BYU golf: Team in second place at Pacific Invitational, Purser and Keiley in top five

STOCKTON, Calif. – The BYU’s men’s golf team continued its consistent play during round two of the Pacific Invitational on Tuesday, moving up to second place behind leader Kansas State.

The Cougars followed up yesterday’s first round 275 (-13) by shooting a second round 274 (-14), trailing first place Kansas State by five strokes.

Sophomore Devin Purser had a strong day for the Cougars, shooting a seven-under-par 65. Purser finished with eight birdies on the day, including two birdies on his final two holes to record his lowest 18-hole score of the fall season. He currently stands tied for second place in the individual standings at -11, two strokes behind the leader.

“Devon played great today,” head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “It was just really impressive how well he hit the ball in all 18 holes. He just kept battling, making a birdie here and there, rolling the ball over the edge and then he ends up birdying his last two holes. It was really inspiring.”

Junior Justin Keiley also contributed a solid second round, converting seven birdies and dropping one bogey to finish with a six-under-par 66. Keiley’s 66 marks his lowest 18-hole score of the fall season, moving him into a fourth place tie in the individual standings.

Senior Zac Blair finished the second round with a 71 (-1), while sophomore Mike Jurca shot an even-par 72.

“[It was] the tale of two stretches where we played really good and the nice thing is we’re still in it,” Brockbank said. “We have got to have a great round tomorrow to try to win.”

The Cougars will look to capitalize on an opportunistic final round tomorrow. Kansas State stands in first place after shooting a second round 270 (-18) five strokes ahead of BYU, while Pacific and UC Davis are currently tied in third place. West Coast Conference foe Santa Clara is in seventh place after two rounds.

The third and final round begins Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. PDT. Follow live stats of the Cougars during this tournament at golfstat.com.

Chris Scheitinger is a student at Brigham Young University studying Public Relations. Contact him at cscheitinger@gmail.com