No. 24 Texas A&M men’s golf took a trip to Lafayette, Louisiana to compete in one of the most successful tournaments in the program’s recent history.
For the past three consecutive seasons the Aggies have brought home the Louisiana Classic trophy. This year, the LSU Tigers beat the Aggies by two strokes, leaving the Aggies with a disappointing second-place finish.
The Maroon and White competed in a two-day, three round tournament facing a pool of 12 teams at Oakbourne Country Club. Coming off their previous top-five finish in their last tournament, the Aggies were looking for some improvements to reach the bar they have set in the past.
On Day 1, A&M wasted no time during round one as senior Phichaksn Maichon carded four birdies, placing him at -2 after round one. Quickly following him was sophomore Aaron Pounds with the boost of an eagle on the front nine along with four birdies putting him at an impressive three-under after his first round.
Heading into round two on Day 1 Maichaon continued to have a steady head despite a few early mistakes on the front nine. He was able to bounce back and swiftly recover as he carded seven birdies during the round, finishing strong and ending the day at -5.
Peeking up the leaderboard, freshman Wheaton Ennis had an impressive bogey-free round highlighted by three birdies during round two. After he was able to finish round one at even par and round two at -3, he put himself in striking distance of the leaderboard.
The Aggies had an additional solid round by senior Michael Heidelbaugh who finished at at -1 after two rounds. A&M was sitting in second place just three strokes behind No. 7 LSU, still fighting to claim the trophy as it headed into the final day.
But with minor mistakes and the Tigers holding strong, the Fightin’ Farmers’ chances began to diminish. Heidelbaugh had a stellar front nine with a 31 but he quickly fell apart after repeated mistakes on the back nine, leaving him at a three round total of -1 at the end of day two.
The Maroon and White held out hope with four out of five players still on the course. They were able to put up a tough fight with three Aggies finishing under par for the day and senior Phichaksn Maichon finishing at -7, earning himself third place.
However, LSU held its lead, finishing the tournament with a two-day total of 845 leaving the Aggies behind in second place with a two-day total of 847.
A&M next travels to Florida to compete in the Valspar Collegiate.
