The Aggies were at even par when they hit the turn but blistered the back nine for a 12-under. A&M, which saw its four scoring players combine for 26 birdies on Monday, is at 564 (-12) on the week and trails leader New Mexico by four shots heading into the final 18 holes.
"I think the guys knew what they had to do and went out and executed," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "The goal was to cut into the lead and put ourselves in a position to win the golf tournament, and that's exactly where we are. I think they saw the leaderboard at the turn and the light went off, because we made an awful lot of birdies on the back nine today and that put us right toward the top."
The Lobos (560, -16) went 2-under on the day and hold the four-stroke lead over the Aggies. North Texas (-9) is in third place, with Arizona (-7), Baylor (-6) and Houston (-4) the only other teams under par for the week. Texas State is at even par, while UT Arlington (+4), Sam Houston State (+5) and Weber State (+6) round out the top 10.
Individually, sophomore Johannes Veerman leads all Aggies with a 5-under 139 (69-70), and sits in a tie for sixth place six shots back of the lead. Junior Cameron Peck turned in the best round of the entire field on Monday, shooting a 7-under 65 in a round that included six consecutive birdies from the fifth through 10th holes. Peck is in a tie for 13th place overall at 142 (-2). Senior Jordan Russell turned in a 69 and is tied for 15th with a 1-under 143 (74-69).
"Cam and Jordan are All-Americans, and they didn't forget how to play golf yesterday," Higgins said. "They just really put too much pressure on themselves and forced things a little bit. Today when they went back to the fundamentals we always talk about-being methodical in your approach and taking it one shot, one hole at a time-they were successful."
True freshman Ty Dunlap continues his strong play in his first collegiate event, as his even-par 72 on Monday has him also tied for 15th at 1-under 143. Sophomore Jade Scott is tied for 43rd with a 3-over 147 (74-73), while junior Case Cochran-playing as an individual-is tied for ninth overall at 3-under 141 (73-68).
"Ty and Jade, what a great job by them," Higgins said. "Ty was 5-over through seven and finished even, and Jade was 4-over through seven and finished 1-over. They showed a tremendous amount of heart and no quit, and I'm really proud of what they did."
A&M will take to the course for the final round tomorrow beginning at 9:30 a.m. from the first hole. The Aggies will be paired with New Mexico and North Texas. Live scoring of the Lone Star Invitational can be found at golfstat.com, and fans can also follow along with updates via Twitter at @AggieMensGolf.
"It's going to be a lot tougher tomorrow," Higgins said. "There is a front moving in that will bring 20 to 25 mile per hour winds out of the north, completely opposite of what we saw today. The golf course will play a lot tougher than we saw the first two days, and we have to remember that and realize that par will probably be a pretty good score. Usually there's a little separation by the best teams if the weather turns, so hopefully that will give us a chance to have another good round and get out of here with a win."
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