Texas A&M Men's Golf
Texas A&M men's golf finishes third in rain-shortened Aggie Invite
Mother nature had different ideas than allowing a final round of golf at the Aggie Invitational as a storm rolled into the Bryan-College Station area early in the morning on Sunday.
This left J.T. Higgins and the Texas A&M Men's golf team to settle for their day one efforts that saw them finish in third place, shooting a team score of 577 (+1) in 36 holes of play. The Aggies finished 12 strokes behind tournament champion LSU.
The Aggies were led by Junior Cameron Champ in the tournament. Champ shot rounds of 69 and 70 on his way to finishing tied for second on the individual leaderboard. His first round of 3-under was highlighted by a magnificent, long Eagle putt at the par-five fifth hole that wrapped around the back of the cup before falling.
Champ finished one stroke behind tournament champion Kyle Mueller of Michigan, who fired back-to-back 69's to finish at 6-under on the weekend.
"I think we did pretty well. I know Chandler (Phillips) is upset. He thinks he could've played a lot better, but Cameron (Champ) had a great week and Brandon (Smith) stepped in and did terrific for us," said Higgins on his team's performance.
Phillips has been the Aggies' leader throughout the spring season, but just couldn't captitalize on enough opportunities in the first round. In round two on Saturday, Phillips had a great round going on the back nine but finished 3-over par in the last four holes.
As a team, the Aggies got a lift from unexpected starter and sophomore Brandon Smith, who was inserted into the lineup due to injuries to more experience players.
As a team, the Aggies got a lift from unexpected starter and sophomore Brandon Smith, who was inserted into the lineup due to injuries to regular starters Dan Erickson and Kavan Eubank. When asked about Smith making the spot start Higgins said, "He's grown so much as a player both physically and mentally.
"He's gotten a lot tougher and learned how to handle his emotions better on the golf course. I was really impressed with him. I thought he did a fantastic job."
"He's gotten a lot tougher and learned how to handle his emotions better on the golf course. I was really impressed with him. I thought he did a fantastic job."
Smith played well at times throughout the tournament, carding 9 birdies in the 36 holes of action. He was undone both days, however, by holes 17 and 18, shooting a combined 5-over par on those two holes in the two rounds.
Also competing for the Aggies in the team competition were Andrew Paysse and Josh Gilege, who shot 6-over and 11-over respectively through the two rounds of play.
"It's a great field and to shot 1-over on a great golf course, I thought we did okay," said Higgins to up the weekend.
The No. 17 Aggies will be back in action in three weeks at the SEC Championships at Sea Island golf Club in Georgia, April 21-24.
Looking ahead, Higgins said, "I think we need to work on some course management stuff, but as far as the physical side goes, we're pretty strong. We have to play great golf. When we're at our best, we can compete with anybody."
Looking ahead, Higgins said, "I think we need to work on some course management stuff, but as far as the physical side goes, we're pretty strong. We have to play great golf. When we're at our best, we can compete with anybody."
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