The Texas A&M men’s golf team wrapped up play at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Saturday, Feb. 19 in Hawaii. The Aggies competed for three days, improving each day, and finished play within the top five, taking fifth place overall.
The Aggies concluded the first day of the competition tied for 10th place at 2-over. Sophomore Daniel Rodrigues, competing as an individual, was tied for fourth at 5-under.
Freshman Phichaksn Maichon kept the maroon and white in the competition, tying for 24th place at 1-under. Graduate Walker Lee tied for 37th place, while senior Sam Bennett tied for 44th place at 1-over. Freshman Michael Heidelbaugh and junior William Paysse tied for 52nd place. Freshman Dallas Hankamer held the same ranking with sophomore Evan Myers behind him tied at 72nd place. Both Hankamer and Myers competed as individuals.
“We were uncharacteristically erratic off the tee [on Day 1]. We were near the lead and we didn’t finish the round off,” coach Brian Kortan told 12thman.com. “All the work that we did to get back into it, we gave it all away in the last hour. We have to finish off the rounds better. We will talk about it and work on getting better.”
On the second day of the tournament, the Aggies placed 10th at even-par with a total score of 286. Rodrigues remained at the top of the board for the maroon and white, but dropped two spots by finishing in sixth place at 6-under.
Bennett, Myers and Lee teamed up to improve the boards for the Aggies. Bennett moved up the board 26 spots to tie for 18th place, and Myers moved up 48 spots to tie for 24th with Lee.
The maroon and white continued to fight hard on the third day of the tournament, moving up five places to finish in fifth place. Bennett had a standout performance recording a career best at 8-under 64 to tie for second place at 11-under. Rodrigues also recorded a career-best finish, tying for fourth at 8-under.
“Anytime you shoot 8-under in final round of any tournament, especially a college tournament, it not only helps the team, but it shows what Sam [Bennett] is capable of,” Kortan told 12thman.com. “He helped us. He lifted us up, and that was huge. That was Daniel [Rodrigues’] best finish as an Aggie.”
Kortan said while the team worked hard this weekend, there are still some improvements to be had.
“Today we were pretty resilient. The 18th hole was kind of a buzz saw for us, but our guys fought back,” Kortan said. “Hopefully they can bounce back from what happened this week and play some better golf. I know they are capable of it.”
The Aggies will be back on the green at the Coral Creek Club Invitational in Florida on Feb. 28 through March 1.