PROVO, Utah — Led by veterans Carson Lundell, David Timmins and Cole Ponich, BYU men’s golf secured two team victories, a runner-up finish at the WCC tournament, and a trip to the national championship for the third time in four seasons.
“I am really proud of our guys for their hard work, dedication and how much they fought for the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage in college golf,” said BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank. “After the rough patch we hit during the fall season, we didn’t know if making it to the national championship would be possible, but this group rallied together, worked their tails off, played some incredible golf and were able to make it a reality.”
BYU began the season at the William H. Tucker Invitational at the UNM Championship Course where they ran away from the field. The Cougars were under par on all three days and fired the third lowest 18-hole team score in round two when they shot an 18-under par 270.
“It’s very rare in division I golf to win a tournament by 19 shots as we did in New Mexico,” said BYU director of golf Todd Miller. “Winning our first tournament of the season so convincingly surprised a lot of coaches including Bruce and myself.”
With Keanu Akina finishing runner-up, Timmins in sixth, Lundell in ninth, Max Brenchley in 10th and Cole Ponich in 13th, BYU cruised to a 19-shot victory over the host New Mexico Lobos.
Uncharacteristically, the Cougars struggled in their next few events during the fall season. BYU took sixth at the Paintbrush Invitational in Colorado, 12th in frigid conditions at the Nevada Wolfpack Invitational, fifth at the Stockton Invitational and eighth at the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Poppy Hills.
“I also didn’t see us going from top 20 in the rankings to barley top 100,” said Miller. “I think the team got complacent after such a strong start and we couldn’t get that fire back during the fall, but Bruce and I weren’t going to allow a team as talented as this to underperform. He pushed us all to set new goals, work harder and it really paid off.”
During BYU’s fall campaign, the Cougars returning All-American Lundell was a bright spot, recording four top-25 finished and two top-11s, however he was still hungry for more.
“Even though Carson had some solid finishes in the fall, he was extremely frustrated with his game,” said Miller. “Golf is a sport that will test your mental fortitude and this year was extremely difficult for him as his putting, his ball striking, and his mental game were all just a little bit off.”
Shortly after opening the spring season, head coach Bruce Brockbank announced the addition of former Cougar and PGA Tour veteran Daniel Summerhays to his coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach.
“After an underwhelming fall season, we were on the outside looking in for a regional bid as we headed into the spring,” said BYU senior David Timmins. “Coach Summerhays was the spark plug that got us going and he is a huge reason why we were able to play so well to finish the season.”
While at BYU, Summerhays finished in the top-25 27 times in three seasons, had 16 top-10 finishes and won the 2007 PING Cougar Classic. After becoming the first amateur to win a Nationwide Tour event in 2007, Summerhays forwent his senior season to join the tour for the 2007-08 season. On the PGA Tour the former First Team All-American played 215 events, made 128 cuts, tallied 46 top-25 finishes, 19 top-10s, a third-place finish and two runner-up’s between 2010 and 2020.
“When you have someone that has accomplished so much in their career believe in you, it does something to your game that nothing else can,” said Timmins. “He was all in from the time he rejoined the BYU golf program, and I believe that is a huge reason why we were able to play so well to close the season.”
After the disappointing fall season, the Cougars began the spring campaign with back-to-back fourth place finishes at the Arizona and John A. Burns Intercollegiate. In Tucson, BYU knocked off two top-30 teams in Duke and San Francisco while they took down the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies in Hawaii.
The Cougars finished sixth and ninth respectively at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic and The Goodwin before finishing 5th, ahead of No. 12 Stanford and No. 30 Arizona at the 75th Western Intercollegiate.
After their fifth-place finish in San Jose, the Cougars entered the rankings for the first time in the spring season as the 50th ranked team in the country. At the PING Cougar Classic, BYU weathered rain, wind and hail as they ran away from the competition to win the event for the 39th time in the 57 years of the tournament. Lundell took home the individual title at the Cougar Classic, making him the 29th Cougar to win medalist honors.
BYU moved up to 45th in the rankings as they traveled to the West Coast Conference Championship. The No. 45 Cougars gave No. 6 Pepperdine Waves a run for their money, but ultimately finished runner-up which secured an invitation to one of the six NCAA Regionals.
At the NCAA Stockton Regional, BYU sat in fourth after day one, but moved into a tie for third after a 12-under-par second round. The Cougars followed that with an 11-under final round to finish solo third and advance to the national championship for the third time in four seasons.
“It was such a great week for us," said Lundell "We worked very hard the past two months to be prepared for postseason, and that hard work paid off. We came in with confidence and every guy on our team stepped up when we needed them. [David] Timmins had another phenomenal tournament and it was pretty special for me to win the individual title this week. We’re stoked to keep our season going and we’re looking to make some noise at the national championship."
Lundell led the charging Cougars back to the national championship as he went on a tear of his own to vault up the national rankings. Lundell began the spring season with back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Arizona and John A. Burns Intercollegiate.
After finishing just outside the top-25 with a 26th place finish at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic, the senior finished eighth at the Goodwin, runner-up at the prestigious 75th Western Intercollegiate for the second-straight year, won the 57th PING Cougar Classic and finished 12th at the WCC Championship.
Lundell then joined an exclusive group of BYU golfers who have won an NCAA Regional. The Lone Peak product carded three-straight sub-70 rounds to take the NCAA Stockton Regional by one shot over No. 27 Mason Anderson of Arizona State and help the Cougars return to the national championship.
“I applaud Carson for pushing through and turning his season around,” said Miller. “His win at the Stockton Regional took a weight off his shoulders that he had been carrying for a while. This season has really proved to everyone that he is one of the best players in collegiate golf.”
The emergence of David Timmins also aided the Cougars during their run. The transfer from Westminster came up big when it mattered as he recorded three top-13 finishes in his last five events. Timmins also posted the lowest round by any Cougar this season as he fired a 9-under 63 in the first round of the 57th PING Cougar Classic on his way to a runner-up finish.
“As a coach, you hope every player that comes through your program develops new skills and makes improvements in their game,” said Miller. “David is one of those guys who is looking to learn and take every opportunity to get better. He has put in the time to get better, has seen great results and if he stays on this trajectory, he can be an All-American in the years ahead.”
After finishing in the top-5 in six of their last nine events, the Cougars vaulted up the rankings reaching as high as 41st in the country before taking on 29 teams at the NCAA Championship.
At the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, BYU finished in a tie for 21st with No. 18 Florida State with rounds of 295-302-290—887. The 41st ranked Cougars finished ahead of No. 30 East Tennessee State, No. 31 South Florida, No. 32 Ohio State, No. 33 North Florida, No. 38 Liberty and No. 47 Utah.
BYU returns all five starters from the 2022 team as it looks to make a return trip to Scottsdale next May.
“This team made some huge improvements with their putting and the mental side of the game and we are much better now than we were in the fall,” said Miler. “That being said, we are excited to have everyone back next year and to see if we can be a more consistent team throughout the season. We believe that there is enough talent on this team to not only return to the national championship, but make match play round next year."