CHULA VISTA, Calif. – Carson Lundell carded a 3-under 69 to lead BYU men’s golf to a first-round score of 288, good for a sixth-place tie through 18-holes at the Lamkin San Diego Classic. 

“Carson played a great round today,” said head coach Bruce Brockbank. “His play has been superb over the past four tournament rounds.” 

Lundell got off to a hot start making birdies on three of the first five holes. He would go on to record seven birdies on the day and is currently in sixth place in the individual standings, tied with four others from Colorado, Cal Poly, San Diego State and San Diego.

The Cougars first-round scoring also included Kelton Hirsch, Cole Ponich and Max Brenchley, each carding a 1-over-par 73, with David Timmins shooting 76. Hirsch, Ponich and Brenchley are tied for 33rd with 13 others in the field. 

“We played some very good golf today,” said Brockbank. “We left a few shots out there, but that’s really easy to do at San Diego Country Club, where it’s difficult to judge the speed of the greens. There are some very strong teams in this tournament and a lot of golf left to play, but today we showed some patience and improvement in a couple of areas that we’ve struggled with in the past.” 

BYU’s even-par 288 on the day gives the Cougars an early lead over three teams ranked in the top 30 in the current Golfstat NCAA Division 1 rankings—co-host San Diego State (20), Kansas (26) and New Mexico (22). 

WCC-rival and co-host, San Diego leads the field after opening the tournament with a 5-under 283. Nevada’s Sam Harned leads the individual standings with a first-round score of 5-under 67. 

The Cougars will resume play at San Diego Country Club on Tuesday at 8:50 a.m. PST. The third and final round will be played on Wednesday, March 10. 

Follow the Cougars in the second round with live stats from Golfstat.
 

BYU men’s golf will return to action at the Lamkin San Diego Classic on March 8-10 at the San Diego Country Club.  

The 54-hole tournament is co-hosted by San Diego State and San Diego. One round will be played each day, with the Cougars teeing off at 7:10 a.m. PST on Monday.  

Competing for the Cougars at the Lamkin Classic will be Carson Lundell, David Timmins, Cole Ponich, Kelton Hirsch and Max Brenchley.  

The Cougars are coming off a victory at the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno, California, on Feb. 8-9. Lundell, Ponich and Timmins each carded career-best three-round scores and Hirsch recorded his fifth career top-15 finish to lead BYU to its first tournament win of the year.  

Lundell tied for first place individually in Fresno and remains ranked in the top 150 of the GolfStat.com NCAA Division 1 Player Rankings.  

 Brenchley will compete for the Cougars for the first time since the Rustic Collegiate Classic in Moorpark, California on Nov. 5-6. The freshman from Alpine, Utah was one of four Cougars to record a top-25 finish at the Rustic Classic and finished tied for fifth in the first action of his collegiate career at the La Purisima College Invite on Oct. 19-20.  

BYU will face its largest field of the season in Chula Vista. The Lamkin Classic field of 19 includes nationally ranked San Diego State (No. 20) and New Mexico (No. 22), WCC-foes San Diego and St. Mary’s as well as marquee programs such as USC and Kansas. The field also features four top-100 individual golfers.  

The Cougars faced New Mexico at the Arizona Intercollegiate on Jan. 25-27, where the Lobos finished third behind now top-ranked Arizona. San Diego State has recorded top-10 finishes in both of its spring tournaments, including a first-place finish and upset of current No. 5 ranked Pepperdine in the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 25-27.  

Keep pace with the Cougars’ in Chula Vista through live scoring updates from Golfstat.