Men's golf to tee it up for fall season Monday

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men's golf team will compete in its first of three fall events Monday at the Pasadera Collegiate Invite in Monterey, California. 

The Club at Pasadera will host five teams October 5-6 from the West Coast Conference including BYU, Saint Mary's, San Diego, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. Live scoring will be on Golfstat.com and play will include 36 holes on Monday and close out with the final round on Tuesday with 18 holes.

"It has been a very unique year for sure," BYU men's golf coach Bruce Brockbank said. "With everything that has been going on around us it is exciting to have some opportunities for our team to compete."

Those five WCC teams, including BYU, will also compete in two additional tournaments in the fall. Following the Pasadera Collegiate Invite, teams will play in the La Purisima College Invite in Lompoc, California, on Oct. 19-20, before closing out the fall schedule with the Rustic Collegiate Classic on Nov. 5-6 in Moorpark, California.

This will be BYU's first event since the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 spring season in early March. BYU was able to play in three spring tournaments before the season ended after getting five in the fall, including two wins. The Cougars finished the shortened season ranked No. 17 in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll. 

Despite losing PING First-Team All-American Peter Kuest and honorable mention Rhett Rasmussen, eight golfers return for the 2020-21 season, including seniors Austin Banz, Spencer Dunaway, Kelton Hirsch and Brock Stanger. In addition to the seniors, BYU also returns Carson Lundell, a junior, along with sophomores Cole Ponich, Elijiah Turner and Brock Goyen. Newcomers include David Timmins, a sophomore transfer from Westminster College, and freshman Max Brenchley. 

"We have our hands full trying to fill the shoes of Peter and Rhett," Brockbank said. "I am looking forward to watching our guys and see who will step up and contribute our team's success." 

Lundell, who won the Rocky Mountain Amateur as an individual over the summer, tallied three top-20 finishes on the year while boasting a 72.13 stroke average last season. The Alpine, Utah, native’s best finish of the year came at the Pate Intercollegiate, where he tied for fourth.

Hirsch posted two top-20 finishes during the 2019-20 campaign, his best finish also coming at the Pate Intercollegiate, where he tied for ninth.

Ponich qualified for the Utah Championship over the break with a 63 in a qualifying round at TalonsCove Golf Club. He started in seven of the Cougars’ eight tournaments last year and recorded his best result at the Saint Mary’s Invitational, tying for 16th.

Stanger competed in five events last season as an individual and one as a starter while Dunaway competed in two tournaments as a starter and one as an individual at the Coronado Individual. He tied for first at Coronado with a four-under 212. 

Live scoring and results will be on Golfstat.com Monday and Tuesday.