NORMAN, Okla. — Top-5 individual finishes by Patrick Fishburn and Peter Kuest propelled the No. 39-ranked BYU men’s golf team to a tie for second place at the NCAA Norman Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. With the runner-up finish, the Cougars advance to the NCAA Division I Golf Championships for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
BYU entered Wednesday’s final round of the regional tournament tied for fourth with No. 10 Auburn at 573 (-3), six shots behind the leader Oklahoma at 567 (-9). The Cougars closed out the 54-hole event with a 278 for a three-round total of 295-278-278—851 (-13). The 10-under-par closing round proved to be the best final-round score of day and jumped BYU into a second-place tie with North Florida, just one shot behind No. 3-ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners won the tournament with three-day total of 283-284-283—850 (-14).
“The team was so impressive the last two days,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “It was a total team effort. It was so awesome to have all five guys competing in the final stretch of the tournament. Kuest was absolutely fantastic today and Fishburn really stepped up.”
The Cougars were led by senior Fishburn who shot a 69 (-3) in the final round. The Utah native, finished the regional in second place, carding a 71-66-69—206 (-10). Fishburn birdied three holes on the final day to finish just one shot behind North Florida’s Travis Trace, who won the individual title with a 70-70-65—205 (-11).
Peter Kuest had the lowest BYU score of the final round with a 6-under-par 66. His three-day total of 74-70-66—210, placed the sophomore in a fifth-place tie with WCC foe Joshua McCarthy of Pepperdine. Kuest birdied seven holes on the final day, including two of his last three holes, to help secure BYU’s second-place finish.
Rhett Rasmussen shot 72 on the final day to finish the regional tied for 18th with a three-round total of 75-68-72—215. The sophomore birdied three holes in a row on back nine to post an even-par final round. CJ Lee, a senior, fired a 1–under-par 71 to finished tied for 39th with a 54-hole total of 75-75-71—221 (+5). Spencer Dunaway, a junior, wrapped up the three-day competition tied for 65th with a 54-hole total of 231.
BYU’s men golf team advances to the NCAA Championship along with top-5 finishers No. 3 Oklahoma (850), No. 27 North Florida (851), No. 10 Auburn (861) and No. 15 Arkansas (861). The Championships will be held in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at Karsten Creek Golf Club from May 24-30.
2018 NCAA Norman Regional - May 14-16, 2018
Jimmie Austin Oklahoma University Golf Club
Place | Player | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | To-Par |
2 | Patrick Fishburn | 71 | 66 | 69 | 206 | -10 |
T5 | Peter Kuest | 74 | 70 | 66 | 210 | -6 |
T18 | Rhett Rasmussen | 75 | 68 | 72 | 215 | -1 |
T39 | CJ Lee | 75 | 75 | 71 | 221 | +5 |
T65 | Spencer Dunaway | 84 | 74 | 73 | 231 | +15 |
Place | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | To-Par |
1 | No. 3 Oklahoma | 283 | 284 | 283 | 850 | -14 |
T2 | No. 39 BYU | 295 | 278 | 278 | 851 | -13 |
T2 | No. 27 Florida State | 288 | 283 | 280 | 851 | -13 |
T4 | No. 10 Auburn | 288 | 285 | 288 | 861 | -3 |
T4 | No. 15 Arkansas | 288 | 293 | 280 | 861 | -3 |
6 | No. 22 Florida State | 293 | 284 | 285 | 862 | -2 |
7 | No. 46 Virginia | 297 | 281 | 285 | 863 | -1 |
8 | No. 33 Pepperdine | 295 | 274 | 295 | 864 | E |
9 | Nevada | 294 | 285 | 288 | 867 | +3 |
10 | San Diego State | 290 | 290 | 290 | 870 | +6 |
11 | Missouri-Kansas City | 293 | 297 | 291 | 881 | +17 |
12 | Sam Houston State | 301 | 289 | 298 | 888 | +24 |
13 | Navy | 323 | 302 | 296 | 921 | +57 |
14 | Prairie View A&M | 315 | 316 | 312 | 943 | +79 |