HOCKLEY, Texas – The No. 6-seeded Cougars are headed to the Big 12 Match Play championship match after winning both matches against No. 3-seeded Utah and No. 7-seeded Kansas.
“This is one of the most fun tournaments we compete in all year long,” said Director of Golf Todd Miller. “Golf is an individual sport but when you get to play with one of your teammates and root them on, it really changes the dynamic of the sport. That’s why every tour player dreams of playing in the Ryder Cup.”
BYU beat the No. 3 seed Utah Utes 3-1-1, earning them three points in the final round of pool play, to help them finish on top of their pool and advance to the semifinals. In Tuesday afternoon’s semifinal, BYU took down the No. 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks 3-1-1.
Morning vs. Utah
Cole Ponich conquered Davis Johnson 7 and 5 in the first match of the day. After halving the opening hole, Ponich took the lead and never trailed as he defeated Johnson, closing out the match on the 13th hole.
Tyson Shelley started off his day matched up against Braxton Watts, who he beat 3 and 2. Shelley maintained a 1 up lead over Watts for the majority of the match, before winning the 15th and 16th holes to go 3 up and close out the match
Simon Kwon took on Gabriel Palacios, who he beat 1 up. Peter Kim halved his match with Sergio Jimenez, while Angus Klintworth fell to Brandon Robison.
Semifinal vs. Kansas
In his semifinal match, Shelley faced Gunnar Broin, who he took down 4 and 2. Shelley (4-0) remains undefeated at the Big 12 Match Play.
Kwon won his matchup 3 and 2 over Noah Holtzman, while Klintworth earned a 2 and 1 win over Max Jelinek.
After trailing by one on the 17th hole, Kim won the 18th hole to halve his match with Luke Honner. Ponich fell to Will King.
“Each of these guys hit some shots coming down the stretch with their teammates watching that they will never forget,” Miller said.
The Cougars tee off in the championship match against No. 13-seeded Baylor tomorrow morning. Follow live scoring on Golfstat.
