Escaping the stir of the busiest weekend of the year in College Station, No. 29 Texas A&M men’s golf traveled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Over the span of two days, the Aggies competed in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate at Finley Golf Club. They concluded their visit with a third overall finish, solidifying their regular-season in good standing.
On Day 1, the Maroon and White put on a clinic in the first two rounds, led by No. 53 sophomore Wheaton Ennis. He started the day with a 4-under, 66 in the first round, and followed it up with an even-par second round 70 to secure him sixth place at the end of Day 1.
Although A&M had nobody else finish in the top-10, one Aggie was just beyond the line, finishing in 11th place. Senior Jaime Montojo finished with an impressive two-round score of 3-under, 137, having rifled a 69 and 68 round sequence. Two Fightin’ Farmers, No. 146 freshman Shiv Parmar and junior Kris Kuvaas, tied at the end of the second round in 22nd place, each ending the day at 1-under, 139.
Still, the Aggies had two players over par in sophomore Alex Long and No. 39 junior Aaron Pounds. Long, who competed as an individual, wrapped up his second round at 2-over, 142, and Pounds followed with a 6-over, 146. Even with these few blunders, A&M finished the day in third place, trailing No. 11 North Carolina and No. 27 Duke. The Aggies concluded the day with a team total of 9-under, 551 through 36 holes.
A&M trailed Duke by a single stroke but a whopping 20-stroke lead was created by North Carolina. With the first place mark out of reach, the Maroon and White fought for a shot at a second-place finish in the final round the following day.
Though they finished 6-under in the first round and 3-under after the second, the Maroon and White fell flat in the final round at their chance for a runner-up finish. Losing their under-par momentum from the previous day, the Aggies finished 1-over, falling to third place, behind the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. Posioned by 19 bogeys that filled the scorecards of the Maroon and White’s starting five, they couldn’t manage to make a move from the spot they held the previous day.
Ennis, who had a spectacular first day, finished the third round 2-over and fell eight places to tie for 14th. On the flip side, Montojo had an improved second day and climbed his way into the top-10, finishing tied for eighth place after a 1-under, 69 round. Parmar held it together to rise five spots after an even-par, 70, earned him 17th place.
A&M’s next tournament will be at the Southeastern Conference Championship on Wednesday, April 22-26, in St. Simmons Island, Georgia, as it sets its sights on the first title in program history.
