BYU opens 2019-20 season with two tournaments

PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s golf will open its 2019-20 campaign this weekend at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate Sept. 27-28, and the Nick Watney Invitational Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

“We’re excited to get the season started,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “We’ve been having guys step up this offseason and are hoping to start the season off on a high note.”

The Cougars return all nine golfers from last season’s team that placed second at the WCC Championship, first at the NCAA Pullman Regional and competed at the NCAA Championships. Seniors Peter Kuest and Rhett Rasmussen, who were both named to the All-WCC preseason team this year, highlight the group of returners.

Kuest competed in the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup this offseason after being ranked No. 1 in the Cup’s standings. He also competed at the US Amateur at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina this summer for the second consecutive year.

Rasmussen had a busy offseason as well, competing in multiple amateur tournaments around the country. He placed third at the Trans-Mississippi Amatuer Championship in July and 12th at the Utah Open in August.

Junior Kelton Hirsch, who competed alongside Rasmussen at the Utah Open, placed as the low amateur at the tournament and second overall after narrowly falling to professional golfer Samuel Saunders in a playoff. He is joined by fellow juniors Austin Banz, Chad Hardy, Brock Stanger, sophomores Andrew Chin and Carson Lundell and fifth-year senior Spencer Dunaway.

Incoming freshmen Brock Goyen, Cole Ponich and Elijah Turner look to make an immediate impact on this year’s team. All three bring plenty of experience, having qualified and competed in multiple junior golf national tournaments before coming to BYU. Ponich, a Farmington, Utah, native, most recently competed alongside Kuest at the US Amateur in August.

Brockbank returns for his 28th season as head coach of the Cougars. Brockbank has led the program to 10 NCAA Championship berths, including back-to-back appearances over the past two seasons. BYU got off to a good start last season, finishing in first and second places at their first two tournaments, and look to do so again this year.

Kuest, Rasmussen, Hirsch, Lundell and Ponich will all travel with the team to the opening tournaments. Live stats and the leaderboards can be found at GolfStat.com.