No. 20 Texas A&M men’s golf entered the Gopher Invitational with the opportunity to get its season off to a hot start. After three rounds of successful play, the Aggies stood atop the leaderboard by a whopping seven strokes.
Before play began on Saturday, Sept. 7, the field appeared heavily competitive. An assortment of 15 schools from a variety of conferences, including the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and Big Ten, were poised to make a run at the title.
Hosted by Minnesota, The Gopher Invitational was played at the scenic Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota. The course presented not only a beautiful backdrop but also an intense challenge to the field of competitors. Totalling 7,464 yards in a classical layout, this weekend’s par-71 course played to a difficult standard.
The difficulty of the course was clear immediately, as all 15 teams shot over par in the first round. The Aggies ended in the middle of the pack at seven-over. Junior Aaron Pounds managed to shoot an exceptional 2-under, while all other Aggies finished above-par.
The second round went significantly better for the Maroon and White. Pounds came out of the gates firing, notching birdies on three of the first four holes. The The Woodlands native eventually slowed down, but still finished hitting an impressive four-under. Meanwhile, sophomore Wheaton Ennis finished three-under while freshman Shiv Parmar hit one-under and each propelled the Fightin’ Farmers to a dominant eight-under after round two.
This put the Aggies atop the board going into round three, with prime position to compete for the championship trophy.
The Maroon and White started slow in the final round. Pounds bogeyed holes seven and eight, but recovered with an incredible birdie on the over 600-yard par-five hole nine. Luckily for A&M after the turn, Pounds’ swing caught fire.
Four-straight birdies starting on the eleventh hole put the junior in prime position for the individual title. However, an unfortunate bogey on hole 17 led to him sharing the spoils with South Carolina redshirt junior Frankie Harris and Iowa State junior Paul Beauvy, all finishing the Gopher Invitational eight-under.
Parmar eventually registered one-under 70 after an adventurous round. Four birdies diminished by three bogeys reflected Parmar’s inconsistent talent and inexperience. Ennis appeared poised to contribute an even-par to the team’s final scorecard, but ran into the same buzzsaw that dented his teammate’s final score. The 469-yard par-four on hole 17 claimed an extra stroke from all three Ennis, Parmer and Pounds.
These three solid performances powered the Aggies to a one-over third round that confirmed their victory. South Carolina finished seven-over in second place, while West Virginia rounded out the top three at eight-over.
The Aggies compete next on Friday, Sept. 19, in the Fighting Illini Invitational. The 54 hole course at Olympia Fields Country Club will provide another challenge for A&M to overcome early in the season.
