The men’s golf team is off to another hot start, competing in the PING Cougar Classic at the Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah.

The Cougars are currently in second place after shooting nine under par through the first two rounds, totaling a score of (567).

Brigham Young University, tournament host, is way ahead of the competition, after carding (-22, 554). The University of Wyoming rounds out the top three after shooting (-5, 571) overall.

The Cougars are playing great as a group, with four Cougars ending the day in the top-25.

Leading the way for the Cougars is sophomore Derek Bayley, who is currently in ninth place after shooting a 72 and a 68 through the first two rounds and is (-4, 140) overall. Bayley has set himself up in a good position going into the final round Tuesday. One of the highlights for Bayley was carding an eagle on the seventh hole of the second round.

Bayley is only four strokes back of tournament leader Dominic Kieffer (-8, 136) of Colorado State.

Not far back from Bayley is senior Evan Omelia and freshman Aaron Whalen. Both players are tied for 12th place with four other players after shooting (-2, 142) on the day. With Omelia and Whalen only two strokes back from Bayley, heading into the final round, these players have set themselves up in a good position to increase their standing.

Rounding out the Cougars in the top-25 is sophomore Zach Anderson who tied for 18th with five other players. Anderson is just one stroke behind Omelia and Whalen entering the final round after shooting (-1, 143).

Freshman AJ Armstrong shot a (+3, 147) on the day and is tied with two other players for 36th. Junior Nick Mandell, who is playing as an individual, shot (+8, 152) and is tied for 51st.

With the competition shooting similar scores as WSU Monday, the Cougars look to separate themselves and the final round strong Tuesday. The final round will begin Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Live scoring updates will be posted on golfstat.com.

Reporting by Ryan Siefkes