The BYU men’s golf team concluded its fall season with a 10th place finish at the Pacific Invitational on Wednesday.
The team had a good first round and finished the first day in seventh but struggled during the other two rounds. The team shot a 30-over throughout the three rounds.
The tournament was composed of 12 teams and three rounds of 18 holes. Oregon State and Nevada tied for first by shooting 3-over.
Men’s coach Bruce Brockbank believes the team’s performance on the greens effected the negative outcome of the tournament.
“We were pretty sloppy on the greens,” Brockbank said. “We just didn’t make the puts we needed to. We took for granted how fast the greens would get. The holes were in fancy and tough locations.”
Junior Zac Blair once again lead the Cougars this week. Blair experienced issues during the last two rounds but was able to finish tied for fifth and shot a 1-under.
Brockbank said Blair was not performing to his normal standard.
“Zac wasn’t at his best [Wednesday],” Brockbank said. “He birdied three of his last four shots just to shoot par.”
But on a high note for the Cougars, freshman Patrick Fishburn had his best tournament of the season. Fishburn tied for 18th and shot 4-over. Fishburn was able to shoot par on 35 of the 54 holes.
Brockbank said Fishburn had a good tournament but still had chances to perform better.
“Fishburn played well, but couldn’t get his puts to drop,” Brockbank said. “He had four or five balls which lipped out, which was tough.”
The other competitors for the Cougars were freshman McCoy Willey who shot nine birdies but finished 43rd overall, while sophomore Cole Ogden and freshman Devon Purser tied for 52nd.
Purser was one of 12 players who made an eagle throughout the competition.
Brockbank also said the team fought hard and knows what they need to improve on for the spring season.
“The guys did a good job battling,” Brockbank said. “We need to figure out our kinks before February. This leaves a bitter taste in our mouth.”
The team next competes in February at the start of the spring season.
