No. 3 Texas A&M men’s golf took care of business in Lafayette on Tuesday, winning the Louisiana Classics at 29-under par (835). The victory was the fifth of the season, a new program record. The Aggies finished eight shots ahead of No. 11 Illinois to earn their first win at the event after six runner-up finishes in previous starts.
Texas A&M trailed by one shot after 18 holes of competition, before charging to a seven shot lead with three players in the top four heading into the final round. The Aggies maintained their strong play to hold off the competition and earn their second consecutive tournament title.
“Another great job by the guys,” Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said to 12thman.com. “They were rock solid this week. The scary thing is, it could be even better; Just doing so many of the little things right and making such great decisions, playing smart golf which has proven to get us in the winner’s circle. There’s still a lot of areas that we can improve on and we are going to get back to work. We like this feeling and we want to keep it going.”
After entering the final round two shots back of the individual lead, Dan Erickson fired a four-under par 68 to earn his first career individual title, edging out McNeese State’s Blake Elliot by one shot. The sophomore kept it consistent, firing two rounds of 69 and a round of 68 over the two days of competition to finish at 10-under par. He was tied for first in in par 5 scoring (-7) for the week and recorded three more birdies (17) than any other player in the field.
“I’m excited for Dan, it’s great to get another guy in the winner’s circle,” Higgins added to 12thman.com. “He played some pretty good golf this week. Lots of birdies, putting himself in position to score over and over again. 10-under is a great score on this golf course.” 
Junior Chandler Phillips, who won the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii last week, earned his fifth top-10 in seven starts this season. Phillips sandwiched a five-under round of 67 between a pair of even pars rounds finish in solo-fifth at five-under par. He was tied for first in par 5 scoring (-7) with Erickson and tied for third in total birdies for the week (13).
Just one shot behind his teammate, freshman Walker Lee ended the tournament in a tie for sixth at four-under par. He was tied for third in par 3 scoring (-2) for the week. 
Senior Andrew Paysse and sophomore Josh Gliege shared a tie for twelfth at three-under par for the tournament. Along with Erickson, Paysse was one of a handful of golfers to record an eagle this week and jumped 18 spots on the leaderboard with a final round 69. Gliege fired the lowest team round of the week, with a six-under 66 on Monday afternoon. He ended the week inside the top-10 in both par 4 (-2) and par 5 scoring (-6). 
Competing as an individual, Brandon Smith finished at one-over par in a tie for 30^th. After firing a 78 in the first round, the sophomore bounced back with under-par rounds of 68 and 71 to close out the tournament.
“Top to bottom, all six guys played really well,” Higgins said to 12thman.com. “All six were in the top 30, and everybody had at least a round or two under par which added up to a great score at the end. I can’t say enough about these guys and the job they’re doing. They are working hard and more good things are coming along the way.”
The Aggies next action will come on March 10-11 when the team will travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to compete in the General Hackler Championship.