KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. – The Texas A&M men's golf team sits in seventh place after 36 holes of stroke play at the DICK'S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup.
“We got off to a poor start today, but I was proud of the way we fought back, especially in that second round,” Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. “Adrià and Connor really put us on their backs and made sure we stayed in the hunt. Those guys were really impressive and played great golf this afternoon. They were completely in control and kept the ball in play, while doing a great job of minimizing their mistakes.”
Georgia Tech (290-272=562, -6) sits atop the team standings at six-under par while the Aggies (295-283=578, +10) will enter Saturday's final round of stroke play 16 shots back.
Aggie junior Adrià Arnaus (72-65=137, -5) continued his strong start to the season, firing a career-low round of 65 during his second turn on the course at Golf Club of Tennessee to end the day with a share of third place at five-under par.
Freshman Connor Black (73-67=140, -2), meanwhile, also holds a spot in the top 10 on the leaderboard in a four-way tie for eighth place.
“Some of our guys seem to be making the same mistakes over and over while not converting on their opportunities and giving shots away,” Higgins added. “We've got to get better in those areas and if we do that we've got a chance to have a really nice tournament with a great final round.”
Junior Ben Crancer (75-76=151, +9) and freshman Andrew Paysse (75-76=151, +9) hold a share of 44th place, while junior Andrew Lister (79-75=154, +12) sits in 53rd.
Texas A&M returns to the course Saturday morning at 9 a.m. (CT) for the event's final round of stroke place before a round of match play on Sunday.