun start tomorrow morning in round two as they look to chase down the Rams of Colorado State. Live scoring will be available at golfstat.com with score updates being posted to the BYU men’s golf Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Individual Leaderboard
| Place | Player | R1 | Total | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Tyson Shelley | 69 | 69 | -3 |
| T-4 | David Timmins | 71 | 71 | -1 |
| T-31 | Max Brenchley | 75 | 75 | +3 |
| T-42 | Carson Lundell | 76 | 76 | +4 |
| T-62 | Zac Jones | 81 | 81 | +9 |
| T-8 | Keanu Akina* | 72 | 72 | E |
| T-31 | Elijah Turner | 75 | 75 | +3 |
| T-42 | Brock Goyen | 76 | 76 | +4 |
Team Leaderboard (Top 5)
| Place | Team | R1 | Total | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | No. 16 Colorado State | 287 | 287 | -1 |
| T-2 | No. 39 BYU | 291 | 291 | +3 |
| T-2 | Boise State | 291 | 291 | +3 |
| 4 | Tarleton State | 295 | 295 | +7 |
| T-5 | Denver | 296 | 296 | +8 |
| T-5 | North Dakota State | 296 | 296 | +8 |
*10-Team Field