The Texas A&M men’s golf team traveled to The Country Club of Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama and teed off for Round 1 of the SEC Match Play tournament on Monday, Sept 25.
The Country Club of Birmingham consists of a West and East Course. The Aggies took on the par 71, 7,226 yard West Course for Day 1. The SEC Match Play consists of 54 holes of stroke play on Day 1 and 2 followed by match play on Day 3.
The Maroon and White lineup led by head coach Brian Kortan included 22-2023 PING All-America Honorable Mention junior Phichaksn Maichon, freshman Aaron Pounds, sophomore Jaime Montojo, junior Michael Heidelbaugh and junior Vishnu Sadagopan.
This is Aaron Pounds’ collegiate debut and shot an impressive 4-under.
“I love match play, that’s probably one of the most fun I have playing golf,” Pounds said in a pregame interview with A&M men’s golf.
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Aaron Pounds discusses his upcoming collegiate debut at the SEC Match Play hosted by Jerry Pate.#GigEm | 👍 | #BTHOthefield pic.twitter.com/T1Rv1xhHOl
— Texas A&M Men’s Golf (@AggieMensGolf) September 24, 2023
After recovering from a hand injury, Pounds said he feels solid and excited to get after the week in the same interview.
After two rounds on Day 1, No. 17 A&M tied for fourth at 20-under 548. Maichon secured his spot at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 9-under and tied for third. He fell right behind Auburn University’s junior Brendan Valdes at 10-under and Vanderbilt University’s junior Gordon Sargent 13-under.
This past August, Sargent was named the winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading male in the 2023 World Amateur Golf Ranking. He competed in the 2023 U.S. Open where he tied for 39th. Sargent will be competing in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst along with the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. This may be his final year playing for Vanderbilt as he is on his way to securing his PGA Tour card. He said he was undecided about a fourth year because things could change after the third year, he told GolfChannel.com.
Day 2 left the Aggies in sixth place with a score of 1-under 283. Maichon finished tied for fourth with Auburn’s senior JM Butler at 11-under.
We never really got any momentum going today.” Kortan told 12thman.com. “The hole locations were a lot more difficult today. The guys hung in there and stayed disciplined which is what you have to do on a day like that so you can live to fight another day, but unfortunately, we’re only at a three-round tournament. This tournament field is as tough as it gets no matter where you go. Through round one and a good part of round two we were right there with them. We’ll keep getting better.”
Auburn University excelled on the course and tallied up their three-round score to 41-under 811. Valdes fought for his place at the top of the leaderboard and landed 12-under in third. Sargent faced University of Alabama’s sophomore Nick Dunlap who stole the first place position at 15-under.
Day 3 was Match Play Day. No. 17 Texas A&M went head-to-head with the University of Tennessee.
The Aggies took the victory 3.5-1.5 over the Vols. Sadagopan, Maichon and Montojo all brought in 1 point while Pounds secured the final half point for A&M.
No. 7 Vanderbilt facedAuburn. Graduate Matthew Riedel and senior Cole Sherwood gained the first 2 points for the Commodores. Freshman Jackson Koivun and Sargent went into a 19th hole and Koivun stole the win for the Tigers’ second point of the day.
Butler and Vandy graduate William Moll were tied through 19 and headed to hole 20 for a final playoff. Butler took the winning point for Auburn 3-2.
The Aggies tee off next at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 2-3 at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth.
