The BYU men’s golf team finished in first place in the West Coast Conference Championship Wednesday in Bremerton, Wash., to capture its first ever WCC title and first conference championship since 2007 as part of the Mountain West Conference.
The Cougars were led by senior Justin Keiley and junior Jordan Rodgers, who both tied for fifth place at 1-over-par for the tournament, while two other BYU golfers finished in the top 25 to ensure the Cougars’ championship run.
BYU men’s golf coach Bruce Brockbank took home WCC Coach of the Year, while Keiley, Rogers and sophomore Joe Parkinson were all named to the All-WCC Men’s Golf Team.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys hung in there,” Brockbank said in a news release. “They came out in this cold, windy, rainy day on a challenging course and had a great start. The first nine holes won it for us. It’s great to have an automatic bid. We’re going to play great and try and get to the (NCAA) championships.”
The Cougars finished the tournament at a 10-over-par, just ahead of Santa Clara and San Francisco, who finished at 14- and 15-over respectively. BYU finished in first place in two other tournaments this season and finished in second place in two other tournaments, finishing one of its better seasons in the last 10 years.
Pacific’s Byron Meth took the overall individual first place, with an impressive 8-under-par, while Keiley and Rodgers tied for fifth place. Rodgers finished the final round emphatically with an eagle on the sixth hole, closing the gap on the leaderboard. Parkinson finished in 13th with a pair of birdies in the final round, while junior Cole Ogden tied for 25th place. Parkinson, who had a spectacular freshman year last season, has continued his rise to the top of the WCC.
“Finishing the regular season with a win really helps,” Parkinson said in a news release. “My coaches have been helping a lot and have been supportive. We’ll have lots of time to practice and improve before regionals.”
Fellow senior Jordan Hammer placed in 28th at 11-over with three birdies on the day to get back into the top 30 and said the team has been this tough the whole year and will need to be even better to continue his collegiate playing days in the NCAA Regionals.
“It’s great to finally get a conference win,” he said in a news release. “It was a battle all week, but our team has been solid all year and it’s good to prove it on the biggest stage of the year.”
The NCAA Regionals will be played May 15–17, and an announcement will be made soon to determine where the team will compete.
“We just need to be mentally strong and recognize that we belong in regionals,” Hammer said.
