The BYU and Utah golf teams started NCAA Tournament regional play on Monday in Austin, Texas, and through the first round both are in good position.
The Cougars are in fourth place (5-under) on the 13-team leaderboard at the University of Texas Golf Club, led by Peter Kim who posted a 3-under 68; Kim had six birdies on the day.
BYU’s Zac Jones shot a 2-under 69, Cooper Jones finished 1-under and Max Brenchley rounded out the scoring for the Cougars with a 1-over 72.
“All around our guys looked solid today,” BYU director of golf Todd Miller said in a school press release. “This is a tough golf course and they played patient, smart golf. If we can do the same thing over the next two days, I think we’ll be happy about where we sit when the tournament finishes.”
The Utes, meanwhile, are in sixth place — 1-over on the day — just one stroke behind fifth-place Georgia. Javier Barcos was the low scorer for Utah (2-under 69), carding four birdies, and Braxton Watts shot 1-under 70.
Sergio Jimenez carded a 1-over 72 and Gabriel Palacios finished 3-over.
“We got off to a tough start, but really did a great job fighting back,” said Utah coach Garrett Clegg in a school press release. “The front nine is quite a bit tougher than the back, but the boys did a great job fighting back. I believe through eight holes, we were 7-over, and we finished at 1-over. We have a lot of work to still do, but we are in a good spot.”
The top five teams after three days will advance to the national championships, which will be held May 24-29 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
Host Texas leads at 11-under, with Notre Dame (9-under), Tennessee (8-under), BYU (5-under) and Georgia at even par, making up the top five.
The second round begins Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. MDT.