Kuest fires 61 as BYU takes 10-shot St. Mary's Invite lead

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (Nov. 5, 2018) – Rarely does a player build a seven-shot lead after just one round. But for BYU junior Peter Kuest, a round in the double digits at Poppy Hills Golf Club left him nearly out of sight of the rest of the field. Kuest’s 10-under 61 included eight birdies, an eagle and no bogeys. He was a major factor in pulling his team up the leaderboard, too. BYU leads the team race by 10.

BYU was 13 under in the opening round of the Saint Mary’s Invitational. Rhett Rasmussen and Austin Banz contributed rounds of 70 and 69, respectively, to help round out the Cougars’ team score. The team is 10 ahead of Pepperdine, which is coming off a victory at the Warrior Princeville, and 11 ahead of Arizona.

USC, winner of last month’s Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, is eighth after an opening round of 6 over.

As for Kuest, his closest pursuers are Pepperdine’s Joshua McCarthy and San Francisco’s Soren Lind. Both had 3-under 68.

"What an unbelievable round from Peter," BYU head coach Bruce Brockbank said. "It's so fun to watch a guy shoot a score like that, one of the best I've seen in my time as a coach."

The 61, a BYU career-best for Kuest, came just nine days after he fired a 7-under 64 in the Pacific Invitational, his lowest 18-hole score to that point as a Cougar. Kuest has won twice already this season, and four times over his BYU career.

Information from BYU Athletics used in this report