WAHIAWA -- The 10th-ranked BYU men's golf team returned to action in the opening round of the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, finishing the day in eighth place with a two under par.
Competing against 21 universities, the Cougars currently remain 12 strokes back of the tournament leaders New Mexico (No. 4) and UNLV (No. 16). BYU also trails Auburn (No. 5), Texas Tech (No. 24), Arizona (No. 31), SDSU and Colorado.
The Cougars started off the day well, but ran into problems on the final five or six holes of the back nine, averaging roughly six shots per hole.
"We left a lot out there," said head coach Bruce Brockbank. "We had it going at times, but with good teams, you can't play the way we did. We're a lot better than we played today. We had a sloppy finish and it's going to make it tough tomorrow."
Seniors Greg Machtaler and Todd Miller led the Cougars' attack. Machtaler continued to impress the college golfing world as he carded the best round of his career at the tournament (68), finishing in a fifth-place tie. Miller also played well despite some unfortunate bounces into rough areas of the course and managed to shoot an even par to close the day.
Jake Ellison, Oscar Alvarez and Ron Harvey, Jr. rounded off the team's score, finishing the opening round with a 1-over-par 73. Clay Ogden and Nick Becker, who are playing as individuals at this year's event, also finished the first round shooting a 73.
According to Brockbank, if BYU can put together a solid performance, averaging six to seven under par in each of the remaining days, it can still have a chance to do well in the tournament.
"We've got our work cut out for us," Brockbank said. "Hopefully we can bounce back tomorrow. It's going to require two great rounds to get us back in it. We'll see if we can't be more aggressive, cut down on the bogeys and hit some birdies."
The Cougars look to make up lost ground tomorrow as they tee off in the morning for round two.
Leilehua Golf Course - Par 72 - 6,916 yards
TEAM RESULTS
T1. UNLV 274 (-14)
T1. New Mexico 274 (-14)
3. Arizona 278 (-10)
T4. Texas Tech 280 (-8)
T4. SDSU 280 (-8)
6. Colorado 281 (-7)
7. Auburn 283 (-5)
T8. BYU 286 (-2)
T8. SMU 286 (-2)
10. Hawaii 288 (E)
11. San Jose St. 291 (+3)
T12. Texas A&M 292 (+4)
T12. Denver 292 (+4)
T14. Pacific 293 (+5)
T14. Utah 293 (+5)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T5. Greg Machtaler 34-34--68
T33. Todd Miller 37-35--72
T49. Jake Ellison 36-37--73
T49. Oscar Alvarez 38-35--73
T49. Ron Harvey, Jr. 38-35--73
T49. Clay Ogden* 38-35--73
T49. Nick Becker* 36-37--73
-Through 18 holes, 36 remaining
*Competing as individuals