The No. 18 Texas A&M men’s golf team headed to Greensboro, North Carolina to take part in the inaugural Qubein Cup on Monday and Tuesday. The Aggies finished second in a field of 13 universities, falling seven strokes shy of first-place Chattanooga.
“Overall, it was a good week,” coach Brian Kortan said in a press release. “We keep getting better. Fortunately, it’s a long season, so as long as we keep getting better, we’ll get where we want to go.“
Day 1 of the event started off strong for the Aggies, as freshman Wheaton Ennis tied for seventh with a score of 3-over 73 in his opening round and a par 70 in his second, which wrapped up Tuesday morning after being postponed from Monday due to darkness.
“He’s a mature golfer,” Kortan said. “He wants to play great golf. He works his tail off at home and he’s really focused and confident on the road.”
Trailing Ennis was sophomore Aaron Pounds, who had splits of 5-over 75 and an even 70, tied for the 21st spot. Sophomore Jack Usner finished with rounds of 7-over 77 and 1-under 69.
The senior duo of Phichaksn Maichon and Michael Heidelbaugh each tied for the 28th spot through two rounds. Maichon had rounds of 2-over 72 and 5-over 75, while Heidelbaugh finished with 6-over 76 and 1-over 71. Making his first appearance with A&M, Texas transfer junior Jacob Sosa showcased his individual performance with rounds of 5-over 75 and 4-over 74, tying for the 38th spot.
Through two rounds, the Aggies were in fourth place with showings of 296 and 280, trailing leading Chattanooga, second-place Michigan and third-place Nebraska.
Day 2 saw the Aggies rebound in the third round, logging the round’s top score of the tournament at 9-over 289 to surge into second place.
Ennis finished in a tie for sixth at 5-over 215 with a 2-over 72 on Tuesday. Maichon moved up in the standings to tie for 11th at 7-over 217, scoring an even 70 in his final round. Pounds tied for the 13th spot with a 3-over-73 score to reach 8-over 218.
Usner finished with a 4-over 74, tying for the 17th spot at 10-over 220. Heidelbaugh was the last member in the team competition, logging a 4-over 74 and finishing tied for the 20th spot at 11-over 221. Sosa finished his individual performances with a 4-over 74, tying for the 32nd spot at 13-over 223.
“We did a great job the last two days, the second round in particular,” Kortan said. “That was a really good score. Today, we made a few bad scores coming in on 14 and could’ve made things a little more interesting down the stretch. But, overall, it was a decent day.
“We didn’t make very many birdies, but making a run without many birdies says a lot about the guys. They fight for the pars. It’s a hard golf course that tests you every step of the way. They stayed in it and fought. We just spotted the winners too much after that first round.”
The Aggies will travel to Greenville, South Carolina to compete in the Furman Intercollegiate on Saturday and Sunday.
