NCAA golf: BYU jumps from 9th to 5th in regionals, now has shot to make finals in Wednesday’s pressure-packed final round

Tuesday became “Moving Day” for the BYU men’s golf team at the NCAA Morgan Hill Regional, and now the Cougars have a decent shot at moving on to the NCAA Finals later this month in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Cougars fired an 8-over 296 in the second of three rounds at The Institute Golf Club near Morgan Hill, California, and jumped from ninth place to fifth place.

BYU, ranked No. 43 in the country, is at 8-over 584 for the tournament, 10 shots behind leader Mississippi State.

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Moving up to fifth place is huge, because the top five teams advance to the finals May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club. Wednesday’s final round is sure to be pressure-packed for the Cougars, the WCC champions.

Entering Wednesday’s final round, BYU is five shots ahead of sixth-place California and six ahead of seventh-place Louisville, which is ranked No. 30 in the country.

Arizona, ranked 19th, is also lurking for the fifth spot at 19-over 595.

In the medalist race, BYU’s Zac Jones added a 73 on Tuesday to the 69 he fired Monday and is tied for fourth place at 2-under 142. The Lone Peak product is just two shots behind the leaders, North Carolina State’s Max Steinlechner and Florida State’s Luke Clanton.

Max Brenchley and Carson Lundell are tied for 22nd at 3-over, with Benchley recovering from the 76 he shot Monday with a solid 71 on Tuesday under more difficult conditions.

The Cougars also counted David Timmins’ 77 on Tuesday, but not Tyson Shelley’s 80. Timmins, a Brighton High product who transferred from Westminster, is tied for 33rd.

Utah’s Javier Marcos is also competing at the Morgan Hill Regional, as an individual, because the Utes did not qualify as a team. Marcos shot a 76 on Tuesday and is tied for 22nd with the BYU golfers (Brenchley and Lundell) and two others.

Meanwhile, at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional at Bear’s Best Golf Club in Nevada, former Utah resident Preston Summerhays, who plays for Arizona State, is still in the mix to win medalist honors after adding a 70 to the 62 he shot Monday. He’s currently in fifth place, but just two shots behind the leader, Stanford’s Ethan Ng.

Across the country, former Weber High golfer Connor Howe, playing for Georgia Tech, is tied for sixth at the Salem Regional in South Carolina. Howe is at 8-under 136, five shots behind the leader.

Georgia Tech is at 32-under and in second place in the team standings at the regional on The Cliffs at Keowee Falls.