BYU men's golf team ties for second, advances to NCAA Championship

NORMAN, Okla. — Top-5 individual finishes by Patrick Fishburn and Peter Kuest propelled the No. 39-ranked BYU men’s golf team to a tie for second place at the NCAA Norman Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. With the runner-up finish, the Cougars advance to the NCAA Division I Golf Championships for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

BYU entered Wednesday’s final round of the regional tournament tied for fourth with No. 10 Auburn at 573 (-3), six shots behind the leader Oklahoma at 567 (-9). The Cougars closed out the 54-hole event with a 278 for a three-round total of 295-278-278—851 (-13). The 10-under-par closing round proved to be the best final-round score of day and jumped BYU into a second-place tie with North Florida, just one shot behind No. 3-ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners won the tournament with three-day total of 283-284-283—850 (-14).

“The team was so impressive the last two days,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “It was a total team effort. It was so awesome to have all five guys competing in the final stretch of the tournament. Kuest was absolutely fantastic today and Fishburn really stepped up.”

The Cougars were led by senior Fishburn who shot a 69 (-3) in the final round. The Utah native, finished the regional in second place, carding a 71-66-69—206 (-10). Fishburn birdied three holes on the final day to finish just one shot behind North Florida’s Travis Trace, who won the individual title with a 70-70-65—205 (-11).

Peter Kuest had the lowest BYU score of the final round with a 6-under-par 66. His three-day total of 74-70-66—210, placed the sophomore in a fifth-place tie with WCC foe Joshua McCarthy of Pepperdine. Kuest birdied seven holes on the final day, including two of his last three holes, to help secure BYU’s second-place finish.

Rhett Rasmussen shot 72 on the final day to finish the regional tied for 18th with a three-round total of 75-68-72—215. The sophomore birdied three holes in a row on back nine to post an even-par final round. CJ Lee, a senior, fired a 1–under-par 71 to finished tied for 39th with a 54-hole total of 75-75-71—221 (+5). Spencer Dunaway, a junior, wrapped up the three-day competition tied for 65th with a 54-hole total of 231.

BYU’s men golf team advances to the NCAA Championship along with top-5 finishers No. 3 Oklahoma (850), No. 27 North Florida (851), No. 10 Auburn (861) and No. 15 Arkansas (861). The Championships will be held in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at Karsten Creek Golf Club from May 24-30.

Day 1 Recap

Day 2 Recap

2018 NCAA Norman Regional - May 14-16, 2018

Jimmie Austin Oklahoma University Golf Club

Place	Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	To-Par
2	Patrick Fishburn	71	66	69	206	-10
T5	Peter Kuest	74	70	66	210	-6
T18	Rhett Rasmussen	75	68	72	215	-1
T39	CJ Lee	75	75	71	221	+5
T65	Spencer Dunaway	84	74	73	231	+15

Place	Team	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total	To-Par
1	No. 3 Oklahoma	283	284	283	850	-14
T2	No. 39 BYU	295	278	278	851	-13
T2	No. 27 Florida State	288	283	280	851	-13
T4	No. 10 Auburn	288	285	288	861	-3
T4	No. 15 Arkansas	288	293	280	861	-3
6	No. 22 Florida State	293	284	285	862	-2
7	No. 46 Virginia	297	281	285	863	-1
8	No. 33 Pepperdine	295	274	295	864	E
9	Nevada	294	285	288	867	+3
10	San Diego State	290	290	290	870	+6
11	Missouri-Kansas City	293	297	291	881	+17
12	Sam Houston State	301	289	298	888	+24
13	Navy	323	302	296	921	+57
14	Prairie View A&M	315	316	312	943	+79