BYU Holds 5th at NCAA Regional as Utah Sinks to Last at 35-Over
Updated
Updated · Deseret News · May 19
BYU Holds 5th at NCAA Regional as Utah Sinks to Last at 35-Over
10 articles · Updated · Deseret News · May 19
BYU shot 5-under 279 in Tuesday’s second round at Athens and sits alone in the final qualifying spot at 11-under through 36 holes, one stroke behind host Georgia with Wednesday’s last round left.
Freshman Parker Bunn led the Cougars with a 4-under 67 and is tied for ninth at 5-under overall; Peter Kim is tied for 11th at 3-under, while Kihei Akina and Simon Kwon also counted Tuesday.
Charleston trails BYU by one shot and Illinois by two, leaving the Cougars little margin as the top five teams from each of six regionals advance to next week’s NCAA Championships at La Costa.
Utah, by contrast, posted a 19-over team round in Columbus and fell to last place at 35-over, 15 shots behind fifth-place Long Beach State and two behind Wright State.
The gap leaves the No. 35 Utes needing an unlikely final-round surge to reach nationals, while BYU remains in position to return to the 30-team finals.
What's behind the starkly different fates of rival Utah and BYU at the NCAA golf regionals?
Can BYU's golfers clinch a nationals spot for their legendary coach in his final season?