It’s always noteworthy when a BYU team is making national waves. The men’s golf team, under longtime coach Bruce Brockbank, played the NCAA Regionals this week in Athens, GA.
13 teams played in each region with the top five advancing to the finals in San Diego, CA after three rounds in three days in Athens. The Cougars came out strong with a -6 score as a team in round one. Freshman star Kihei Akina led the charge with a 68 (-3). He is currently the No. 6-ranked men’s golfer in the country. The freshman
posted an impressive runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championship (-8).
He had a shakier second round, turning in a 72 (+1). But, as he has done all year, he bounced back in the third and final round on Wednesday with another 68.
Parker Bunn actually led the way for the team over the three days total, with a score of 207 (-6), one shot better than Akina.
For Coach Brockbank’s crew, this will be a second consecutive berth into the final championship rounds in San Diego. Last season, they finished first in the Reno Regional and 13th overall during the finals. It marked their first top-15 finish since 2006.
The men’s golf team has one national title in their history, in 1981. They now head to the championship rounds at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, CA seeking their first top 10 finish since 2005.
For Coach Brockbank, this is his swan song. After 34 seasons as the head coach of the BYU men’s golf program, he has announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the season. Of course, he hopes that ends with another national title, or at least a strong showing in San Diego.
Per the press release by BYU earlier this season, he “coached 24 all-Americans. He was a BYU assistant coach when Masters champion Mike Weir played for the Cougars. As head coach, his first recruit was Matt Thurmond, now Arizona State’s highly successful golf coach, who noted that his own experience at BYU as a student-athlete led him into coaching.“
As a team, the Cougars rank 24th in the country. They head to San Diego with high hopes and plenty of momentum, flexing the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in Akina. Brockbank’s boys look to send him into retirement in glory.
