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Cougars Finish Second at PING Cougar Classic
Finish eight strokes back of the tournament champion Fresno State.
April 23, 2005 PROVO, Utah - The 12th-ranked BYU men's golf team wrapped up its final regular-season tournament, placing second in the 2005 PING Cougar Classic with a 36-under-par 828, its third-lowest total score of the season. BYU finished eight strokes back of the tournament champion Fresno State Bulldogs, who set a new Cougar Classic record for the lowest tournament score at 820, a record set by BYU in 2000. Colorado State finished just one stroke back (829) of the Cougars, followed by San Diego State in fourth place (834). The Cougars, who placed four golfers in the top 20 for the fourth time this season, began the final round just four strokes behind the Bulldogs, but were unable to catch up as the Bulldogs pulled away from the 19-team field, shooting the lowest final-round score (277). Only one golfer on BYU's A team had a round over par during all three rounds of the tournament. "We didn't play that well in the third round to be honest," said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. "Sure everybody was hungry, but we ran into a team that played great golf." Fresno State's Mark Modglin (202) beat out teammate Ryan Carter and BYU's Nick Becker to win the 2005 PING Cougar Classic individual title. Carter finished second at 203, while Becker finished third at 204, his best finish and 54-hole score this season. Becker and Oscar Alvarez began the final round four strokes behind Modglin, but were unable to capitalize on several scoring opportunities. "I felt comfortable with the ball," Becker said. "I hit a lot of good putts today, but they just didn't fall like yesterday." Alvarez struggled on the greens during the final round, falling to fifth place with a third-round 71. He finished the tournament at 205, his second-best tournament score this season. Senior Chris Graham, a member of BYU's B team, finished in seventh place at 206, totaling five BYU golfers in the top 20. Graham wrapped up his collegiate golfing career with his second-best finish as a Cougar as well as a career-best round five-under-par 67 yesterday. Seniors Ron Harvey, Jr. and Greg Machtaler also wrapped up their final regular-season tournament of their collegiate golfing careers. Both golfers struggled in the final round with Harvey shooting an even-par 72 (209) and Machtaler shooting a 1-under-par 71 (211). Other BYU finishes included sophomores Clay Ogden in 23rd place (213) and Jake Ellison (216), juniors Shaun Wurtz (222) and Greg Hunt (227) and senior Todd Miller (224). The Cougars will travel to the Mountain West Conference Championship in
Sunriver, Ore. April 28-30, where they will take on No. 4 UNLV and No. 5 New
Mexico as well as other conference opponents.
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