The Aggies made an impressive second place finish in the last tournament of the fall.
The ninth ranked Texas A&M men’s golf team finished 38-under par, marking the lowest 54-hole tournament score in program history as well as shooting a tournament best 16-under 272 on the third day.
The Aggies had two finishers in the top five: Senior Sam Bennett tied for third and fifth-year senior Walker Lee placed fifth. Bennett had his second top-three finish of the season with a 12-under finish and a career-low 6-under 66 round. Lee shot 11-under with a 4-under 68 in the final round, landing him his sixth top-five finish of his career.
Head coach Brian Kortan said the maroon and white faced tough competition on the course.
“I say it all the time, it is a hard sport to win,” Kortan said. “It’s hard to win golf tournaments. You can play great golf, and someone might have a week a little better than yours. That was kind of how it was. It was a high-class field with a lot of great programs.”
A&M lost only to No. 11 Pepperdine that shot a tournament record 42-under and beat out third place Wake Forest that finished 23-under.
“To distance ourselves from the third-place team with Pepperdine just shows you how well we played,” Kortan said. “You can’t underestimate how difficult it really is to win a team golf event. So many things have to go right. Pepperdine made two eagles on the last hole to clip us. That is the way that it goes, but I am super proud of this group. William [Paysse] played two great rounds to start the tournament, and Sam [Bennett] and Walker [Lee] again put together some great rounds of golf. Both played a great tournament. You get that kind of stuff from your experienced guys, and that is what you need to be a great team.”
The Aggies return for the Sea Best Invitational from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to kick off the spring season.
“Coach [Matt] Fast and I will look back and see how we can get better,” Kortan said. “Overall a great fall. The guys did a great job winning a tournament to open the season, having a chance down the stretch this weekend, and competing with some of the best teams in the country at Maridoe. I’m looking forward to the spring and what we can accomplish together. We will rest a little bit and get ready for our first event of the spring in January.”