BYU's Merizalde Wins Tucker Invitational

New Mexico ran away with its own tournament.

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Sept. 22, 2001

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - BYU senior Manuel Merizalde came out of nowhere, shooting a third-round 66, to win the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate by three strokes Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M.

"I've seen a lot of great rounds over the years, but that was on of the best 66 rounds I have ever watched," said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. "Manuel really was phenomenal today against a very challenging field and a very difficult course."

What Merizalde called some of his "most memorable holes", he started off the third round chipping it in for birdies on the first and second holes. "That's something you don't see very often," Merizalde said.

"I knew I had a chance going into the final round," Merizalde said. "I didn't have much pressure on myself so I went out and was able to play well. It was nice to come from behind to win."

Merizalde entered the third round four strokes off the lead in fifth place. Saturday he powered to a tournament low-round score of 66 to gain seven strokes on the leader, finishing at 209 (-7). This was the second consecutive individual win for the Cougars at the Tucker Intercollegiate, after Billy Harvey finished first for BYU last year.

Merizalde didn't have a single bogey on the day and defeated No. 1 Ricky Barnes of Arizona by 8 strokes. The win was the second of Merizalde's career, along with his 1999 WAC Championship win, and his third round 66 ties his career low round. Merizalde won the tournament after a strong second-place finish for the Cougars in their opener last week.

After winning the tournament the past two years, the Cougars placed ninth at 885 (+21). New Mexico ran away with its own tournament, winning for the first time in nine years with a three-round score of 859 (-5).

BYU senior Kyle Wight finished T13 shooting a 218 (+2) on the par-72 course played over 7,253 yards. "This probably was Kyle's best tournament of his career," Brockbank said. "He just played solid and consistent. This is going to be a huge confidence builder for him."

Berg Crawford shot a solid 74 on the last day to help secure a top-ten finish for BYU. "We needed him to step up and he came through in a big way for us today," Brockbank said.