Despite the blustering winds, the Texas A&M men’s golf team finished fifth out of 15 teams at the Southern Highlands collegiate tournament.
Weather played a big factor in the first two rounds as the added uncertainty led to balls flying all over the place.
“The winds were steady today at 20 to 25 miles per hour from the first shot to the last shot,” coach Brian Kortan said. “And it was with gusts. I mean, gusts where sand is blown out of the bunkers. The balls were rolling a little bit on the green, so it was quite the test.”
The Aggies finished the first round in sixth place with a 14-over 302 at the par-72 course. Senior Michael Heidelbaugh led the way for the Maroon and White with a 1-over 73, with junior Jaime Montojo following closely behind with a 3-over 75, along with a team-high five birdies.
The heavy gusts continued into day two, leading to a rough round by A&M. Both sophomore Aaron Pounds and Wheaton Ennis led the Aggies with a 2-over 74, while day-one leader Heidelbaugh finished with a 3-over 75, enough for 16th place. Senior Phichaksn Maichon had a rough day on the greens as several missed putts led to an 8-over 80 finish. The Aggies ended the day in eighth place with a 24-over 600.
Conditions improved on day three, leading to the Aggies’ best performances of the tournament. Heidelbaugh finished strong with a 5-under 67, powered by two eagles, to close the tournament in sixth place with a 1-under 215. Maichon, who’d been hit hard by the poor weather, showed what he can do, finishing with 5 birdies and a 4-under 68 in the last round.
“We posted a good score today,” Kortan said. “We let a great day get away from us the last few holes. Michael was excellent the entire tournament. I’m really proud of him. It was great to see P come back from uncharacteristically poor rounds the last two days. We really had solid contributions from everyone this week.”
Auburn won the team championship with a 9-under 855 while UNLV senior Caden Fioroni won individually with a 9-under 207. Fioroni was brilliant all tournament, finishing all three rounds at 4-under 68 or better.
“Playing Southern Highlands can expose you if you aren’t fully committed to what you’re doing,” Kortan said. “With the better weather, the guys did a much better job of that. We certainly got exposed at times, but overall, we played very well most of the tournament.”
Next up, the Aggies head to Lafayette, Louisiana to play in the Louisiana Classics starting on Monday, March 10 at the Oakbourne Country Club.
