Dixie State University men’s golf traveled north to Provo for the annual Ping Cougar Classic at the Riverside Country Club.
The only Division II team in the entire field, the Trailblazers faced a tough task of taking down some stiff competition.
Division I teams showcased their dominance. Host team Brigham Young University led by 13 stokes after day one, shooting a phenomenal 22-under par after 36 holes.
Washington State University (-9) sat in second place, University of Wyoming (-5) held onto third, University of Utah shot 4-under for fourth place, Pacific University finished in fifth at 2-under, Colorado State shot an even-par, and DSU rounded out the top-7 at 4-over.
DSU freshman Compton Pikari (-6) led the way for the Trailblazers with two out the top-7 at 4-over.
DSU freshman Compton Pikari (-6) led the way for the Trailblazers with two consecutive rounds of 69 — good enough for fifth place overall.
Senior Kenny You and sophomore Dane Nelson each shot 1-over heading into Tuesday’s final round.
BYU continued its dominance in day two, shooting a tournament best 13-under in the final round. The Cougars maintained their blistering pace thanks in part to Austin Christensen (-11) — the overall tournament champion.
Pikari’s play diminished in the final round, dropping five shots and falling to 1-under. It was still good enough to lead the Trailblazers, though, as Pikari finished in 16th. Sophomore Donny Hopoi finished 1-over par to tie with freshmen Andrew Chu and Dane Nelson for 23rd place. You posted a 6-over to finish in 39th.
“There were a lot of good teams there,” said Hopoi, an accounting major from Aiea, Hawaii. “We’ve been playing consistently, and I think we just need to play up to our potential and we’ll be satisfied with the results.”
The Trailblazers shot a third-best 2-under on the final day to finish at 2-over par, a tie for sixth place with Pacific and Utah State University.
“We definitely could’ve been better,” said You, a communication major from Sandy. “Playing against the bigger schools was a good experience for us, though. Our confidence should be better going into the [PacWest] tourney.”
U of U (+1) finished fifth, CSU (-1) jumped up two spots to fourth, and WSU(-6) finished in third after getting jumped by Wyoming(-9). BYU used the home field advantage to perfection, finishing an astonishing 35-under par and 26 shots in front of the next closest team.
The tournament wrapped up the Trailblazers regular season, and they’ll now prepare for the Pacific West Conference tournament (location TBA) Monday, April 18 through Wednesday, April 20.
