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Fourteen teams accepted invitations to participate in the PING Cougar Classic men's golf tournament at Riverside Country Club in Provo on Friday and Saturday.
In the final round, however, it was an uninvited guest that made the biggest difference in the final results: The wind.
With heavy gusts blowing dust onto the course, the later groups at the tournament had trouble over the last few holes finding ways to get birdies and pars.
That meant that even though BYU's final round score of 293 wasn't all that impressive, it was enough to move the Cougars up from fourth into a tie for second.
"I was a little surprised (to see his team move up in the standings with average scores)," said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. "It was tough out there on the course. There are a lot of things going on with five guys and you just hope you keep your heads on."
The Cougars moved past St. Mary's -- who Brockbank considered to be the favorite before the tournament began -- and New Mexico while Washington State (fifth after the first day) improved as well to force the tie at 858 strokes apiece.
"That was our best finish of the year, here on our home course," said BYU sophomore Robbie Fillmore. "Still, you don't see improvement like that often with those scores."
Neither squad was able to challenge New Mexico State, who entered Saturday's action with a lead and extended it to 11 strokes for the tournament to get first place.
Brockbank said his squad believed it could win the tourney but had some problems late during Saturday's round.
"We didn't play well coming in to the clubhouse," the coach said. "We played the last five holes 10-over-par as a team. We made some poor choices and that happens when you're young and inexperienced."
Individually, Boise State's Troy Merritt won his fourth straight tournament by shooting a three-round total of 208. Merritt was one of the earlier golfers on the course and had the advantage of finishing before the worst of the wind kicked up.
Fillmore paced the Cougar team with a 212 for the tournament in a tie for fifth place (teammate Brad Nicholson came in fourth with a 211 but was competing as an individual in this event).
Even though his final-round 73 wasn't a bad score, Fillmore felt like he was close to being close to the leader.
"I thought I hit the ball well, but I can't remember when I've putted so bad," he said. "I missed three putts inside five feet, putts that usually fall. It's frustrating to come in four strokes behind after that."
The Cougars now turn their attention to the Mountain West Conference Championships in Tucson, Ariz., next weekend and Fillmore likes the way the team is playing at the moment.
"If we can get some putts to fall in Tucson, it could be really good," the sophomore said. "We're going in on a positive note."
Brockbank said the squad needs to keep learning and avoid the bad decisions, but believes the second-place finish is a good start.
"Having a chance to win was a positive from today," Brockbank said. "We've got to putt better, which has been a focus for us all year. But no one is looking at us to win and so we can go down there and just take a shot at it."
The MWC Championships begin on April 24.
• Jared Lloyd can be reached at
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Final results
Team
1. New Mexico State, 847
2. BYU, 858
Washington State, 858
4. Saint Mary's, 860
5. New Mexico, 864
7. Utah, 871
10. Weber State, 879
12. Utah Valley, 882
13. Utah State, 889
Individual
1. Troy Merritt (Boise St.), 70-68-70--208
2. Nick Ellis (Wash. St.), 69-67-74--210
Austin Hurt (Wash. St.), 69-69-72--210
4. Brad Nicholson (BYU), 68-74-69--211*
5. Robbie Fillmore (BYU), 72-67-73--212
Matt Edwards (NMSU), 76-68-68--212
Timothy Madgan (NMSU), 67-72-73--212
8. Michael McRae (St. Mary's), 68-70-75--213
Kevin Lozares (NMSU), 66-72-75--213
10. Jacob Lestishen (New Mexico), 69-70-75--214
Parker Pemberton (New Mexicon), 68-70-76--214
Travis Reid (NMSU), 70-72-72--214
13. Esteban Callisto (BYU), 70-71-74--215
Nick Nelson (UVSC), 70-73-72--215
Meyer Cowman (Idaho St.), 71-72-72--215
16. Tyson McFarland (BYU), 73-71-72--216*
Kyle Prolo (Idaho St.), 72-71-73--216
Matt Hastings (Boise St.), 71-72-73--216
Other local scores
Nick Killpack (BYU), 72-70-75--217
Adam Tebbs (BYU), 77-71-70--218
Andrew Smith (UVSC), 75-72-71--218
Brady Johnson (BYU), 73-71-76--220
Jeff Gibson (UVSC), 76-72-72--220
Skyler Distefano (UVSC), 74-81-76--231
Adam Taylor (UVSC), 75-80-84--239
* competing as an individual |
