Cougars Finish Tenth Without Healthy Merizalde

NEWPORT -- BYU finished tied for tenth (884) as senior Kyle Wight led the Cougars, finishing tied for ninth on Wednesday. The Cougars battled without All-American Manuel Merizalde who withdrew from the first two rounds due to a stomach virus.

"I've got to hand it to Kyle (Wight), he's played extremely well the last month," said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. "He had a great tournament for us."

Merizalde, who withdrew from the Tuesday's action after three holes of play, was able to return for the final round, shooting a 75. Brockbank said the 75 was a nice boost for the team.

"It would have been nice to have had Manuel out there at full strength this week," Brockbank said. "He's still about 50 percent after spending a few days in the hospital because of a stomach virus. "

While the weather was great, as were the courses, the Cougars weren't able to capitalize on their shots. "We looked really nice in some areas and pretty poor in other areas," Brockbank said.

True freshman Ron Harvey was a highlight for BYU, finishing tied at 23, he was the only Cougar to finish a round at par 70. "My hats off to Ron Harvey," Brockbank said, "He played two solid rounds for us."

Conference rival New Mexico won the tournament with a score of 854 after winning the Tucker Invitational Sept. 22.