CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The inaugural Mountain West Conference Championships will be held May 1-3 at the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course in Palm Desert, California. No. 5 BYU is the top ranked team in the Mountain West Conference followed by No. 9 UNLV and No. 13 New Mexico. Also participating will be Colorado State, Utah, Air Force, Wyoming, and San Diego State.
TUNING UP FOR THE MWC TOURNAMENT
BYU tuned up for the Mountain West Conference Championships by winning the Ben Hogan Cougar Classic by 24 strokes on April 20-21. The Cougars finished 43-under-par shooting 273-273-275--821. Several Cougars set personal records during the tournament. Andy Miller's 201 and Manuel Merizalde's 202 were personal bests for a 54-hole tournament. Miller's final-round 63 was his lowest round as a Cougar and one stroke away from the course record at Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah. Merizalde shot a personal best 66 in the first and second rounds of the Cougar Classic.
BYU'S WINNING WAYS
By winning last weekend's Ben Hogan Cougar Classic, BYU maintained its lead over the rest of the nation for the most tournament victories on the season. BYU has won six tournaments and one match play tournament for a total of seven victories on the season. BYU is currently ranked No. 5 in the GolfWeek poll and No. 8 in the MasterCard poll.
MR. CAPTAIN
Senior Captain and three-time All-American Andy Miller continues to lead the Cougars in almost every statistical category. Miller collected BYU's first individual victory of the season by beating teammate Manuel Merizalde at last weekend's Ben Hogan Cougar Classic. Miller shot a sizzling third-round 63 to come from six strokes behind to win his final home tournament as a Cougar. Miller was also named the McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Player of the Week and finished with the conference's lowest stroke averageon the season. This was the second time Miller has recieved this honor this season. Miller is currently ranked No. 10 among NCAA men's golfers. Miller who was the 1996-97 WAC Champion as a freshman hopes to win a second conference championship
BYU'S TRIPLE THREAT
Competing in the inaugural Mountain West Championships for BYU will be Andy, Scott and Todd Miller all sons of former PGA great and current NBC golf announcer Johnny Miller. This unique triple-threat has been a major reason for No. 5 BYU's success this season. Each is ranked among the top 100 golfers in the NCAA and among the top 20 golfers in the Mountain West Conference.
1999-2000 Top Ten Finishes Top-20 Finishes
Andy Miller 7 8
Manuel Merizalde5 8
Scott Miller 3 4
Billy Harvey 2 6
Todd Miller 2 4
Jose Garrido 1 4
Master Card Individual Collegiate Golf Rankings
No. 10-Andy Miller
No. 36-Manuel Merizalde
No. 63-Billy Harvey
No. 64-Scott Miller
No. 79-Todd Miller
BYU'S ACE CARD--DEPTH
Another huge reason for BYU's success this season has been the outstanding depth. Among BYU's top six golfers, the Cougars have collected 34 top-20 finishes on the season.
"From one through six we are as good as anybody in the country," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "These guys compete hard and there is no complacency on this team because everyone is fighting to get into that top five. Even among our top five, everyone of them feels they should win every tournament they play in. They all want to win and that's makes for some tough competition among the team."
In the Ben Hogan Cougar Classic the Cougars finished first second and third. Andy Miller finished first, Manuel Merizalde second and Scott Miller third.
"When your sixth man (Scott Miller) can shoot low enough scores to be in third place, you know we've got depth," Brockbank said. "I don't have to motivate these guys. That's the beautiful thing about depth.
1999 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
At last year's WAC Championships in Pebble Beach California freshman Manuel Merizalde led wire-to-wire to win medallist honors. BYU defeated No. 2 ranked UNLV to win its first conference championship since 1995. BYU's Andy Miller, Billy Harvey and Manuel Merizalde were named to the All-Conference team.
1999 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Jose Garrido 75-73-78--226/16th
Billy Harvey 69-83-83--235/49th
Manuel Merizalde69-70-74--213/1st
Andy Miller 76-72-72--220/4th
Scott Miller 72-75-76--223/7th
BYU'S STARTERS FOR 2000 MWC CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Andy Miller Sr.
2. Manuel Merizalde So.
3. Scott Miller Jr.
4. Todd Miller So.
5. Billy Harvey Jr.
Current Rankings 4/27/00
GOLFWEEK RANKINGS
1. Georgia Tech
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma State
4. Georgia
5. Brigham Young
6. Arizona State
7. Houston
8. Northwestern
9. UNLV
10. Fresno State
11. Arizona
12. Auburn
13. New Mexico
14. North Carolina State
15. Duke
16. North Florida
17. Augusta State
18. Texas
19. South Carolina
20. Florida
MASTERCARD RANKINGS
1 Georgia Tech
2 Clemson
3 Georgia
4 Oklahoma State
5 Arizona State
6 Northwestern
7 Fresno State
8 Brigham Young
9 Houston
10 Arizona
11 Augusta State
12 UNLV
13 Florida
14 New Mexico
15 North Carolina State
16 Auburn
17 North Florida
18 Stanford
19 Kent
20 South Carolina
1999-2000 Season Results
DateTournamentScore Finish/TeamsBest IndividualSep 21-23Topy Cup 307-295-6023rd/11MerizaldeGarrido
Oct 1-2Tucker Inv.283-283-290-8561st/18 Merizalde
Oct 11-12Red River Cl.281-282-279-8426th/15Todd MillerOct 15-16Fresno Lexus Cl.342-347-345-10341st/16A.Miller, Merizalde
Nov 8-9Pacific Match PlayMatch Play1st/8
Feb 23-26John H. Burns276-274-280-8301st/17Billy HarveyMar 28-29 Southwestern 288-283-291-8622nd/14Andy MillerMar 13-14 S.Barbara Inv.302-299-295--8961st/19Andy MillerMar 20-21 M. Williams 304-282-295--8811st/15Andy MillerApr 3-4W. Intercol.283-290-297-8709th/20MerizaldeApr 15BYU-Stanford ShootoutBYU-341 (-19) -Stanford-368 (+8)
Apr 21-22 Cougar Classic273-273-275-8211st/15Andy MillerMay 1-3MWC Championships
May 18-20 NCAA W Regional
May 31-Jun 3 NCAA Championship
BYU's Individual Results 1999-2000
Andy MillerRds.StrokesAvg.LowTop finish
34220870.8631st
Manuel MerizaldeRds.StrokesAvg.LowTop finish
28199571.3662nd
Todd MillerRds.StrokesAvg.LowTop finish
26186771.8 644th
Billy HarveyRds.StrokesAvg.LowTop finish
34249173.3672nd
Scott MillerRds.StrokesAvg.LowTop finish
23167572.8 673rd
Jose GarridoRds.StrokesAvg.LowTop finish
28205873.5687th