BYU Takes Commanding Lead After Day Two

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – In similar fashion to round one, the BYU men’s golf team extended its lead to 14 strokes over second place Denver after a day two 14-under 274 at the Desert Shootout on Friday.

After placing three golfers in the top 30, the Cougars now have four golfers in the top 20 and all five in the top 30.

“To see them come out and play well today is great,” said BYU coach Bruce Brockbank. “That’s how team golf becomes successful. Guys step up and do things.”

Sophomore Justin Keiley came up huge for the Cougars, shooting a 7-under 65. Keiley’s round helped him jump from fourth place to first, tied with Alex Ching of San Diego.

“I started off hot with birdies on the first two holes and an eagle on the fifth,” Keiley said. “Really it was making the 10 to 15 foot putts that I needed to make.”

Freshman Cole Ogden also was solid on the day, shooting 5-under and moving up 20 spots to seventh, tied with junior Zac Blair, who struggled by his standards with a 1-over 73. Sophomore Jordan Hammer rounds out the last of BYU’s top 20 golfers, currently in 18th after a second round 1-over 73 as well.

While Hammer’s second round did not match his first round 69, he does lead the tournament field with two eagles. Keiley and freshman Adam Tebbs also eagled today.

Tebbs made the biggest leap up the leader board, going from 58th to 28th after a second round 3-under 69.

“Even though we’re ahead by a good margin we still need to come out and shoot another good round tomorrow,” Brockbank said.

With one round left to play tomorrow, the Cougars are looking to capture their first team victory of the season.