Texas A&M men’s golf was in Florida early this week where they placed sixth in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational at 6-under par (846). Wake Forest went on to win the event at 25-under par (827).
The tournament was marred by inclement weather, and the three rounds were moved up to be played on Sunday and Monday, with some teams finishing up on Tuesday morning. The Aggies had a strong second round that saw them climb to 9-under par but struggled down the stretch in the final round.
“It was nice to be in the hunt again,” A&M head coach J.T. Higgins told 12thman.com. “We didn’t come close to winning, but through seven holes in the final round we were within five-or-six shots of the lead, the guys were playing great. After that, we had some big numbers and didn’t play very well on the back. The weather got tough and the wind was blowing pretty hard, so it became really difficult to make birdies.”
Chandler Phillips had a strong week and was the top Aggie finisher, placing third at 12-under par. The junior displayed impressive play throughout the tournament, shooting three rounds in the 60s. Phillips holed 19 birdies, including seven in the final round, and finished in the top-five in par 3 and par 4 scoring.
Both freshman Sam Bennet and sophomore Walker Lee tied for 26th at 1-under par. Bennet was tied for seventh in par 5 scoring (-6) and was one of a handful of players to record an eagle this week, while Lee was tied for eighth in par 3 scoring (-1). Both players sandwiched rounds in the 60s between two rounds in the low 70s.
Juniors Brandon Smith and Dan Erickson both struggled this week, finishing in 75th and 81st, respectively.
“Overall this week we saw a lot of good things from the guys, we were competitive and showed we can play with anybody,” Higgins told 12thman.com “We beat some really good teams in this national championship caliber field and we walked out of there feeling pretty good about ourselves. Ultimately, our goal is to get to the top of that leaderboard, but this was a good first step and it was a good chance to get ready for the Aggie Invitational and our post season.”
The Aggies will be back in action two weeks from now, as they host the Aggie Invitational on April 6-7 at the Traditions Club. It will be their last tournament before postseason play begins.