The Texas A&M men’s golf team wrapped up play at the Sea Best Invitational on Tuesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in sixth place out of fifteen teams, shooting +61 (901). A&M, who improved their team score in each of the three rounds (305, 300, 296) of tournament action, were nowhere near surpassing tournament champion, No. 12 University of North Carolina, who finished at +33 (873).
In fact, with a leaderboard gap of 14 strokes between the Aggies and fifth place, it was almost as if two distinct scoring battles took shape within the tournament itself; that which was fought between first through fifth place and that which was fought between sixth through fifteenth place.
From that perspective, the Aggies won the bottom half of the leaderboard battle and did so using a -6 (4.80) par five scoring average, which ranked second in the field, on the week. It was, however, their +77 (4.43) par four scoring average, which ranked tenth in the field, that held the Aggies out of fifth place, a position held by No. 2 Florida State University, who shot +47 (887), and a voice in the top half of the leaderboard battle.
Texas A&M was not the only group that struggled, though, at the Dye’s Valley course, a track located nearby the PLAYERS stadium course, host of the annual PGA tour event, at the TPC Sawgrass. In fact, not one player in the entire field completed tournament play under par. The University of Nevada Las Vegas’s John Oda, who won the individual leaderboard of the tournament, came closest, shooting even par (210).
Texas A&M freshman Cameron Champ, who missed most of the fall season due to injury, actually matched Oda’s even par score in round two, but finished in a tie for fifteenth place with rounds of 75 and 77 sandwiching his second round 70 to shoot +12 (222) for the tournament. Champ finished highest on the leaderboard among all A&M competitors.
A&M senior Greg Yates, who tied for first in the individual leaderboard last year at this event, completed his attempt at repeating at the Invitational in a tie for fifty fifth place, shooting +23 (233).
Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins acknowledged following Tuesday’s round that tough pin placements and windy conditions made the Dye’s Valley course a difficult test for his team. However, he remains optimistic following Tuesday’s round on where his team sits this early in the season.
“The conditions were tough out there today,” he said. “There was a north wind with the pins in the positions that they use for the tour event here. Overall, it was tougher conditions and a tougher set up, but we played better. I’m really proud of the guys for that. We moved up the leaderboard a little bit which is always important. It’s a process and we’re getting better. We’ve got to continue making gains and keep moving in the right direction.”
The Aggies do not hit the links again until February 18^th, when they participate in the John A. Burns Invitational in Kauai, Hawaii.