Texas A&M men’s golf competed in Franklin, Tenn., this week at the Legends Collegiate Invitational.
The Aggies faced an all-SEC competition and came out looking better than their last tournament in Fayetteville earlier this month.
Sophomore William Paysse took the lead on the first day, going bogey-free with five birdies and an eagle. Paysee finished the day with a 7-under 64.
“We always talk about that it takes four and a half to five hours to play a good round,” A&M coach Brian Kortan told 12thman.com. “They weren’t great through the first 12 holes, but they finished extremely well. They were able to turn a frustrating day into a very good score.”
The team ended strong on the first day in Franklin tying for second with Arkansas with a score of 272-12 (total with par).
The Aggies rallied at the back of the nine again on Monday and secured second place.
Senior Brandon Smith led the team scoring an 8-under 63, which coincided with A&M’s record for low round. This was also Smith’s career-best score.
“Brandon simply put us on his back and pulled us along,” Kortan told 12thman.com. “We didn’t have much going early but Brandon kept us going until the rest of the team started putting things together. He’s an All-American. He’s had great success, so it doesn’t surprise me to see him score well. I guess you never expect a 63, but he got it going pretty good today. He really had his putter going good and he was putting himself in a good spot off the tee.”
Paysse tied for fourth on Monday scoring a 3-under 68. Also contributing to the team score on Monday were junior Sam Bennett with a 71 and senior Dan Erickson with a 72.
Bennett led the Aggies on the fourth day scoring a 3-under 68 with five birdies to conclude the final day in Franklin.
Smith tied for third individually with a 12-under (68-63-70). Just behind Smith was Paysse tying at 15th with 7-under (64-68-74). Seniors Sam Bennet tied for 27th, Walker Lee tied for 40th and Dan Erickson tied for 47th.
“There were a bunch of positives that the team can take from this finish, but they are not satisfied,” Kortan told 12thman.com. “We identified things that we need to correct and we’re ready to get back to College Station to get back to work.”
A&M finished the tournament placing third out of 14 teams.
The Aggies will next be traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for the Jerry Pate National Invitational in November at the Old Overton Club.