Harvey steals the show at Cougar Classic

PROVO -- BYU's Ron Harvey Jr., playing as an individual, stole the show Saturday at the PING Cougar Classic as he golfed a third-round 66, matching the career low he had set just the day before.

Harvey, a junior, took third place in the individual standings after a three-way tie--between Harvey (66-74-66--206), Hawaii's Matthew Kodama (70-67-69--206), and Colorado State's Martin Laird (73-69-64--206)--was broken with a sudden-death playoff.

Harvey's scores couldn't help the Cougars, however, as BYU slipped from second to fifth place in the final round of competition on Saturday. BYU (281-290-290--861) finished one stroke behind fourth-place Utah (281-287-292--860). A 16-under-par effort on the last 18 holes by Colorado State, driven by Martin Laird's final-round 64, pushed the Rams into first place and gave them their third consecutive victory at the Cougar Classic.

BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said he thought his team would have played better on Saturday, but was still pleased with his players' efforts.

"That's college golf," Brockbank said. "I honestly thought we'd play really well today, but I couldn't be more proud of these guys. There are still a lot of positives."

The Cougars had four players in the top 20, but only two counted towards BYU's score as Harvey and sophomore Clay Bingham (70-72-71--213) both competed as individuals. Sophomore Oscar Alvarez (68-73-71--212) and junior Greg Machtaler (67-71-74--212) both tied for eighth. Rounding out the Cougars' five were junior Todd Miller (73-72-74--219), and freshmen Jake Ellison (73-74-73--220) and Clay Ogden (75-78-72--225).

For Harvey, the Cougar Classic was the first action he had seen since the John Burns Invitational in February and his scores gave head coach Bruce Brockbank something to think about with the Mountain West Conference Championships looming.

"He did something he needed to do to get my attention," Brockbank said.

Harvey said his new career low didn't surprise him.

"I'm glad I did what I set out to do," he said. "I knew I had to play well to be considered."

The Cougar Classic, played on the par-72 course at the Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah, is the only home tournament of BYU's season. The Cougars complete their regular season having placed fifth or better in 10 of their 11 outings, including a win at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in March.

BYU tied for second place at last year's Cougar Classic, shooting 285-282-291--858 and losing by one stroke to champion Colorado State 283-288-286--857. Junior Greg Machtaler was BYU's best individual in the 2003 event, tallying a four-under-par 69-73-70--212. Colorado State's Martin Laird was the best individual overall with his seven-under 67-69-73--209.

BYU has won or tied for first at the Cougar Classic four out of the last seven years. Former All-American and current LDS missionary Andy Miller was the last Cougar to take individual honors when he shot a third-round record 63 in 2000.

BYU rests until April 29 -- May 1 when they travel to Sunriver, Ore. to play in the Mountain West Conference Championship.

PING Cougar Classic              Provo, Utah
April 23-24                      Riverside Country Club   
Par: 72                          Yardage: 7,001
Fin.   Name                      Score
  5    Brigham Young             281-290-290--861  (-5)
T 8    Greg Machtaler            67-71-74--212     (-4)
T 8    Oscar Alvarez             68-73-71--212     (-4)
T 35   Todd Miller               73-72-74--219     (+3)
T 40   Jake Ellison              73-74-73--220     (+4)
T 56   Clay Ogden                75-78-72--225     (+9)
T 2   *Ron Harvey, Jr.           66-74-66--206     (-10)
T 10  *Clay Bingham              70-72-71--213     (-3)
Fin.   School                    Score 
  1    Colorado State            286-287-272--845  (-19)     
  2    Texas El Paso             285-288-284--857  (-7)  
  3    Boise State               288-284-286--858  (-6)   
  4    Utah                      281-287-292--860  (-4)   
  5    Brigham Young             281-290-290--861  (-3)   
  6    Fresno State              292-282-290--864  (E)   
  7    Southern Utah             294-289-285--868  (+4)   
  8    Hawaii                    296-291-284--871  (+7)   
T 9    Denver                    287-292-293--872  (+8)   
T 9    Wyoming                   296-293-283--872  (+8)   
  11   Nevada                    286-293-294--873  (+9)   
  12   UC Davis                  293-289-295--877  (+13)   
  13   Weber State               286-303-301--890  (+26)   
  14   Air Force Academy         294-299-300--893  (+29)   
  15   Utah State                293-302-300--895  (+31)
   
Fin.   Top 20 Players            School             Score
  1  **Matthew Kodama            Hawaii             70-67-69--206  (-10)
T 2    Martin Laird              Colorado State     73-69-64--206  (-10)
T 2   *Ron Harvey, Jr.           Brigham Young      66-74-66--206  (-10)
  4    Nolan Martin              Colorado State     69-71-67--207  (-9)
  5    Chris Baryla              Texas El Paso      66-70-72--208  (-8)
  6    Graham DeLaet             Boise State        69-69-71--209  (-7)
  7    Ryan Carter               Fresno State       73-66-72--211  (-5)
T 8    Oscar Alvarez             Brigham Young      68-73-71--212  (-4)
T 8    Greg Machtaler            Brigham Young      67-71-74--212  (-4)
T 10   Eric Baily                Wyoming            74-70-69--213  (-3)
T 10  *Clay Bingham              Brigham Young      70-72-71--213  (-3)
T 12   Casey Watabu              Nevada             69-73-72--214  (-2)
T 12   Tyler Goulding            Air Force          70-73-71--214  (-2)
T 12   Casey Fowles              Utah               71-70-73--214  (-2)
T 12   Mike Goldwater            Texas El Paso      73-73-68--214  (-2)
T 12   Kenny Ebalo               Southern Utah      72-71-71--214  (-2)
T 17   Chad Spencer              Fresno State       73-72-70--215  (-1)
T 17   Garrett Clegg             Utah               69-74-72--215  (-1)
T 17   Adam Choy                 Boise State        73-72-70--215  (-1)
T 20   Tad Hunt                  Southern Utah      72-71-73--216  (E)
T 20   Luke Swilor               Utah               71-74-71--216  (E)
T 20   Jason Ferrin              Nevada             72-70-74--216  (E)
T 20   Jason Williams            Boise State        70-71-75--216  (E)
T 20   Erik Hill                 UC Davis           73-70-73--216  (E)
T 20   Kevin McAlpine            Colorado State     74-74-68--216  (E)
 
*  Played as an individual
** Playoff winner