Coming off back-to-back tournament titles, No. 26 Texas A&M men’s golf packed its bags for a Hawaiian vacation as they travelled to Kauai for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on the Ocean Course at Hokuala. After stumbling out of the gates, the Aggies finished tied for fifth place at 4-under 276.
The Aggies started slow, opening tied for seventh place with No. 39 Long Beach State and Missouri after the first round. The Maroon and White closed out the first day at 6-over 286.
Despite the Aggies’ struggles, the competition remained fierce, save for No. 16 Utah, which pulled ahead with a 7-under 273, seven strokes better than a tie in second place.
“Obviously it’s not the round we wanted to have,” coach Brian Kortan said. “We were uncharacteristically sloppy around the greens with a few three-putts we should have had. We have 36 holes left, so we got a lot of golf to play. I know these guys have great rounds in them. … I look forward to these guys having a good day tomorrow and getting back in this.”
Freshman Wheaton Ennis continued a strong first year in Aggieland with a 3-under 67 on a par-70 course, including birdies on three of his final four holes. He opened the second day one stroke behind co-leaders Missouri sophomore Brock Snyder and No. 14 Illinois senior Jackson Buchanan.
“Wheaton held us in there with his finish today with birdies on three of his last four holes,” Kortan said. “And [junior Jaime Montojo] did a heck of a job making eagle and getting us a couple shots there at the end.”
In the second round, A&M shot 6-under to bring it even at 560, moving them up one spot on the leaderboard into sixth place. The Utes continued their dominant showing, moving to 15-under 545 before the final day.
A&M’s star, No. 54 senior Phichaksn Maichon, bounced back after a mundane first day with a six-birdie round. The Bangkok, Thailand product hit 4-under 66 to move himself into a tie for 24th place. Ennis continued to shine, posting a 1-under 69 on his way to being tied for sixth place as he led the Aggies.
“We’re disappointed in our finish today,” Kortan said. “We were in position to get double-digits under par. We let a few shots get away from us down the stretch. It was good to see Phichaksn bounce back, and Wheaton is in [a] great position, in a high position. We need five guys executing at a high level tomorrow. We have a great round in us. It will take all five playing 18 solid holes.”
On the final day, A&M improved slightly to finish tied with No. 10 Illinois and No. 20 San Diego State. Utah ended up finishing tied for the lead, splitting the title with No. 41 UNLV
Maichon continued to look more like himself on the third day with a round of 4-under 66 to lead the Aggies at the event’s conclusion, tied for eighth place. Ennis steadily slid down the leaderboard over the course of the event, but he ultimately finished 20th at 1-under 209.
“We saw more good than bad from this week,” Kortan said. “We had several guys play two really good rounds, but we need more of a complete tournament to finish at the top.”
