ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The 21st-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team holds a share of fourth place after the opening round of the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.
Â
The Aggies (291, +3) are within eight strokes of the lead after an up-and-down first round. They sat as low as three-below before struggling down the stretch. In the 17-team field, the Aggies share fourth place with Texas (291, +3) while Duke (285, -3) and Virginia (289, +1) stand between the Aggies and tournament leaders Oklahoma (283, -5).
Â
"Not a bad start to the tournament." Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "This is probably the best field we will see all year. I felt like we played pretty good golf most of the day. It was windy with some cool temperatures; different conditions then we've seen this fall. I thought the guys channeled that really well. For the most part they had control of their golf game. We continue to struggle finishing the day and we let some shots slip away. We'll keep working on that and see if we can improve tomorrow."
Â
Sophomore Chandler Phillips, coming off an individual championship at the Golfweek Conference Challenge during his last outing, holds a share of eighth. The Huntsville, Texas, native trails tournament leader Jimmy Stanger of Virginia by four strokes.
Â
Junior Cameron Champ (72, E) is tied for 17th in search for his fourth straight top-20 finish. Junior Kavan Eubank (73, +1), meanwhile, finished the day one-over after spending the majority of the day under par. In his first collegiate tournament, sophomore Brandon Smith (75, +3) holds a share of 43rd along with freshman Viraj Madappa (75, +3).
Â
"Chandler had another solid outing with another under-par round," added Higgins. "With Kavan and Cameron, our top three guys combined for an even par. We are going to need all five guys if we want to put ourselves into the mix come Sunday."
Â
The team will get back out on the course for the second round with a 9:50 a.m. (CT) tee time on Saturday, paired with Duke and East Tennessee State. Live scoring for the final two rounds will be available at GolfStat.com. Stay tuned to 12thMan.com or follow the Aggies on Twitter (@AggieMensGolf).
Â
The Aggies (291, +3) are within eight strokes of the lead after an up-and-down first round. They sat as low as three-below before struggling down the stretch. In the 17-team field, the Aggies share fourth place with Texas (291, +3) while Duke (285, -3) and Virginia (289, +1) stand between the Aggies and tournament leaders Oklahoma (283, -5).
Â
"Not a bad start to the tournament." Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "This is probably the best field we will see all year. I felt like we played pretty good golf most of the day. It was windy with some cool temperatures; different conditions then we've seen this fall. I thought the guys channeled that really well. For the most part they had control of their golf game. We continue to struggle finishing the day and we let some shots slip away. We'll keep working on that and see if we can improve tomorrow."
Â
Sophomore Chandler Phillips, coming off an individual championship at the Golfweek Conference Challenge during his last outing, holds a share of eighth. The Huntsville, Texas, native trails tournament leader Jimmy Stanger of Virginia by four strokes.
Â
Junior Cameron Champ (72, E) is tied for 17th in search for his fourth straight top-20 finish. Junior Kavan Eubank (73, +1), meanwhile, finished the day one-over after spending the majority of the day under par. In his first collegiate tournament, sophomore Brandon Smith (75, +3) holds a share of 43rd along with freshman Viraj Madappa (75, +3).
Â
"Chandler had another solid outing with another under-par round," added Higgins. "With Kavan and Cameron, our top three guys combined for an even par. We are going to need all five guys if we want to put ourselves into the mix come Sunday."
Â
The team will get back out on the course for the second round with a 9:50 a.m. (CT) tee time on Saturday, paired with Duke and East Tennessee State. Live scoring for the final two rounds will be available at GolfStat.com. Stay tuned to 12thMan.com or follow the Aggies on Twitter (@AggieMensGolf).