Cougars on top after 36 holes at Morris Williams

AUSTIN -- The No. 18 BYU men's golf team, riding a career-low 65 from freshman Jake Ellison in the first round, had a firm grip on first place after 36 holes Monday at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate.

Ellison (65-71--136), who has twice shot 68 this season and 67 once, sat in second place in the individual standings behind Arkansas' Andrew Dahl (64-68--132). Ellison's 65 was the lowest round for BYU (281-285--566) this season.

Head coach Bruce Brockbank said he was impressed with his team's play Monday.

"It was an exciting day and the guys played really well," Brockbank said. "We were on top of the leader board all day."

The Cougars had three players in the top 20: Ellison (2), sophomore Oscar Alvarez (6), and junior Greg Machtaler (16). Alvarez (68-73--141) came in just five strokes behind Ellison, his first-round 68 tying his career low. Machtaler (74-69--143) had his second-lowest round of the season when he shot 69 on the second 18. Rounding out the Cougar five were junior Todd Miller (74-73--147) and sophomore Clay Bingham (80-72--152), who recovered nicely from a poor first round 80 to shoot a 72.

Brockbank said he thinks his team should be able to hang on and win the tournament despite a tough field that includes three top-10 teams.

"We feel like we can play with them," he said. "We'll go out tomorrow and see if we can finish this one off. The guys are excited to get out there."

The Cougars are just one stroke ahead of No. 8 Texas Christian (284-283--567) with 18 more holes to play. The tournament's final round will begin Tuesday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

The Morris Williams, hosted by No. 7 ranked University of Texas, is held at the Austin Country Club on a par-72 course that measures 6,906 yards. The tournament draws the following tough field: Texas (7), TCU (8), Oklahoma State (10), California (13), Arkansas (16), Oklahoma (23), Pepperdine (29), Texas A&M (31), Tulsa (34), SMU (40), Baylor, Fresno State, Houston and Virginia.

Last season, BYU placed 14th in the Morris Williams. Oklahoma State (286-285--571), the winner of the 2003 tournament, was in third place going into the final round.

BYU has finished in the top five in all seven of its tournaments so far this season.

Morris Williams Intercollegiate   Austin, Texas
March 15                          Austin Country Club
Par: 72                           Yardage: 6,906
Fin.  Name                        Score
  1   Brigham Young               281-285--566  (-10)
  2   Jake Ellison                65-71--136    (-8)
T 6   Oscar Alvarez               68-73--141    (-3)
T 16  Greg Machtaler              74-69--143    (-1)
T 33  Todd Miller                 74-73--147    (+3)
T 59  Clay Bingham                80-72--152    (+8)
    
          
Fin.  Team                        Score 
  1   Brigham Young               281-285--566  (-10)
  2   Texas Christian             284-283--567  (-9)
  3   Oklahoma State              286-285--571  (-5)
  4   Arkansas                    288-284--572  (-4)
  5   Tulsa                       286-293--579  (+3)
  6   Oklahoma                    288-292--580  (+4)
  7   California                  286-295--581  (+5)
T 8   Virginia*                   290-250--290  (+6)
T 8   Texas                       287-295--582  (+6)
  10  Baylor                      298-288--586  (+10)
  11  Pepperdine*                 303-238--303  (+12)
  12  SMU                         296-293--589  (+13)
  13  Texas A&M*                  296-263--296  (+20)
  14  Houston                     292-307--599  (+23)
  15  Fresno State                309-295--604  (+28)
*Teams still have 16, 17, and 18 left to play
Fin.  Top 20 Players              School            Score
  1   Andrew Dahl                 Arkansas          64-68--132  (-12)
  2   Jake Ellison                Brigham Young     65-71--136  (-8)
  3   Anthony Kim                 Oklahoma          70-67--137  (-7)
T 4   Will Dodson                 SMU               72-68--140  (-4)
T 4   Michael Putnam*             Pepperdine        73-----73   (-4)
T 6   Oscar Alvarez               Brigham Young     68-73--141  (-3)
T 6   Ryan Baca                   Baylor            74-67--141  (-3)
T 6   Colby Beckstrom             Texas Christian   69-72--141  (-3)
T 6   Jason Hartwick              Texas             70-71--141  (-3)
T 6   David Inglis                Tulsa             71-70--141  (-3)
T 6   Zach Mowbray                Houston           69-72--141  (-3)
T 6   Brad Tilley*                Virginia          71-----71   (-3)
T 13  Mitch Cohlmia               Tulsa             71-71--142  (-2)
T 13  Adam Meyer                  Texas Christian   71-71--142  (-2)
T 13  Casey Wittenberg            Oklahoma State    71-71--142  (-2)
T 16  Jeremy Alcorn               Baylor            72-71--143  (-1)
T 16  Jeff Bell                   Texas             72-71--143  (-1)
T 16  J.J. Killeen                Texas Christian   72-71--143  (-1)
T 16  Tyler Leon                  Oklahoma State    72-71--143  (-1)
T 16  Greg Machtaler              Brigham Young     74-69--143  (-1)
T 16  Stephen Polanski            Texas Christian   74-69--143  (-1)
T 16  Zack Robinson               Oklahoma State    71-72--143  (-1)
*Individuals still have 16, 17, and 18 left to play