Cougars make dramatic comeback, win playoff to advance

BYU started the day tied for 25th out of 30 teams and needed to make up seven strokes to sneak into the top 15 and make the final-round cut. Under rainy conditions and a late afternoon tee time, BYU started to make a move. After nine holes they were just three strokes away from the coveted fifteenth spot.

On the back nine BYU would need some big putts and heroics from all four counting scores. With four holes to play the Cougars still trailed 15th place Coastal Carolina by two strokes. Jake Ellison and Daniel Summerhays birdied the par-four hole 15, but Oscar Alvarez made bogey. Alvarez bogied 16 as well, but Clay Ogden chipped in on 18 to make a key birdie. The Cougars still trailed by one stroke when both Summerhays and Ellison lipped out birdie putts on 17. Then on hole 18 Alarez made a 15-foot birdie putt to pull the Cougars even with Coastal Carolina.

With Summerhays and Ellison still had to par 18 for BYU to have a chance to advance. Summerhay’s first chance at birdie was about four feet short, but the gallery roared when he sunk a clutch par putt.

“I haven’t been that nervous in a long, long time,” Summerhays said. “People can’t see it, but I’m out there shaking. I just tried to stay confident and believe that I was going to make that putt.”

Ellison made a fantastic second shot on 18 to give him a great chance at birdie. A four-foot putt was all that separated BYU from advancing. Ellison just missed, then made par to help BYU go to a sudden-death playoff. In the playoff both Nick Becker and Ogden bogied while Summerhays made par. The first two Coastal Carolina players made double-bogey and bogey. Alvarez hit a sensation birdie putt from 30 feet off the green to within a couple inches and made par.. Then Ellison canned a bending 25-foot birdie putt to put the pressure on Coastal Carolina. Carolina couldn’t recover as their next player bogied, sealing the victory for BYU.

“Our backs were against the wall, and once again these guys stepped up and performed,” BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “To see them win that playoff hole to make the cut was as exciting as any victory I’ve been a part of.”

Summerhays was the Cougar for the second straight day, posting an impressive three-under-par 69. He had three birdies, several big par putts and no bogies. He moves into a tie for 16th place with Ellison at one-under-par for the tournament. Ogden also went under par thanks to his clutch birdie on 18. Ellison and Alvarez both went even par to give BYU the best score of the day on Friday at four-under-par.

“I knew we had to play good to get in,” Ellison said. “Everyone just played solid and I’m just excited for our team. Wow, there was sure a lot of drama out there today.”

The Cougars are just four shots out of making their third straight Top 10 finish at the NCAA Championship. Last season they entered the fourth round in 11 place and finished fourth thanks to a phenomenal final round.

“To make the cut the way we did give our team a lot of confidence,” Summerhays said. “If we had to make a cut every round I think we’d be doing pretty good. We just need to go out tomorrow with the same attitude and who knows how we’ll move up.”

The Cougars will tee off in the morning on Saturday hoping for good weather and a repeat of Friday’s memorable performance. Fans can follow the Cougars live on the internet at www.golfstat.com.

BYU INDIVIDUAL SCORES T16. Jake Ellison 69-74-72â€"143 -1 T16. Daniel Summerhays 73-73-69â€"221 -1 T63. Oscar Alvarez 74-74-72â€"149 +5 T103. Clay Ogden 77-76-71â€"224 +8 T130. Nick Becker 77-76-76â€"229 +13

TEAM RESULTS ARE POSTED ON WWW.GOLFSTAT.COM

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