BYU Finishes 2nd at Ping Cougar Classic

PROVO -- With strong winds and firm greens, the BYU men's golf team achieved a solid second-place finish at the 2008 Ping Cougar Classic.

"We shot great on the first nine holes of the final round," said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. "But we missed a few short putts on the last six holes, which slowed us down."

The Cougars finished the tournament, tied for second with Washington State, at 6-under-par.

Sophomore Brad Nicholson led all Cougars in the final round, shooting a 3-under-par 69. He finished the tournament in fourth place with an overall score of 211. Teammate Robbie Fillmore followed Nicholson, finishing in fifth place--just one stroke behind him at 4-under-par.

The Ping Cougar Classic was a 54-hole tournament featuring 14 teams and 78 competitors. New Mexico State won the tournament at 17-under-par. The University of Utah finished in seventh place, 13 strokes behind BYU, and Weber State finished in 10th place.

The Cougars hope to improve their short game for the upcoming Mountain West Conference Championships.

"It's nice to make more putts than you miss," Brockbank said. "And right now we're not doing that."

BYU looks forward to playing against other conference teams at the Championships in Tucson, Ariz.

"We're going to take a shot and see if we can get in contention," Brockbank said. "We have nothing to lose, and I know we can do it."

LEADERBOARD
Place     School             R1     R2     R3     Total
1         New Mexico State   277    282    288    847   -17
T2        BYU                287    279    292    858   -6
T2        Washington State   285    285    288    858   -6
4         Saint Mary's       279    284    297    860   -4
5         New Mexico         280    281    303    864   E
6         Boise State        287    284    295    866   +2
7         Utah               287    292    292    871   +7
8         Air Force          279    292    302    873   +9
9         Wyoming            289    286    303    878   +14
10        Weber State        293    289    297    879   +15
11        Idaho State        288    295    298    881   +17
12        UVSC               294    297    291    882   +18
13        Utah State         297    293    299    889   +25
14        Sacramento         294    297    301    892   +28
Place     Player             R1     R2     R3     Total
4         Brad Nicholson     68     74     69     211   -5
5         Robbie Fillmore    72     67     73     212   -4
T14       Esteban Calisto    70     71     74     215   -1
T18       Tyson McFarland    73     71     72     216   E
T22       Nick Killpack      72     70     75     217   +1
T26       Adam Tebbs         77     71     70     218   +2
T39       Brady Johnson      73     71     76     220   +4