BYU had already completed its first round of golf at the national championships on Friday morning even though the national championships do not get underway until Friday afternoon. Religious restrictions required the Cougars to play a solo round on Thursday to avoid competition on Sunday.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints observe a sacred Sabbath.
It is not uncommon for other schools and the NCAA to work with BYU in other sports. That does not make it any less strange to see a team compete at the men’s college golf championship by themselves.
The Mormon religion holds Sunday as sacred for the Sabbath.
Brigham Young University was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young. Young was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as the first governor of the territory known now as Utah. BYU, located just outside of Salt Lake City, is the flagship university of the Church Educational System of the LDS Church. It enrolls ~37,000 students.
You do not have to be mormon to attend BYU but 98.5% of students are members of the LDS Church and everyone must maintain a valid ecclesiastical endorsement to remain enrolled.
And because the university is directly tired to the Church, undergraduate students must complete 14 credit hours of religious coursework to graduate, regardless of his or her religious affiliation. Every student must take at least one course in the New Testament and one in the Book of Mormon.
The campus community pauses weekly for a gospel-centered message on Tuesday. LDS students are also expected to attend their assigned campus ward on Sundays.
Sunday is the Sabbath, a day of rest. It is a day that is dedicated to resting from secular labor, focusing on family and worshipping God. Members of the Church attend a consolidated 115-minute block of worship services. That includes a Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and Quorum.
Therefore, student-athletes at Brigham Young University are not allowed to compete on Sundays. They play all of their games/matches from Monday through Saturday. The basketball team, for example, plays all of its March Madness games on a Thursday-Saturday schedule. The NCAA works with the Cougars to make sure they can observe the Sabbath.
BYU’s golf team played by themselves at the national championship.
The men’s college golf national championships are scheduled for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be played at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. 30 teams are in. The format is as follows:
- The initial 30 teams (and six individual qualifiers) compete in 54 holes of stroke play.
- After 54 holes, the field is cut to the Top 15 teams (and the top 9 individuals on non-advancing teams) for a final round of stroke play.
- The individual national champion is crowned after the 72nd hole while the top 8 teams after 72 holes of stroke play advance to the match play tournament.
- Match play consists of the quarterfinals and semifinals on the same day.
- The final round of match play determines the national championship.
Round 1 of stroke play will be played on Friday, Round 2 on Saturday, and Round 3 on Sunday. Round 3 created a unique predicament for BYU. The Cougars cannot golf on the Sabbath.
As a result, the NCAA allowed BYU to play its first (technically, third) round of Stroke Play on Thursday.
The Cougars went out on the course and played 18 holes by themselves.
They will now join the other 29 teams on Friday and Saturday. They will then sit out of competition on Sunday while the other 29 teams compete because their third round is already completed.