HOT SPRINGS -- BYU's men's golf team, ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation, is in second place after the first day of the NCAA Golf Championships held at the 6,679-yard, par-70 Cascades Golf Course in Hot Springs, Va.
With strong, swirling winds and U.S. Open-length rough, BYU hung tough on the first day of the biggest tournament in college golf. The Cougars finished even par (280), just one shot behind leader California and one stroke ahead of third-place Texas Christian (281). Auburn and Kentucky (283) rounded out the top five. The remainder of the top 10 includes USC (284), defending national champion Clemson, Florida and Georgia (285) and Oklahoma (286).
"I gotta say I was really impressed with our guys," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "They really got after it today. Considering the conditions, this had to be our most impressive 18 holes of golf I've seen our guys play all year."
BYU played solid team golf as four Cougar golfers finished the day among the top 30 individuals. Junior Todd Miller, son of PGA legend Johnny Miller, led the Cougars after going one-under-par 69. Miller's round included four birdies, five double-bogies, and an eagle on the par-five No. 16 hole. All-MWC first-team selections Oscar Alvarez and Jake Ellison finished the day even-par 70. Both are tied for 20th place along with the top individual golfer in the country, Bill Haas of Wake Forest, who is the son of PGA pro Jay Haas. Ron Harvey Jr. is tied for 30th place after finishing one-over 71.
"This course is extremely tough and our guys really had their short games going today," Brockbank said. "On the last hole, all five guys hit six-to-nine-foot putts in swirling winds to all finish with pars. That was big for us."
The Cougars, who haven't been to the NCAA Championships since 2000, hope to keep Tuesday's momentum going into the second round. The NCAA Golf Championship is four rounds of 18 holes with only the top 15 teams advancing to the fourth and final round on Friday. The Cougars finished in ninth place in 1999, but haven't finished in the top five since a fourth-place finish in 1986. BYU won the NCAA Golf Championship in 1981.
"I've got five guys who think we can play with anybody in the country, so it's going to be an exciting next couple of days," Brockbank said. "This was a great day, but there's a lot of golf left to be played."
Second round action begins Wednesday at 7 a.m. The Cougars have an 8:30 a.m. EST tee time on the first tee. Live stats are available at www.golfstat.com.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 California, U. of 279 -1
2 Brigham Young Univ. 280 E
3 TCU 281 +1
T4 Auburn 283 +3
T4 Kentucky 283 +3
6 Southern California 284 +4
T7 Clemson 285 +5
T7 Florida 285 +5
T7 Georgia 285 +5
10 Oklahoma 286 +6
11 Texas 288 +8
T12 Penn State 289 +9
T12 UCLA 289 +9
T12 Washington 289 +9
T12 Georgia Tech 289 +9
T16 Texas A&M 291 +11
T16 New Mexico 291 +11
T18 Georgia State 292 +12
T18 Arizona State 292 +12
T18 Purdue 292 +12
T18 Arizona 292 +12
T18 Oklahoma State 292 +12
T23 North Carolina 294 +14
T23 Kent State 294 +14
T23 Toledo 294 +14
T23 Vanderbilt 294 +14
27 Pepperdine 295 +15
28 SMU 297 +17
29 Wichita State 298 +18
30 Rhode Island 299 +19
BYU INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T9 Todd Miller 69 -1
T20 Osar Alvarez 70 E
T20 Jake Ellison 70 E
T30 Ron Harvey Jr. 71 +1
T87 Greg Machtaler 74 +4