Lundell takes second in final fall tournament for BYU Men’s Golf
BYU Men’s Golf played its final tournament of the year this week at the Rustic Collegiate Classic in Moorpark, California.
The Cougars had their best outing of the fall season, with junior Carson Lundell tying for second place and BYU taking third place as a team. BYU has now improved at each tournament this fall, going from fifth place in the season opener, fourth at the second, and now third place in the final tournament of 2020.
The Cougars started off slow at the Rustic, posting a score of 290 (+6) in the first round. They improved on their first-round score with a 282 (-2) in the second round and 284 (E) in the third round. BYU finished the tournament with a combined score of 856 (+4).
Pepperdine won the tournament with a combined score of 831 (-21) followed by San Diego with a score of 853 (+1).
“Today was more like what I think this team can do,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “They showed some toughness we had not seen yet this year.”
Lundell tied for second place overall posting a 209 (-4) for the tournament. He shot a final round of 66 (-5), which was the lowest round for the Cougars. This matches Lundell’s best finish as a Cougar when he came in second at the Nick Watney Invitational as a freshman in 2018.
“Carson played really well through the middle of his round today with three birdies and an eagle,” Brockbank said. “Kelton also played solid all week and was very consistent. It was nice for him to have a solid finish.”
Senior Kelton Hirsch shot even in all three rounds of golf putting him in ninth place. His combined score was 213 (E).
Sophomore Cole Ponich tied for 15th place. Despite difficult weather early on, Ponich shot a 78 (+7) round one, 68 (-3) in the second, and 72 (+1) in the final round.
Freshman Max Brenchley tied for 22nd place finishing with score of 222 (+9). Brenchley is the only other Cougar with a top-10 finish this fall, earning fifth place in his first collegiate tournament at the La Purisima Invite in October.
Impressive play from underclassmen like Brenchley and Ponich is much needed for a Cougar squad that lost All-Americans Peter Kuest and Rhett Rasmussen last season.
BYU has yet to announce its plans for spring tournaments, but the one certainty is that the season will culminate at the NCAA Regionals in May 2021.
