The No. 28 Texas A&M men’s golf team headed to Lafayette, Louisiana to play in the Louisiana Classics at the par 72, 6,898-yard Oakbourne Country Club for a two-day tourney on March 11-12.
The Aggies were not new to the 54-hole course, as they are now three-time defending champions.
Coach Brian Kortan took junior Vishnu Sadagopan, sophomore Jaime Montojo, senior Daniel Rodrigues and juniors Phichaksn Maichon and Michael Heidelbaugh as the five-player team. Kortan also brought freshmen Jake Maggert and Aaron Pounds to compete as individuals.
The 14 teams were set to play 36 holes on Day 1 and finish with 18 on Day 2. Round 1 consisted of a 12-under 276 and a seven-stroke lead from the Aggies. Maichon secured first place with an 8-under 64 in Round 1 and 11-under 133 by the end of Round 2.
“He had a great round to start the day and did a pretty good job following that up this afternoon,” Kortan said.
Montojo ended Round 1 with a shared eighth place with Rodrigues. Both teammates went 2-under 70. By the end of Round 2, Montojo went 1-under 71 and tied for 10th with a 3-under 141 overall. Rodrigues went even par, tying for 14th place with Heidelbaugh with a 2-under 72.
Although he was tied for 59th in Round 1, Sadagopan moved up some ranks during Round 2, going even par and ending Day 1 with a shared 48th place, going 10-under 134.
Individual Maggert tied for 28th place at 1-over 145. Pounds shared 52nd with a 4-over 148.
“All our guys did a pretty good job this afternoon. We maybe could have made a few more putts and been a little more tidy, but all-in-all, we’re in good position to have a great tournament,” Kortan said at the end of day one.
The Maroon and White finished off Day 1 with an 18-under 558, scoring the top spot. Falling behind them was LSU at 11-under 565 and Michigan at 6-under 570.
“It ends up being about a 12-hour day at the golf course,” Kortan said. “You have to stick to it and have some endurance and then some patience. No matter how well or how bad things are going, you still got a lot of golf so you have to pay attention, stay disciplined and execute the game plan the way we talk about it.”
Maichon kept his first placement with a 7-under 65, including seven birdies during the end of Round 3, concluding the Louisiana Classics.
“He [Maichon] can get in those modes where he can just strike it,” Kortan said. “This week was one of those weeks. I don’t think he missed but a handful of greens. He made a load of birdies over the 54 holes. When you get a guy doing that, the other guys feel it and they want to do their part and we had a really great effort.”
Rodrigues shared fourth at 4-under 68 for Round 3 and 6-under 210 overall. Montojo stayed in 10th place with an even-par and a 3-under 213 overall.
Sadagopan scored a 2-under 70, moving up to 18th and sharing with Heidelbaugh at 1-over 217.
Pounds tied for 26th at 2-over 218 and Maggert shared 58th at 8-over 224.
The Maroon and White finished the competition at 13-under 275 and an overall 31-under 833, earning the first-place trophy and their third Louisiana Classic champion title.
“They didn’t finish off [Day 1] like they wanted to,” Kortan said. “They were a little grumpy. Dinner didn’t taste quite as good as they wanted it to taste and not a lot of words were spoken. I don’t think Roddy [Rodrigues] who made a triple on his last hole of round two said a word until this morning at some point. They did a heck of a job. They brought a log of energy and focus. It was a great effort. A great job.”
The Aggies will hit the road to Palm City, Florida to compete in the Valspar Collegiate at the Floridian National Golf Club on March 25-26.
