Three Cougars in top ten, BYU in second after day one

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Zac Blair shot one-under-par during the opening rounds of the North Ranch Intercollegiate to lead the Cougars to a second place tie on Monday.

BYU shot a first round 283 (-1) followed by a second round 291 (+7) to stand at six-over-par after day one tied with West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine for second place. Both teams have a 36-hole-total 574, 10 strokes behind No. 10 Southern California (-4).

"We played pretty good at times," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "I’m still proud of the guys. They just hung in there. We weren’t quite as sharp coming in finishing our second round like we were the first round."

Zac Blair caught fire on the opening day of the North Ranch Intercollegiate shooting a one-under 70 during round one and an even-par 71 during round two. He currently stands in third place at one-under-par, five strokes behind Sam Smith of Southern California (-6). During the first round Blair found his groove on the back nine, shooting five birdies in a seven hole span. His strong play continued into the second round where he added five more birdies on the day.

Junior Jordan Hammer led all Cougars during the opening round shooting a two-under-par 69, his best round of the season. Hammer found his swing on the front nine during the first round, shooting four straight birdies and finishing the opening round with six birdies total. During the second round Hammer shot a three-over-par 74, including a birdie on his final hole. Hammer enters the final round at one-over-par, tied for sixth place and his strong play during the first two rounds provided a big boost for the Cougars.

"Jordan, finishing birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie those last four holes the first round to shoot 69, that was super," Brockbank said. "The number one reason [we’re having success] is because our five man is really contributing."

Junior Justin Keiley shot two solid rounds for the Cougars finishing the first round with a two-over 73, followed by a second round 71 (E). Keiley converted four birdies during the second round and his consistent effort has put him tied for 10th heading into tomorrow's final round.

Competing in just his second collegiate golf tournament, freshman Joe Parkinson continues to impress after shooting an opening round 71 (E) and four-over-par 75 during round two. Parkinson currently stands tied for 16th place.

West Coast Conference competitor San Diego currently stands in seventh place at 26-over-par through two rounds.

The Cougars return to the links at North Ranch Country Club tomorrow morning for the third and final round.

Follow live stats at golfstat.com with tee times set to start at 7:30 a.m. PST.

Individual Scores

Team Scores