Strong Finish for Cougars in South Bend

Day 1 Recap

SOUTH BEND -- The BYU men’s golf team continued to show improvement throughout the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic as the Cougars bettered their score in each round of play to finish the event in ninth place at +52 (299-297-296--892).

BYU went +16 in Tuesday’s third round, their best score of the event. Tournament-host Notre Dame won the event at 30-over-par.

Senior Brady Johnson was the top Cougar finisher at 10-over-par (74-72-74--220) for the tournament to finish tied for 17th. He went +4 on Tuesday with three birdies to record the second-best BYU score. Birdies on the par-4 2nd hole and the par-5 4th hole helped Johnson go -1 on the front nine.

The next three Cougars finished just two strokes apart as junior Esteban Castillo tied for 32nd at +14 (75-74-75--224), freshman Zachary Blair tied for 37th at +15 (76-74-75--225) and sophomore Jordan Rodgers tied for 40th at +16 (74-77-76--226). All three golfers went +5 on Tuesday. Blair and Rodgers each posted three birdies on the day.

Senior Robbie Fillmore led the way for the Cougars over the final 18 holes, going 2-over-par with a birdie on the par-4 13th hole. The Mountain West Conference’s stroke leader struggled in Monday’s rounds but rebounded to finish 61st at +21 (77-82-72--231).

The Cougars now have three weeks off before returning to action on Oct. 26-27 at the Baylor Intercollegiate.

Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic

The Field

1. Notre Dame +30

2. Ohio State +34

3. Arkansas +38

4. Texas-Arlington +43

5. Lamar +44

T6. Houston +45

T6. Iowa +45

8. Missouri +46

9. BYU +52

10. Cincinnati +54

11. Colorado +55

12. San Francisco +58

13. St. Mary’s +59

14. Miami (Ohio) +61

15. Georgetown +64

BYU +52 (299-297-296--892)

T17 B. Johnson 74-72-74--220 +10

T32 E. Calisto 75-74-75--224 +14

T37 Z. Blair 76-74-75--225 +15

T40 J. Rodgers 74-77-75--226 +16

61 R. Fillmore 77-82-72--231 +21