Blair and Parkinson boost BYU to second-place standing

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Zac Blair and Joe Parkinson caught fire during the opening round to lead BYU to a second-place standing after day one of the 2013 Desert Shootout Thursday.

In a strong team effort, BYU finished with an opening round 275 (-9), one stroke behind first-place Tulsa (-10). Denver, Colorado State and Southern Utah are tied for third at four-under-par, five strokes behind the Cougars.

“The course is playing a lot tougher than it’s played before,” BYU associate head golf coach Todd Miller said. “We really have to game plan to play a little bit safer, but the scores were still pretty low today.”

Blair shot a first-round 66 (-5), tying his season-best low score. He currently stands tied for second place on the individual leaderboard, one stroke behind leader Thomas Pieters of Illinois.

Coming off his best collegiate finish during last week’s Triumph at Pauma Valley, freshman Joe Parkinson provided a boost for the Cougars finishing with a career-best 68 during today’s first round. Parkinson had a solid back nine, going four-under-par and currently stands at three-under-par, tied for sixth in the individual standings.

Junior Justin Keiley and sophomore Devon Purser shot opening rounds of 70 and 71, respectively. Keiley currently sits tied for 20^th place at one-under-par, while Purser is tied for 31^st at even par.

Jordan Hammer rounded out the Cougar lineup shooting an opening round 73 (+2) to finish day one tied for 57^th place.

BYU will look to continue its strong play during Friday's second round at Palm Valley Golf Course.

“I thought the team played pretty well,” Miller said. “It’s a good start for us.”

Individual Scores

Team Scores