The BYU men's golf team finished its second invitational tied for fourth after coming off a disappointing ninth-place finish in its first tournament.
The Cougars got to a slow start in the William H. Tucker Invitational but were able to finish strong. This was the exact opposite situation from their previous tournament.
Zac Blair led the charge and tied for 13th overall. Last year, Blair finished first in this tournament.
Zac Blair led the team with a 13th place finish in the tournament. 'I had a decent finish today, but it is still not what I want,' Blair said.
Blair also said he feels close to where he wants to be, but he just needs to keep practicing and make sure he is having fun while doing it.
Coach Todd Miller talked about how every golfer goes through tough times.
'Golf's a weird sport,' Miller said. 'He (Blair) is just not getting those good bounces right now, but it won't take much for him to get back on track.'
Overall, Miller was impressed with the way the team did not quit when it got down. This is something the coaches have been emphasizing all along.
'We could have easily finished eighth, ninth or tenth,' Miller said.
Stephen Archibald, one of BYU's strong sophomores, finished fifth on the team and 51st overall. He also noticed that the team was able to hang in there longer than in previous tournaments.
'Our team stayed with it a little longer mentally than we have in the past,' Archibald said.
Archibald said the team is getting close to being right in top contention. He feels the team needs to keep practicing and work on having more of a complete game.
'We need to be more balanced,' Archibald said. 'We either are starting slow or ending slow.'
One area of focus the Cougars will be emphasizing in practice this week is putting. While it improved from last game, there is still a little ways to go.
'When it all comes down to it, putting is where we need a lot more practice,' Miller said.
According to Miller, the team is going to practice at some of the tough courses in Park City to get prepared for the Jack Nicklaus Invitational.
No one currently on the team has played in this invitational, but Miller is not worried about that.
'Our guys are going to be ready,' Miller said.
The Jack Nicklaus Invitational will take place in Ohio Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 8-9.