Cougars in 11th after 18 holes, Lundell tied for 12th

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — No. 39 BYU men’s golf sits in 11th after shooting 10-over-par, 294 in round one of the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Poppy Hills Golf Club on Monday.

“This was a bad day for the team as we didn’t have our best stuff,” said BYU director of golf Todd Miller. “We need to wake up with some positive energy and go find a way to shoot a good score tomorrow to help us climb back into contention, even if our ball striking is off.”

San Diego leads the championship after a 9-under-par 275 in round one with LMU two shots back at 7-under (277). Santa Clara posted a 3-under 281 to sit in third and Fresno State is one shot back in fourth at 2-under-par after a 282 in the opening round. No. 18 Colorado State rounds out the top-5 at even-par with at 284.

Carson Lundell posted a 1-under 70 to sit in a tie for 12th  after the opening 18. The senior All-American carded two birdies and an eagle en route to the best Cougar round of the day.

“Carson didn’t strike the ball well today, but his short game saved him,” said Miller. “He had a tap in eagle on nine and a chip in birdie on 17 to keep him in the hunt with two rounds left.”

Max Brenchley posted an even-par 72 to open the championship. The junior from Alpine recorded three birdies and three bogeys to put him in a tie for 18th going into the second round.

“Max hit a lot of great shots today,” said Miller. “A couple loose tee shots on the inward nine kept him from shooting under par, but he’s in a good position with 36 holes left.”

David Timmins shot 75 and sits in a tie for 60th after 18 holes with Zac Jones in a tie for 77th after a 78. Tyson Shelley rounded out the scoring for BYU with a first round 80.

Keanu Akina, who is playing as an individual, fired an even-par 72 on the opening day as he carded six birdies. The Kahuku, Hawai’i native’s even-par round matches his lowest round of the year and puts him in a tie for 18th.

“Keanu didn’t have the best ball striking day, but he was rolling the rock well,” said Miller. “He made six birdies, six pars and six bogies on the day and just needs to clean a few things up to go low tomorrow.”

The Cougars tee off at 9:13 a.m. PDT with the UTSA Roadrunners in round two of the Saint Mary’s Invitational. Live scoring will be available at golfstat.com with score updates posted on the BYU men’s golf Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Individual Leaderboard

*Playing as an individual

Team Leaderboard (Top 5)

*16-Team Field