Grayhawk Golf Club continued to provide a difficult test for some of the best college golfers in the country on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona.
BYU’s No. 37-ranked team handled the 7,289-yard layout better than most teams, but it almost certainly won’t be enough to get the Cougars into the final round.
BYU shot a 7-over-par 287 on Saturday, which was better than any round the Cougars played last year at the event or the first two days this year.
After Thursday’s 303 and Friday’s 289 were added in, the Cougars sit at 39-over 879.
Outgoing senior Carson Lundell fired an even-par 70 on Saturday, while sophomore Tyson Shelley continued his nice turnaround with a 71.
Defending State Amateur champion Zac Jones and David Timmins carded 73s. Junior Max Brenchley posted a non-counting 77.
Because of an NCAA accommodation for BYU’s longstanding policy of not competing on Sunday, the Cougars played the third round first, on Thursday, with each of the five BYU golfers teeing off solo and playing on a setup (tees, pin placements) that will be used again Sunday for the rest of the field.
After Sunday’s rounds are completed, the 15 lowest-shooting teams will make the cut and play the final round on Monday. It would take an epic collapse from more than a dozen of those teams for BYU to move into the top 15.
BYU entered the tournament with high hopes after winning the West Coast Conference tournament and placing second at the Morgan Hill Regional in northern California last week.
Director of Golf Todd Miller said that Lundell and Timmins will move on, having exhausted their eligibility, while Jones, Brenchley and Shelley will form the nucleus of next year’s team.