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PROVO — The BYU men's golf team checked one goal off its list with a conference championship, but the next step — advancing to the NCAA championships — will be anything-but guaranteed.
BYU will take the No. 8 seed into next week's Morgan Hill NCAA regional at The Institute Golf Club in California, where conference rival Pepperdine is the No. 1 seed, in the Cougars' 26th NCAA Regional appearance since the association moved to the format in 1989 and third in the last four eligible seasons.
It's also at a course that "not a lot of people have seen," BYU coach Bruce Brockbank told ESPN radio in Utah County, referring to The Institute's private status.
"Even the golfers at San Jose get to play it once or twice a year, because it's so private," the West Coast Conference coach of the year said. "Every regional is loaded, there are so many good teams, and you've got to go take your best stuff May 15-17 and play as good as you've played all year."
The WCC champion Cougars were one of four teams from the league selected to the regional round, along with Pepperdine, San Diego and San Francisco.
Led by All-WCC first-team golfers Zac Jones and Carson Lundell and the WCC Coach of the Year in Brockbank, the Cougars rose to No. 43 nationally in the GolfStat Division I men's golf rankings before holding off the field at the WCC tournament by one stroke.
"This group of kids has had their sights set on this for even 2-3 years back," Brockbank said. "They worked really hard this year to win a conference championship, and we've got a great golf conference — especially Pepperdine. They won the national championship in '19, and they just keep pouring it on.
"You just have to play your best golf, and we found a way."
Coach of the Year for our Commander in Chief 🫡 pic.twitter.com/mtK6f5mSAF
— BYU Men's Golf (@BYUmgolf) May 2, 2023
Jones, the reigning Utah State amateur champion who won conference medalist honors in a playoff, carded 9-under-par 207 for his second individual title of the season. The Lone Peak alum also won the Arizona Intercollegiate, carding 65-69-66 for his first collegiate victory to go along with four top-11 finishes and three in the top seven.
Lundell earned his third-straight All-WCC first-team selection after finishing eighth at the WCC championships. The fifth-year senior added nine top-25 finishes in 2022-23, five top 10s and three third-place results with a scoring average of 70.5 strokes.
Other Utah-born golfers on BYU's squad include Lone Peak's Max Brenchley, an All-WCC honorable mention honoree; former Pleasant Grove basketball standout Keanu Akina; Skyline's Tyson Shelley and Westminster transfer David Timmins, who prepped at Brighton.
"The Utah PGA and the Utah Junior Golf Association has quite a crop of young athletes, especially this group," Brockbank said. "When (BYU director of golf Todd Miller) and I looked at the class a few years ago, we knew we had a couple of very good kids in state. If we could keep them, we knew we could compete."
Utah golfer Javier Barcos, a Spanish international, will compete as an individual in the Morgan Hill regional, while Utah Valley's Brady McKinlay will compete as an individual in Las Vegas. The Wolverines will also send a team to the 18-team, 54-hole National Golf Invitational beginning May 19 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.
"I'm really excited for Javier," said Utah coach Garrett Clegg of his All-Pac-12 second-team golfer in a school release. "He's a great player and this is a great way for him to be completing his year."
Also from the WCC, San Diego claimed the No. 8 seed at the East Lansing regional at Eagle Eye Golf Club in Michigan and San Francisco earned the No. 8 seed at the Las Vegas regional held at Bear's Best Las Vegas.
Led by two-time Utah amateur champion Preston Summerhays, Arizona State will be the top seed in that regional.
"Anywhere we go, we're happy," said former BYU golfer Matt Thurmond, the seventh-year head coach at ASU. "We'll take Las Vegas; we're a great fit. I don't know much about Bear's Best, but we're looking forward to checking it out and having a great time in Vegas."
The NCAA selected 81 teams and 45 additional individual golfers to fill out six regionals, with the top five teams and top individual advancing through each 54-hole tournament that will set up the 30-team field for the NCAA championships May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Texas is the defending champion following a season where Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent won the 2022 individual title.
