Another week, another successful outing for Texas A&M Golf. No. 18 Aggie men’s golf was in Hawaii this week competing in the John Burns Intercollegiate where they managed to snag a second-place finish with a total score of 25-under par, just one shot ahead of No. 23 UNLV. No. 4 Virginia won the tournament by four shots.
Sophomore Chandler Phillips was the standout player of the week as he shot three consecutive sub-70 rounds to finish at 15-under par and win the tournament three shots ahead of the field. Phillips was 11-under par after two days of play, setting a new 36-hole record for the Texas Aggies, and his 54-hole total is second best in school history. He was in the top two in par 3, 4, and 5 scoring this week, illustrating his consistency around the course. Phillips also holed 20 birdies, three more than any other competitor.
“Chandler is just a stud,” Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins told 12thman.com, “The way he’s been playing the last few weeks, I think he’s proving himself to be one of the best players in the country.” This was Phillips’ second win of the year as he took the Golfweek Conference Challenge title in the fall.
The rest of the team also competed at a high level as junior Kavan Eubank shot all three rounds at par or better to finish in ninth, his third top-10 of the year. Eubank was also second in par 4 scoring for the week. Freshman Dan Erickson had a solid outing and finished in a tie for 26th. Sophomore Brandon Smith started hot with a sub-70 round to start his week, however up and down play the next couple of days landed him in a tie for 32nd. Junior Andrew Paysse finished in a tie for 40th, but was in the top three in par 5 scoring for the week.
“I am so proud of these guys for the way they played, fought and battled all week,” Higgins said, “It was a really great effort on their part.” This is the Aggies fourth top-3 finish as a team in six tournaments this year.
The Aggies also brought three players to compete as individuals. Senior Jake Goodman was near the top in par 3 scoring all tournament, and notched himself a tie for 13th finish. Sophomore Max Miller shared the 26th place spot with fellow teammate Erickson, while freshman Josh Gliege shared a tie for 40th with Paysse.
After an exciting week of golf in tropical Hawaii, the Aggies will look to the swamps of Louisiana where they will be competing in The Louisiana Classics on February 27th hosted by the Ragin’ Cajuns of UL Lafayette.
