FRESNO, Calif. — BYU men’s golf fired a 286 (-16) Tuesday to win the Nick Watney Invitational while Peter Kuest and Rhett Rasmussen finished in second and third place, respectively.
Rasmussen carded a 62 (-9) in Tuesday's final round to record the third lowest 18-hole individual score in team history, while the Cougars' third-round 268 tied the third lowest 18-hole team score in program history.
“We had a really strong back nine which fortunately got us the win today,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “Even after a little bit of a slow start we proved that we really were the best team at the tournament.”
The Cougars shot a combined 822 (-30) through three rounds of play to finish the tournament five strokes ahead of second-place Long Beach State. BYU posted 24 birdies Tuesday to pull away from the 49ers after both teams had finished the first two rounds in a first-place tie.
Playing in his hometown of Fresno, Kuest tied for first through the first three rounds with Long Beach State’s Hunter Epson after carding a 67 (-4) in the final round and a 200 (-13) overall. Kuest, however, was forced to settle for second after falling to Epson in a sudden-death playoff for the outright individual title. With the second-place finish Kuest now has 15 top-five finishes throughout his BYU career.
Rasmussen fired ten birdies over the last 14 holes Tuesday, including six consecutive through holes five and ten. He finished the tournament at 12-under after posting rounds of 73 (+2) and 66 (-5) Monday. Rasmussen now has eight top-five finishes in his collegiate career.
“My putter was really working for me today and the birdies kept coming,” Rasmussen said. “It feels good to get the team win.”
Kelton Hirsch finished tied for 30th after posting a 68 (-3) in the third round. Cole Ponich shot a 71 (E) to finish tied for 35th, while Carson Lundell posted a 75 (+4) to finish tied for 41st and round out the scoring for the Cougars.
San Jose State finished the tournament in third place, followed by WCC foe San Diego, who finished tied for fourth with tournament-host Fresno State. Other WCC members Pacific and Gonzaga finished in ninth and 11th place, respectively.
The Cougars will compete next at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate Oct. 7-8 in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Live stats and the leaderboard will be available at GolfStat.com.
Final Individual Results
| Player | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | To Par | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Kuest | 68 | 65 | 67 | 200 | -13 | T1** |
| Rhett Rasmussen | 73 | 66 | 62 | 201 | -12 | 3 |
| Kelton Hirsch | 71 | 75 | 68 | 214 | +1 | T30 |
| Cole Ponich | 74 | 70 | 72 | 215 | +2 | T35 |
| Carson Lundell | 69 | 72 | 75 | 216 | +3 | T41 |
| *Brock Stanger | 71 | 76 | 74 | 221 | +8 | T69 |
*Competing as individual
**Finished second after a sudden-death playoff
Final Team Results (Top 5 Only)
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | To Par | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYU | 281 | 273 | 268 | 822 | -30 | 1 |
| Long Beach State | 274 | 280 | 273 | 827 | -25 | 2 |
| San Jose State | 280 | 280 | 269 | 829 | -23 | 3 |
| San Diego | 281 | 279 | 273 | 833 | -19 | T4 |
| Fresno State | 283 | 272 | 278 | 833 | -19 | T4 |