Texas A&M men’s golf continues to show growth after a third place finish Monday at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Valentine, Nebraska.

Last week, the Aggies finished sixth at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational. Beginning Saturday, A&M worked its way into cracking the top-five, this time being out of 14 teams.

After the opening round of the tournament, the Aggies stood at sixth place at 15-over par. That did not stop A&M to rise in the rankings, however. After the second round, the Aggies were in fourth place, trailing the leading South Florida team who was six-under.

“The guys played with a lot more determination and focus than they did yesterday,” A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said to 12thman.com after the second round. “They were able to finish off the round and put up a nice score. I’m pleased with that and how we bounced back. Now we’re looking for another great round tomorrow to come out of here with a really nice tournament.”

That optimistic mentality carried over to the third and final round of the invitational, where the Aggies jumped up one final spot to end the Invitational in third place at two-over along with 18th ranked Oregon. Higgins said that his team’s fight gave him a lot of hope for this season.

“I liked our resiliency and determination,” Higgins told 12thman.com after the final round. “If we play with that kind of attitude, we have a chance to be really good.”

Seniors Adria Arnaus and Ben Crancer were standouts for the Aggies during the Jackrabbit Invitational, finishing at five-under in fifth place and three-under in eighth place, respectively.

Freshman Chandler Phillips finished the invitational in 14th place at two-over-par, while senior Andrew Lister placed in 42nd at eleven-over and sophomore Andrew Paysse finished 51st overall.
The Aggies next event will be on Oct. 22 at the Irish Invitational at Waterville in County Kerry, Ireland.