As the ominous clouds covered the sky and rain approached, Texas A&M senior golfer Dan Erickson shot an individual score of 5-under to help the Aggies to a second place finish overall at the Gopher Invitational.
The No. 14 A&M men shot an overall score of 2-under through three rounds— only two strokes behind the No. 20 Baylor Bears, who shot 4-under at the tournament.
The Aggies also finished the tournament four strokes ahead of No 7. Oklahoma, who finished tied for third at 2-over.
The men finished the first round on Sunday at the Windsong Farm Golf Club at 8-under putting them ahead pack by five strokes.
That same day, the men finished the second round at 3-over, causing them to lose their lead to Baylor who took a three-stroke lead going into Monday’s round. Despite making a push midway through the third round that drew them even with the Bears, the Aggies struggled to close, finishing their final seven holes at 4-over.
“I feel like we let one slip away,” A&M head coach J.T. Higgins told 12thman.com. “Second place in this field is a good finish, but I feel like we should be coming home with a [win]. We did so many things well and then just kind of let it slip away in the end.”
Erikson, who held the lead midway through his final round, finished second place to continue his momentum from the 2018-19 season.
The Aggies also had success from the younger members of their team in the tournament. Redshirt freshman William Paysse finished his first-ever collegiate tournament tied at sixth place, shooting 1-under through three rounds. Sophomore Sam Bennette finished the tournament at 1-over and finished in a tie for 11th place.
Junior Walker Lee finished shot 5-over and finished in a tie for 24th and freshman Jimmy Lee, who was also competing in his first-ever collegiate tournament, rounded out the Aggie top-5 with a 6-over 30th place finish.
“I was proud of the way all five guys finished in the top 30,” Higgins told 12thman.com. “Dan had an outstanding tournament and had a good chance of winning. Willie Paysse finishing in the top 10 in his first collegiate tournament is amazing. Top to bottom, the guys were all competitive and did a great job. We just have to get a little bit better and I know these guys will continue to work hard to get where they need to be.”
The men return on Friday, Sept. 20 at the Olympia Fields Country Club Fighting Illini Invitational.