No. 13 Texas A&M Men’s Golf was in Lafayette, Louisiana this week competing in the 32^nd Annual Louisiana Classics. The Aggies notched an impressive 2^nd place finish, 2-under par finish in a tough field, their sixth straight runner-up finish at this tournament. There was no competition for the outright title, as No. 22 Kent State won the tournament by 19 shots.
“Another strong finish for the guys,” Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins told 12thman.com. “We played in the final group again today and even though Kent State ran away with it, we felt like we had a great chance to compete for the title. We beat a couple of really strong teams. I’m really liking the way the guys are progressing and I’m pleased with the effort.”
Two Aggies managed to finish in the top-10. Sophomore Chandler Phillips, who won an individual title in the team’s last outing and junior Cameron Champ ended their weeks in a tie for 4^th and 6^th respectively. Phillips shot under par in every round to finish at 5-under par and claim his fifth straight top-10 finish. Champ carded a 3-under par 69 on Tuesday, his best round since September, finishing at 4-under par overall.
“I think we have a really good one-two punch,” Higgins said to 12thman.com. “It’s great to have Cameron [Champ] back in the lineup, he played fantastic with his three-under. Chandler [Phillips] had another strong finish, earning another top-five. He keeps proving why he’s one of the best players in the country.”
Phillips has shot par or better in 14 of his last 15 rounds and he and Champ were near the top in par 4 and 5 scoring as well as total birdies for the week.
Freshman Dan Erickson recorded the best finish of his career in a tie for 13^th, shooting three consecutive rounds in the low 70s. It was Erickson’s par 5 scoring that really stood out, as he was 6-under par, second best in the field this week.
Junior Kavan Eubank struggled late on day one, carding a score of 82 in the second round, but did jump up fifteen spots on the final day to finish in a tie for 51^st. Senior Jake Goodman fared well on the par 3’s this week, however two rounds in the 80s left him in a tie for 75^th. 
The team brought freshman Josh Gliege along to compete as an individual this week. He managed to notch a solo 38^th finish and was one of the only players to record an eagle on the week. 
“We will get the other guys to come around so we can get stronger three through five,” Higgins continued via 12thman.com. “If we can get that lineup settled by the end of the year, we’ll be a team to be reckoned with.”
The Aggies have produced back to back runner-up finishes in the last two tournaments and have not finished outside of the top-3 in any tournament this season. They will look to continue that streak in their next outing in Bandon, Oregon where they will be hosted by Gonzaga University at the Bandon Dunes Championship from March 12^th to the 14^th.