Provo, Utah ? Troy Merritt
of the Boise State University men’s golf team earned his fourth
consecutive tournament victory as he posted an 8-under 208, to win the
PING Cougar Classic Saturday, Apr. 19.
Merritt
entered the final round of play tied for second place, two strokes off
the leaders with a 138 (-6). Merritt battled howling winds and adverse
conditions throughout the third round but was undeterred en route to
the title as he tied for third-best round of the day with a 2-under 70,
to win the PING Cougar Classic by two strokes.
Merritt
has now recorded an NCAA-leading six tournament victories this season
while leading the nation in scoring average at 69.2. With the victory,
Merritt moved into second place in Boise State history in both career top 10 finishes with 14 and season top 10 finishes with eight.
Matt Hastings
registered a 216 (E) to tie for 18th place at the tournament and move
into second place in the Broncos’ all-time list for career top 25
finishes with 20. Hastings
was amongst the leaders throughout the tournament as he posted a 71
(-1) in the first round, a 72 (e) in the second and a 73 (+1) in the
third.
John Baranco
tied for second-lowest round at the tournament as he posted a 67 (-5)
in the second round. The score matched his season-low which he set in
the third round of the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate. At the PING Cougar
Classic, Baranco recorded a 218 (+2) to finish tied for 26th place.
The
Broncos finished in sole possession of sixth place in the 14-team
tournament with a 2-over 866. The team was tied for sixth place after
both the first and second rounds before securing the spot with a 295
(+7) in the final round. Boise State finished five strokes in front of seventh place Utah.
Robbie Richards tied for 61st with a 225 (+9) and Tyler McDougall finished 77th with a 237 (+21) to round out the scoring for Boise State.