Cougars Suffer Frustrating Loss in Texas

AUSTIN -- The No. 8 BYU men's golf team wrapped up its final round at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, shooting its best round of the tournament (303) and finishing in tenth place at 49 over par.

The Cougars, who returned to this year's tournament as defending champions, struggled through tough playing conditions during the two-day event.

"Today was very similar to yesterday," said head coach Bruce Brockbank. "Obviously it's a little frustrating, but we'll bounce back."

Senior Ron Harvey, Jr. and sophomore Oscar Alvarez led the Cougars in the final round of play as the two finished in a tie for 23rd place at nine over par. After shooting a double-bogey on the opening hole of the final round, Harvey went on a stretch of nine pars and two birdies before shooting over par again. He consistently got better with each round (78-74-73), finishing the final round with the team's best round of the tournament (73).

Alvarez played the most consistent of the Cougars, shooting a pair of 74s in his opening two rounds and wrapping up the third round with a 5-over-par 77.

"We're going to forget this tournament and come out strong in Arizona," Alvarez said.

Sophomore Nick Becker, who finished the first two rounds at eight over par, ran into difficulty in the final round as he shot ten over par, finishing the tournament in 57th place with an 18-over-par 234.

Senior Greg Machtaler and sophomore Jake Ellison also struggled during the tournament. Machtaler, who is currently ranked No. 17 nationally, opened the first two rounds with a pair of 79s, but was unable to recover in the third round as he finished with a 5-over-par 77, recording 19 over par for the tournament. Ellison had a rough first and second round as well (79-83), but was able to improve during the final round with a 4-over-par 76.

Brockbank said he noticed some adjustments that need to be made before the team's next tournament in Arizona.

"We're going to have to be a little more mentally tough," Brockbank said. "We're going to try and go down there and get some confidence back."

The Cougars have two tournaments left in the regular season before heading into the Mountain West Conference Championship. They travel to Arizona next to compete in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational April 8-9.

Austin Country Club - Par 72 - 6906 yards
TEAM RESULTS (Golfstat Ranking)
1.  Florida (7)        288-282-302--872 (+8)
2.  Oklahoma St. (1)   296-287-299--882 (+18)
3.  Tulsa (45)         297-298-291--886 (+22)
4.  Texas (20)         296-298-296--890 (+26)
5.  SMU (35)           301-300-293--894 (+30)
6.  Oklahoma (43)      299-302-294--895 (+31)
7.  Texas A&M (42)     298-309-290--897 (+33)
8.  Arkansas (50)      296-315-296--907 (+43)
9.  Baylor (52)        303-308-300--911 (+47)
10. BYU (8)            306-304-303--913 (+49)
11. Texas Tech (29)    307-305-305--917 (+53)
12. Fresno St. (72)    305-308-308--921 (+57)
13. Virginia (56)      310-310-306--926 (+62)
14. Houston (74)       310-313-307--930 (+66)
15. Rice (109)         311-318-324--953 (+89)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T23. Oscar Alvarez    74-74-77--225 (+9)
T23. Ron Harvey, Jr.  78-74-73--225 (+9)
T57. Nick Becker      75-77-82--234 (+18)
T61. Greg Machtaler   79-79-77--235 (+19)
T67. Jake Ellison     79-83-76--238 (+22)
T73. Todd Miller*     79-78-84--241 (+25)
* Competing as an individual