Texas A&M men’s golf began this week on the green at the Valspar Collegiate Tournament, competing for two days from March 28-29. The Aggies previously won first place at the Louisiana Classics but struggled to find momentum during the two-day tournament in Florida.
A&M finished the tournament in 11th place with a total score of 852. This was a slight improvement, as the Aggies finished the first day of the tournament in 12th, shooting 5 over par with a total score of 573.
Graduate Walker Lee and senior Sam Bennett finished the first two rounds of play tied for 15th place. Both players shot a 4 under par with a total score of 138.
Junior William Paysse tied for 58th place at 6 over par. Freshman Michael Heidelbaugh tied for 65th place at 8 over par and sophomore Evan Myers shot a 12 over par to finish in 78th place.
“We weren’t sharp at all, and this is a good golf course. If you aren’t sharp, it’s going to beat you up, and that is what happened today,” coach Brian Kortan told 12thman.com. “We have to do a better job tomorrow of controlling our golf ball, making some putts, having a great attitude and being really competitive.”
On the final day of competition, Lee continued to lead the team with a total score of 207 at 6 under par, tied for 10th overall. Bennett tied for 22nd place with a total score of 211 at 2 under par.
Paysse tied for 46th place with a total score of 214 at 4 over par. Heidelbaugh followed behind Paysse with a total score of 218 for 51st place at 5 over par. Myers shot 13 over par and tied for 73rd place with a total score of 226.
“We had one of the best rounds going for the day, but we couldn’t just finish it off,” Kortan told 12thman.com. “If we finish off rounds 2 and 3, we are in the mix to have a good tournament. We will talk about it and figure it out. Walker didn’t have his best stuff this week, but he hung in there and did a heck of a job to finish in the top 10. Today, some other guys had some good rounds, but when you play in this type of field you need to finish rounds off.”
The Aggies look to finish the regular season strong by hosting the Aggie Invitational at the Traditions Club from April 9-10.