NCAA golf regionals: BYU, Utah in dogfight to advance to national championships

PROVO —  BYU didn’t do itself many favors to advance to the NCAA men’s golf championships after Tuesday’s second round of the Athens regional.

But the 24th-ranked Cougars still have a punchers’ chance, with some scrapping and clawing.

Parker Bunn added a 67 to his first-round 70 to move into a tie for ninth at 5-under-par 67 as BYU moved down a spot to fifth place at 11-under after 36 holes at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia.

Peter Kim added a 3-under 68 to move into a tie for 11th, while freshman standout Kihei Akina shot 72 to fall to a tie for 21st at 2-under after shooting 68 in the opening round. Tyson Shelley shot 73 to move to 1-over, while Simon Kwon finished the day at 4-over and tied for 52nd in the regional.

“The team started off really hot today with six birdies in our first three holes, but we went flat for a 10-hole stretch,” said BYU director of golf and assistant coach Todd Miller in a statement. “We were able to get back inside the top-5 because we made five birdies on the par-5 seventh and a couple on eight.”

NCAA REGIONALS DAY TWO 🤙 pic.twitter.com/bi494ieOdY

— BYU Men's Golf (@BYUmgolf) May 20, 2026

No. 13 Vanderbilt shot a tournament-best 15-under Wednesday to jump up to first place at 22-under, three shots ahead of NO. 36 Louisville. No. 1 Auburn is five shots back in third, followed by No. 26 Georgia — which is just one stroke ahead of the fifth-place Cougars.

But BYU is also just one and two shots ahead aof Charleston and Illinois, respectively.

“This team has a lot of grit,” Bunn said in a news release. “I know and trust that this team will come back and be in a great spot coming down the stretch. We just have to be even more disciplined in our routines and play to our ability. If we can give ourselves good putts for birdies, we will be in a great spot. In terms of what I can do, if I stick to my process and play with confidence, I know I can help this team.”

A few hundred miles away, in-state conference rival Utah sputtered to 13th after carding 19-over in the second round and 35-over in all at the OSU Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.

The Utes were led by Gabriel Palacios and Davis Johnson, who each recorded a 3-over 74 in the second round. Sergio Jimenez, the All-Big 12 golfer who finished 11th after 18 holes, struggled in Round 2 and finished at 8-over 79.

Florida leads the regional at 7-under, 16 shots ahead of second-place Memphis. Stanford, Arizona State and Long Beach State round out the top five with the final round scheduled to tee off Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. MT.