Cougars finish disappointing fourth at MWC Golf Championships

BYU's fifth-ranked men's golf team had a difficult final round finishing fourth at the Mountain West Conference Men's Golf Championship in Palm Desert, Calif. at the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament.

"We had another rough day," Brockbank said. "We started out well and then in a matter of a half-hour we went from three-under par to eight over par thanks to a quadruple bogie and six or seven double bogies."

Despite the Cougars' lackluster performance at the Conference Championships, BYU's Bruce Brockbank was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and two Cougars were named to the All-Mountain West Conference Team. Senior Andy Miller and Sophomore Manuel Merizalde were both named to the team. For Merizalde this was his second All-Conference selection in as many years. Andy Miller earned All-Conference honors for his fourth consecutive year.

Merizalde was the low Cougar after shooting a final-round 72 to finish at four-over-par. Andy Miller and Billy Harvey tied for fifteenth place after finishing 6-over-par.

The Cougars now look to put the MWC Championship behind them and concentrate on the NCAA Western Regionals to be held in Fresno, Calif. at the Riverbend Golf Course on May 18-20.

"This has been a very average week for the Cougars," Brockbank said. "We'll evaluate our performance and hopefully bounce back in Fresno."

1. UNLV			280-286-279--845 (-19)
2. New Mexico		296-288-284--868 (+4)
3. Colorado State	287-283-300--870 (+6)
4. BYU			296-280-301--877 (+13)
5. San Diego State	308-286-303--897 (+33)
6. Utah			308-297-294--899 (+35)
7. Wyoming			302-298-306--906 (+42)
8. Air Force		309-311-301--921 (+57)
BYU INDIVIDUALS
t11. Manuel Merizalde		76-70-72--218
t15. Andy Miller		73-70-77--220
t15. Billy Harvey		72-72-76--220
t19. Scott Miller		75-68-79--222
25. Todd Miller			82-73-76--231
All-Mountain West Conference Team
Andy Miller, BYU, Sr.
Jeremy Anderson, UNLV, Sr.
Nigel Spence, Colorado State, Sr.
Manuel Merizalde, BYU, So.
Scott Piercy, San Diego State, Jr.
Michael Kirk, UNLV, Sr.
MWC Golfer of the Year
Jeremy Anderson, UNLV
MWC Golf Freshman of the Year
Michael Letzig, New Mexico
MWC Coach of the Year
Bruce Brockbank, BYU