TUCSON, Ariz. – In its first action of the Spring season, the third-ranked Texas A&M's men's golf team wrapped up play as runner-up at the Arizona Intercollegiate from Sewailo Golf Club.
The Aggies (307-279-278=864, +12) maintained their second-place position they held coming into play after darkness halted action mid-way through the second round on Monday. After a high-scoring opening round with no teams shooting under par, Texas A&M erased then first-place Baylor’s (303-281-282=864, +14) five-stroke lead over the rounds but were overtaken by tournament-host Arizona (313-280-269=862, +10) for the title.
"It was a great match.” Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "Coming down the stretch, there were really three teams in Baylor, Arizona and us. You have to hand it to Arizona, they played fantastic today [Arizona]. I was proud of the way guys played after a really poor first round. Just goes to show you can’t dig yourself that big of a hole and expect to win.”
Sophomore Dan Erickson (80-67-68=216, +3) led the Aggies in the event, finishing in a share of third place. Erickson rebounded after shooting a nine-over during Monday’s first round to string together the two best rounds of his Aggie career in his final 36 holes at the event.
Senior Andrew Paysse (77-69-70=216, +4) sat one stroke behind Erickson in a share of seventh for his third top-five in the season’s first five events. Josh Gliege (77-72-70=219, +6) birdied his final hole to finish the round under par and in a share of 11th. Junior standout Chandler Phillips (74-79-70=223, +10) shot a one-under final round, climbing eight spots into a tie for 28th while freshman Walker Lee (79-71-74=224) was one stroke back with a share of 34th.
“I’m really proud of Dan Erickson,” added Higgins. “He finished seven strokes better than when he woke up this morning and that has to be a good feeling. He looked great today and played fantastic golf. We had four guys under par in the final round and that’s pretty exceptional. I like this team. We have the makings of a championship-caliber program we just have to shore some things up.”
Texas A&M also had three golfers competing in the Arizona Medalist Intercollegiate at Randolph North Golf Course. Reese Ramsey recorded a top-10 finish with Max Miller finishing in 17th and 26th among the 44 participants.
After a few weeks off from competition, the Aggies will travel to Hawai'i for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Play from Wailua Golf Club begins on February 15.
