Cougars in seventh through 18 holes at John A. Burns Invitational

KAUA’I, Hawai’I — BYU men’s golf posted a three-under par 285 Thursday in the opening round of the John A. Burns Invitational, putting the Cougars in seventh place with two rounds to play.

“The guys played solid but we just didn’t make enough putts today,” said head coach Bruce Brockbank. “The wind was blowing 10-15 miles per hour throughout the day which made the course difficult, but scoreable. We are going to need a few more putts to fall if we want a chance down the stretch on Saturday.”

Arizona is in front of the field by six-shot through 18-holes after posting a 13-under-par 275 in the opening round. Fresno State and New Mexico sit in a tie for second at 281. USC is in fourth place at 283, followed by St. Mary's and Utah tied for fifth at 284. BYU sis alone in seventh place in a field that features 18 schools.

University of California’s Simon Kwon holds the first-round individual lead with a 7-under 65, followed by teammate Aaron Du and USC’s Shane French who are tied for second at 6-under-par. Four players are tied for fourth at 5-under-par.

BYU junior David Timmins sits in a tie for 17th after posting a 2-under-par 70 in the opening round. Teammates Carson Lundell and Cole Ponich are in a tie for 24th after 1-under 71s in the first round. Tyson Shelley fired a 1-over par round to tie for 44th, while Zac Jones finished with a 3-over 75. Elijah Turner, who played as an individual, also posted 75.

“The guys did a good job of keeping the golf course in front of them and leaving themselves in good places,” said assistant coach Daniel Summerhays. “We need to get a few more looks at birdie and hopefully have more of the putts drop.”

The Cougars will tee off the second round in a shotgun format beginning at 8:30 a.m. HST on Friday. Live scoring will be available at golfstat.com.

*Turner competing as an individual

Final Team Leaderboard (Top 5)

*18 Team Field