The BYU men's golf team finished fourth out of 18 teams that competed at the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by Cincinnati, at Coldstream Country Club on Sept. 16-17.
The tourney as a whole for the Cougars featured a great start, an ugly middle and redemptive finish. Leading up to the tournament, head coach Bruce Brockbank expressed excitement for his guys this season.
“The guys have been working hard this summer and have had some great success,” Brockbank said. “They are excited to get out and compete. I'm looking forward to seeing what this group of guys can accomplish as a team."
The first day was a tale of two rounds. After the first round, the Cougars shot 1-under par with a score of 283, placing them 4th at the time alongside four other schools. The second round took a significant dip in performance as they shot 10-over par with a score of 294 for the round. This dropped them to be tied for eighth place.
The second day ended on a high note. BYU shot 3-under par with a score of 281 which was the best score of the round. This catapulted the Cougars back up to fourth, where they finished.
Sophomore Peter Kim was the top finishing Cougar, tying for sixth out of all golfers shooting a 211. That was good enough for 2-under par and only 4 shots behind the first-place finisher. He shot 69-71-71 in each of the 3 rounds. He scored eight birdies for the tournament which helped him accomplish his third top 10 finish in his young career.
“I had a good feeling leading up to this tournament," Kim said. “We played some qualifying rounds at difficult courses before we left and that really prepared me for this week. As a team, we didn't play how we wanted, but we are looking forward to getting ready for the next event in Arkansas.”
Kim is no stranger to the Bearcat Invitational. Last year as a freshman, he finished top 5 with scores of 68-73-68 through three rounds which was good enough to be tied for fifth. So far, that invitational still holds as his best finish he has had out of three top 10 finishes in his career.
The rest of the lineup for the Cougars consisted of senior Cole Ponich, senior Zac Jones, junior Simon Kwon, and junior Tyson Shelley. Ponich, Kwon, and Jones had respectable scores of 3-over, 4-over and 5-over par respectively with Shelley holding up the rear at 9-over par. Aside from Kim, Ponich was the only one to finish inside the top 25 with scores of 71-70-75 in 3. This put him tied at 24th and 216 total strokes.
Kwon and Jones were not far behind him on the leaderboard. Kwon was identical with Ponich in scoring up until the third round with a 71-75-71 finish putting him 30th at 217 strokes. Jones was right behind Kwon with steady improvement as the tournament moved along with a carded score of 75-74-69. The finish shot him up to being tied for 33rd at 218 strokes.
Shelley had a rather conservative round for his skill set. The junior shot 72-74-76 for the two days, which placed him 60th overall.
The Cougars will continue their march onto Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 for the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. It will be hosted by the Arkansas Razorbacks at Blessings Golf Club.