PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Peter Kuest won the Saint Mary’s Invitational after shooting a final-round 67 (-4) Wednesday, leading No. 4 BYU men’s golf to a second-place finish overall.
“The guys played a great tournament,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “I’m really happy for Peter. We weren’t able to get the team win unfortunately but the guys played hard and had a really great fall season.”
Kuest fired a total score of 202 (-11) over three rounds of play to win the tournament by four strokes. He carded a team-high six birdies Wednesday and a tournament-high 15 throughout the 54-holes of play. Kuest now has three individual wins this season and 10 throughout his collegiate career. He is currently ranked the No. 3 collegiate golfer in the nation by Golfstat.com.
“It felt great to get the win,” Kuest said. “Coming into today I thought if I could finish around ten-under that I would have a shot. I was fortunate enough to do so and come out on top.”
The Cougars, who came into the day in third place, posted a 278 (-6) in Wednesday’s final round to secure their fifth top-two finish in as many tournaments during the fall season. BYU carded a total score of 276-278-278—832 (-20), finishing just five strokes behind first-place Colorado State.
Rhett Rasmussen recorded his fourth top-10 finish of the fall season after tying for sixth place individually. He made three birdies and an eagle Wednesday on his way to posing a third-round 69 (-2), ending the tournament with a combined 209 (-4). Freshman Cole Ponich tallied the first top-20 finish of his BYU career, tying for 16th with a third-round 71 (E) and a total score of 211 (-2).
Kelton Hirsch and Carson Lundell rounded out the scoring for the Cougars, finishing tied for 29th and tied for 40th, respectively. Hirsch carded a three day total of 214 (+1) while Lundell shot a 216 (+3). BYU individual competitor Brock Stanger tied for 45th place after posting a four-over 217 over three rounds.
After Colorado State and BYU, Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon State wrapped up the top-five, followed by WCC foe and tournament-host Saint Mary’s. Other WCC opponents San Francisco and Santa Clara finished tied for ninth and 13th, respectively, followed by Pacific, which finished 16th. In-state rival Utah finished in 12th place.
The Saint Mary’s Invitational concludes the Cougars' fall season, with the team having won two tournaments and finishing runner-up in the other three. BYU will tee off its spring season at the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 27-28.
Final Individual Results
| Player | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | To Par | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Kuest | 67 | 68 | 67 | 202 | -11 | 1 |
| Rhett Rasmussen | 72 | 68 | 69 | 209 | -4 | T6 |
| Cole Ponich | 70 | 70 | 71 | 211 | -2 | T16 |
| Kelton Hirsch | 69 | 72 | 73 | 214 | +1 | T29 |
| Carson Lundell | 70 | 75 | 71 | 216 | +3 | T40 |
| *Brock Stanger | 72 | 73 | 72 | 217 | +4 | T45 |
*Competing as individual
Final Team Results (Top 6 Only)
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | To Par | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State | 267 | 280 | 280 | 827 | -25 | 1 |
| BYU | 276 | 278 | 278 | 832 | -20 | 2 |
| Arizona | 278 | 275 | 283 | 836 | -16 | 3 |
| New Mexico | 279 | 278 | 284 | 841 | -11 | 4 |
| Oregon State | 280 | 291 | 281 | 852 | E | 5 |
| Saint Mary's | 283 | 285 | 285 | 853 | +1 | 6 |