No. 32 Texas A&M men’s golf traveled to the John A. Burns Intercollegiate for a three-day tournament on Saturday, Feb. 12-14. After the Aggies thought to have had a romantic Valentine’s Day date for second place, the No. 38 UNLV Rebels also finished as a runner-up.
After a third-place finish in their season opening tournament at the SeaBest Invitational and a first-place tie from No. 23 junior Aaron Pounds, the Aggies were able to find a similar cadence in Lihu’e, Hawaii.
The Maroon and White was among a deep field for the three-day tournament, with several teams ranking among the top 30, including No. 19 New Mexico, No. 22 San Diego State and No. 23 Utah.
A few standout Aggies got a head start at the top of the leaderboard on Day 1. No. 379 junior Kris Kuvaas fired up his round after the first hole with a birdie and eagle, followed by a nine-hole par streak. Picking up a few strokes in his last nine, the Houston native finished with a 2-under, 68.
Right beside him was No. 65 sophomore Wheaton Ennis with a 2-under, 68 of his own. The pair cracked the top 10 with an eight-way tie for sixth place. The field was a tight-knit group, with 20 players coming in under par after Day 1.
Pounds came in one stroke closer to the top of the leaderboard as he shot a 3-under, 67. Coming off his dominant finish in his last outing and being named SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 4, he continued controlling the ball with his ability to cash in on birdie opportunities.
Traveling with a seven-person squad, the Aggies saw a wide spread of scorecards. No. 471 senior Jaime Montojo and No. 745 sophomore Alex Long put up a pair of matching scores, each penciling a 1-over, 71.
The end of Round 1 was just the start of the Maroon and White’s command, claiming second place —one stroke behind Loyola Marymount. But the Aggies’ found a way to come back from a one-stroke deficit during the second round.
Round 2 saw a flip in scores across the Aggie lineup. No. 1205 junior Jack Usner came in with the best round at a 4-under, 66. The 12-stroke improvement from The Woodlands native was carried by seven birdies.
Montojo and junior Jake Maggert also shaved strokes off during Day 2. Maggert, who was competing as an individual, shot a 2-under, 68, while Montojo came in at 1-under, 69.
A three-way split for even-par came from a trio of Pounds, Long and Kuvaas. While Ennis, despite great effort on Day 1, couldn’t replicate his scorecard. He shot a 3-over, 73 that sent him and Long back into a tie but this time at the No. 25 spot.
Thanks to three Fightin’ Farmers who swung under par, it was back to square one as A&M and Loyola Marymount split the first place spot with 18 holes to play. UNLV started to flirt with the leaderboard as it jumped all the way up to third place with a 5-under team total after two rounds and held third.
It seemed like the second-place title seemed to be a little too lonely on Valentine’s Day for just one date. As the Rebels impeded on any plans the Aggies thought they had, making it a party for three.
The sole Fightin’ Farmer to come close to breaking par was Ennis, who shot an even-par, 70 even with a birdie on his final hole. Standing at a tie for 18th right next to him was Montojo. Despite a 1-over, 71 during Round 3, he managed to play consistent golf over the three days to finish atop the Aggie lineup.
A&M will continue its slate on Sunday, March 1, in Las Vegas at the Southern Highlands Collegiate hosted by UNLV, where it will once again be faced by its friend again for another affair.
