Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
STILLWATER, Okla. — BYU played its second round Saturday at the NCAA men’s golf championships at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
And while the Cougars have work left to do to compete for a championship, one local standout is in position to do so individually.
BYU’s Patrick Fishburn was tied for second after two rounds of stroke play, just one shot behind Brandon Manchebo of Auburn.
Fishburn, the top golfer from BYU who hails from Ogden, shot a 5-under-par 67 in Friday’s opening round, then added an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for second with six other golfers.
“It has been a crazy couple of days,” BYU coach Bruce Brockbank said after Friday’s round. “This is a great championship golf course because you have to hit the ball in the right spot off every tee. We played average for our Sunday score, getting behind and losing our focus. We have asked these players to do some things they have never had to do, like starting and stopping their rounds several times in 27 holes.”
Fishburn, who has won a Utah State Amateur title and the Utah Open last summer, is tied with Clemson teammates Doc Redman and Bryson Nimmer, Arizona State’s Chun An Yu, Kent State’s Chase Johnson, Vanderbilt’s John Augenstein and Texas Tech’s Ivan Ramirez with a two-day total of 5-under 139.
The former Fremont High standout fired three birdies on the front nine of Saturday’s round, but a double bogey on the par-4, 500-yard 17th hole pushed him in the pack chasing the leaders.
The Cougars finished Saturday tied for 13th at 9-over 585. C.J. Lee is tied for 4th with a two-day total of 1-over 145, Rhett Rasmussen is tied for 90th at 5-over 149, and Peter Kuest carded a two-day 152.
Fishburn and the rest of the Cougars finished their third round Saturday, while every other school will play the third round Sunday. The NCAA allowed BYU to play its third round early, per its religious exemption policy — but the Cougars were forced to play 27 holes Friday after ending Thursday’s make-up round early due to weather and darkness.
They’ll sit out Sunday’s round, adding a reported 23-over to their score played with Sunday’s pin placements prior to the weekend.
The team champion will be determined via match play, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday, May 29.
Sunday update:
After Sunday’s third round, Fishburn fell to a tie for 30th place with a 6-over 78.
Fishburn, who played his round Thursday and early Friday because of weather and the NCAA’s religious exemption policy, shot 4-over 40 on the front nine, which included three-straight bogeys on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes.
Clemson’s Bryson Nimmer sits atop the leaderboard with a three-day total of 9-under 207, two shots ahead of Auburn’s Brandon Manchebo.
BYU finished tied for 24th as a team, with a combined total of 33-over-par to miss the cut by 15 strokes. Only the top-15 teams advanced in the NCAA championships, led by Duke (10-under) and Oklahoma State (7-under).
