Redshirt freshman William Paysse recorded the first victory of his collegiate career with a tie for first at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational at the Lakeside Course.
Paysse helped lead the No. 13 Aggies to a one-over third-place overall finish, only three strokes behind the winner No. 10 Duke. The third-place finish is the team’s best finish at the event since 2010, and gives the Aggies a top-five finish in all of their fall tournaments.
The Aggies entered the 13th hole in second place, but struggled the remainder of the round. After finding themselves in second-place following the second round, the men fell behind No. 9 Pepperdine on the final day despite shooting one-under.
“The team put up a great fight today,” A&M coach J.T. Higgins told 12thman.com. “Unfortunately, we played the most difficult part of the course (holes 13-17) poorly again and let a golden opportunity slip away. I thought we would do better today with 14-16 playing downwind, but just didn’t execute when we needed to.”
Paysse, who went into the third round with the lead, shot a two-under and ended in a tie with UCLA’s Eddy Lai. Junior Walker Lee continued his stellar play and finished in a tie for 11th after shooting four-under in his final round and even-par overall.
“We’re really excited for Willie,” Higgins told 12thman.com. “That is a great win against a lot of the very best players in college golf. He was so composed and poised throughout the round, giving not just himself, but our entire team an opportunity to win. The best part is that he is just getting started and has only scratched the surface of his potential, but man did he have a terrific semester.”
Conditions were harsh on Day Two with steady rain and temperatures in the 50s, but the Aggies managed to minimize their mistakes and shoot the second-best score of the day, allowing them to cement themselves near the top of the leaderboard.
“The conditions were as tough as imaginable and still be playable,” Higgins told 12thman.com. “We knew we had to embrace the challenge with a great attitude, and I could not be more proud of how they battled for every shot.”
Seniors Brandon Smith and Dan Erickson finished the tournament in a tie for 32nd despite firing four-overs, and senior Josh Gilege finished 70th after shooting 15-over par. The team managed to finish above four other teams ranked above them going into the tournament, including No. 1 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Wake Forest.
“We are always disappointed when we fail to win, but we did beat a lot of strong teams and had very successful fall season,” Higgins told 12thman.com. “All in all, I love this team and I’m excited to see what they can do when we get back in action in the spring.”