Senior Simon Kwon and BYU’s freshmen led the way as the No. 18 seed Cougars got off to a solid start in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships on Thursday at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Playing their “third round” first, and playing alone so they don’t have to play on Sunday for religious reasons, the Cougars shot a team score of 1-under 287 on the North Course at La Costa.
Kwon shot a 2-under 70 to lead the Cougars, while freshmen Kihei Akina and Parker Bunn both shot 1-under 71s.
Junior Peter Kim added a 3-over 75, going +2 in his final two holes, and senior Tyson Shelley recorded a non-counting 81.
BYU’s score will be officially posted on Sunday after the other 29 teams in the field play their third round. The same tee setups and pin placements the Cougars played on Thursday will be used on Sunday.
All 30 teams will play the first round on Friday, with BYU getting a 7:30 a.m. MDT tee time. After three rounds (54 holes), the low 15 teams will advance to play the fourth and final round of stroke play.
The low eight teams after 72 holes will advance to the match play portion of the championships.
Akina, now the No. 8-ranked golfer in the country, made an eagle on the par-5 second hole, but gave it back with a double-bogey on the sixth hole, also a par-5.
The freshman from Alpine, Utah, hit driver off the deck — a driver from the fairway — to reach the 622-yard hole in two and then drained a 20-foot eagle putt.
It is hard to assess whether the round was above average, or not, because BYU was the only team on the course, the accommodation the NCAA makes for the Cougars, who do not play or practice on Sundays.
Under the same format last year, BYU shot a team score of 1-over 289 on the same course at La Costa in its opening round after winning the Reno (Nevada) Regional.
The Cougars went on to finish the three rounds at 14-over 878 and were in 12th place through 54 holes.
It was the first time in the current format that BYU survived the 15-team cut. The Cougars shot a 4-over 292 in the fourth round and tied for 13th.
Playing alone in 2023 in their first round at Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona, the Cougars shot a 303 on Thursday, a 289 on Friday and a 287 on Saturday.
BYU’s entire six-man team — freshman Jackson Mauss is the alternate — are products of Utah high schools and the Utah Junior Golf Association.
Two other Utahns compete for Arizona State, which begins play on Friday. Those golfers are Bowen Mauss of Corner Canyon High in Draper and Boston Bracken of Crimson Cliffs High in St. George.
Additionally, ASU is coached by former BYU standout Matt Thurmond, who is in his 10th year.
This is BYU’s 34th appearance in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships.