BYU finishes second at WCC Championship, Ponich fourth

HENDERSON, Nev. — BYU men’s golf shot 12-under-par (288-285-274—852) in the final round of the WCC Championship at Reflection Bay Golf Club on Saturday to finish runner-up to defending national champion Pepperdine.

“We needed a great start to overtake Pepperdine, but we just didn’t get it done,” said BYU director of golf Todd Miller. “As a team we were 6-over-par after three holes and had fallen all the way to fourth place. The guys knew we had to battle back, which they did. I’m proud of the fight they showed the rest of the way.”

The Cougars made two bogeys and two doubles in the first three holes but rebounded nicely going 3-under on the par-4 fourth hole to get back on track. In the final 14 holes, BYU carded 19 birdies to shoot 12-under on the day and finish in a tie for second with LMU (288-289-275—852), who posted a 13-under-par 275 in the final round. 

No. 6 Pepperdine (288-285-274—847) shot 14-under in the final round to win the title, with all four counting scores being sub-70. The Waves have now won five-straight WCC Championships dating back to the 2017-18 season.

San Francisco (292-284-281—857), who started the day in a tie for second with BYU, fell to fourth after a 7-under final round, while Santa Clara (293-292-285—870) rounded out the top-5 with a 3-under final 18-holes.

Individual

Riley Lewis of LMU, who held the 54-hole lead, fired a 2-under-par final round to finish 7-under for the championship. His 69-70-70—209 was good enough to finish ahead of Pepperdine's top two players, who finished in a tie for second at 6-under-par 210.

Cole Ponich finished in a tie for fourth, two shots back at 5-under with rounds of 69-74-68—211. Ponich carded a 4-under 68 on the final day which included six birdies, two bogeys and a 5-under-par 31 on the front nine.

“After the tough team start, Cole responded with five birdies in a six holes stretch to right the ship,” said Miller. “That got the ball rolling for the team and we made 13 birdies from that point on.”

Max Brenchley finished at 4-under for the tournament in a tie for seventh after posting rounds of 75-67-70. It was Brenchley’s third top-15 finish of the year.

After shooting an uncharacteristic 3-over during the first two rounds, Carson Lundell fired a bogey-free 67 in the final round to jump seven spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 12th at 2-under-par. The No. 54 ranked collegiate player in the nation posted rounds of 75-72-67—214 for the tournament and made five birdies on the day. The seniors 3-under back nine gives him positive momentum as the Cougars await the announcement of the NCAA Regionals next week.

Freshman Tyson Shelley posted a 1-under final round to complete rounds of 78-72-71—221 for the week. He finished in a tie for 24th, his fourth top-25 finish on the year. David Timmins finished with rounds of 72-77-76—225 and finished 36th to round out the scoring for BYU.

“We definitely are not satisfied with a second-place finish,” said Miller. “However, the last few weeks have been really good for us as the guys continue to gain confidence in their ability to compete with the best teams in the country. We are excited to prepare for regionals and find out where we are headed.”

The Cougars now wait for the NCAA announcement on May 5 of the teams who will compete in the NCAA Regionals, May 16-18.

Individual Leaderboard

Team Leaderboard (Top 5)