TEMPE -- They knew it would be tough, but they didn't know it would be this tough.
The No. 12-ranked BYU men's golf team, top-five finishers all season long, shared 13th place with Washington on Friday after two rounds at the 32nd annual ASU Thunderbird Invitational. If they fail to move up in the standings, the streaking Cougars, who have been third best or better in their last three outings, will have their lowest finish of the season.
Host ASU dominated the action Friday. The Sun Devils, who won their 2003 tournament after shooting a whopping 40-under-par, are in an advantageous position to do so again this year, holding a 10-stroke lead over second-place New Mexico and riding the stellar play of Alejandro Canizares (65-66--131), who is 13-under-par after just two rounds.
However, California's Peter Tomasulo stole the show with a course-record 61 in the first round of play.
"There was some incredible golf played here today," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said.
For the Cougars (288-289--577), Oscar Alvarez, whose 72.0 stroke average is second-lowest on the team, continued to put up outstanding scores Friday with 70-67--137 through two rounds.
"It's nice to see Oscar playing with so much confidence," Brockbank said.
Besides Alvarez, sophomore Clay Bingham was two-over par at 73-73--146. Juniors Greg Machtaler and Todd Miller shot 75-72--147 and 77-77--154, respectively. Freshman Jake Ellison, back from a minor injury that kept him out of last week's Border Olympics in Texas, shot 70-80--150. Freshman Clay Ogden, competing as an individual, shot 71-75--146.
Brockbank said he expects his team to rebound from Friday's frustrations and to make better decisions on Saturday.
The Thunderbird Invitational drew a tough field of 15 teams, including eight clubs that are ranked in the top 25 in the latest Golf Coaches Association poll. They are the following: ninth-ranked Arizona, fifth-ranked Arizona State, No. 11 UNLV, No. 12 Brigham Young, No. 16 California, No. 17 New Mexico, No. 20 USC, and No. 22 Washington. Other clubs also competing are: Texas Tech, Pepperdine, Oregon State, Oregon, Texas-El Paso, San Diego State, and Stanford.
The Thunderbird, hosted by ASU, is played at the ASU Karsten Course, a par-72 course that measures 7,027 yards.
ASU Thunderbird Invitational Tempe, Ariz.
April 9 Karsten Course
Par: 72 Yardage: 7,027
Fin. Name Score
T 13 Brigham Young 288-289--577 (+1)
T 10 Oscar Alvarez 70-67--137 (-7)
T 51 Clay Bingham 73-73--146 (+2)
T 58 Greg Machtaler 75-72--147 (+3)
T 71 Jake Ellison 70-80--150 (+6)
T 81 Todd Miller 77-77--154 (+10)
T 51 *Clay Ogden 71-75--146 (+2)
*Competed as an individual
Fin. School Score
1 Arizona State 270-278--548 (-28)
T 2 New Mexico 273-285--558 (-18)
T 2 Arizona 273-285--558 (-18)
T 2 Southern California 277-281--558 (-18)
5 Pepperdine 280-279--559 (-17)
6 Arizona State-Maroon 275-285--560 (-16)
7 California 275-289--564 (-12)
8 Texas Tech 278-288--566 (-10)
9 Texas-El Paso 291-276--567 (-9)
10 UNLV 282-286--568 (-8)
11 Oregon 287-286--573 (-3)
12 Stanford 296-280--576 (E)
T 13 Washington 278-299--577 (+1)
T 13 Brigham Young 288-289--577 (+1)
T 15 San Diego State 293-285--578 (+2)
T 15 Oregon State 283-295--578 (+2)
Fin. Top 20 Players School Score
1 Alejandro Canizares Arizona State 65-66--131 (-13)
T 2 Peter Tomasulo California 61-72--133 (-11)
T 2 Kendall Critchfield Arizona State-Maroon 63-70--133 (-11)
T 4 Michael Putnam Pepperdine 68-67--135 (-9)
T 4 Ryan Moore UNLV 67-68--135 (-9)
T 6 Brock Mackenzie Washington 67-69--136 (-8)
T 6 Chez Reavie Arizona State 66-70--136 (-8)
T 6 Oscar Floren Texas Tech 64-72--136 (-8)
T 6 Joshua Wooding Southern California 66-70--136 (-8)
T 10 Zack Miller Stanford 71-66--137 (-7)
T 10 Oscar Alvarez Brigham Young 70-67--137 (-7)
T 10 Chris Nallen Arizona 66-71--137 (-7)
T 10 Charlie Beljan New Mexico 69-68--137 (-7)
T 14 Chris Baryla Texas-El Paso 71-67--138 (-6)
T 14 Nathan Tyler Arizona 66-72--138 (-6)
T 16 Ben Hayes Southern California 67-72--139 (-5)
T 16 Randy Creighton Pepperdine 69-70--139 (-5)
T 16 Brad Simpson Oregon State 67-72--139 (-5)
T 19 Spencer Levin New Mexico 66-74--140 (-4)
T 19 Nico Bollini Southern California 73-67--140 (-4)
T 19 Travis Whisman UNLV 68-72--140 (-4)
T 19 Pat Moore Arizona State-Maroon 68-72--140 (-4)
T 19 James Allenby Texas-El Paso 73-67--140 (-4)
T 19 Chris Pace Texas Tech 70-70--140 (-4)