dbroberg | Posted: 26 Sep 2000 | Updated: 26 Sep 2000

Cougars Finish Second at the Prestigious Ping Preview

Durham, N.C.--BYU's 19th-ranked men's golf team defeated top-ranked Clemson and placed second at the prestigious Ping Preview on Tuesday at the Duke University Golf Club.

"This is big," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "I'm really excited for our guys and how they played in tough conditions."

The Cougars jumped from eighth-place to second in the final round to finish four shots behind eventual champion No. 2-ranked Georgia.

Junior Manuel Merizalde led the Cougars shooting one-under-par for two rounds. Merizalde tied for third with 2000 U.S. Amateur Champion Jeff Quinney from Arizona State.

Senior Scott Miller, the only Miller brother on this year's squad, finished in eighth place at one-over-par tied with the nation's top-ranked golfer Luke Donald of Northwestern.

Jesse Hibler and Billy Harvey both finished at six-over-par helping the Cougars to this noteworthy finish. True freshman Chris Graham helped the Cougars challenge for the title by shooting a final round 76 in his first collegiate tournament.

The Cougars overcame very wet conditions and made adjustments to the course bermuda grass of the Southeastern U.S. to beat out 12 higher ranked opponents.

The Ping and Preview field includes 14 of the nation's top 20 teams including all ten of the top ten golf programs in the country. This is one of BYU's only appearances in the Ping Preview because it usually falls on a Sunday. But tournament managers changed it to a Monday-Tuesday format to allow BYU to compete.

TEAM RESULTS

Fin School Scores

1 Georgia, U. of 287 296 583 +7

2 Brigham Young Univ. 294 293 587 +11

3 Clemson University 298 290 588 +12

T 4 Texas, Univ. of 296 294 590 +14

T 4 Northwestern 294 296 590 +14

T 4 Arizona, U. of 292 298 590 +14

T 4 Auburn University 288 302 590 +14

8 Arizona State U. 290 303 593 +17

9 North Carolina, U of 297 299 596 +20

10 Duke University 299 298 597 +21

11 Georgia Tech 300 298 598 +22

12 Oklahoma State U. 296 303 599 +23

13 UNLV 293 309 602 +26

14 Houston, Univ. of 302 303 605 +29

15 Kent State 302 306 608 +32

16 TCU 308 304 612 +36

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Fin Name School Scores

1 Bryce Molder GaTech 68 72 140 -4

2 Kevin Haefner Auburn 67 75 142 -2

T3 Manuel Merizalde BYU 71 72 143 -1

T3 Jeff Quinney ASU 71 72 143 -1

T5 Ryan Hybl Georgia 70 74 144 E

T5 Reid Hatley Arizona 70 74 144 E

T5 James Oh UNLV 69 75 144 E

T8 Scott Miller BYU 75 70 145 +1

T8 D.J. Trahan Clemson 74 71 145 +1

T8 Matt Krauss Duke 73 72 145 +1

T8 Andy Sanders Houston 73 72 145 +1

T8 Adam Rubinson TCU 73 72 145 +1

T8 Luke Donald N'western 72 73 145 +1

OTHER BYU INDIVIDUAL FINISHES

T34 Jesse Hibler BYU 75 75 150 +6

T34 Billy Harvey BYU 73 77 150 +6

T71 Christopher Graham BYU 82 76 158 +14

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