Friday, October 21
Alpharetta, Ga.
All Day
Texas A&M
at
Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Finish Fifth at Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate
Oct 23, 2016 | Men's Golf
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Rounding out its final competition of the fall schedule on Sunday, the Texas A&M men's golf team posted a fifth-place showing against some of the country's top teams at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.
In an extremely competitive event that featured 14 squads in the 17-team field ranked in the top 33 of the GolfStat national rankings, the Aggies (291-285-282=858, -6) finished just two shots behind co-champions Texas (-8) and Virginia (-8) and one shot behind USC (-7) and Stanford (-7), who shared third place.
"What a great tournament," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "This is why kids come to Texas A&M, to play in events like this. It was like a national championship field and I feel like we proved we can play with anybody in the country. Our guys did a great job and I'm so proud of them. They battled from start to finish even after we got off to a really rough start. We put ourselves in a hole but came all the way back and just fell a little short."
Notching his third top-five finish in four fall tournaments, sophomore Chandler Phillips (71-69-70=210, -6) carded his third consecutive round under par at the event to earn a share of fourth place on the 90-player leaderboard.
"Another great tournament for Chandler with a top-five showing against some of the best players in the country," Higgins said of the Huntsville, Texas, native. "He just gets better and better every week and has been so solid for us all year. I can't say enough about him and the job he's doing for us."
Freshman Viraj Madappa (75-71-69=215, -1) fired the lowest round of his young collegiate career on Sunday, shooting three-under par to surge 13 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 16th.
Meanwhile, junior Cameron Champ (72-70-78=220, +4) ended the tournament with a share of 39th place while junior Kavan Eubank (73-75-73=221, +5) and sophomore Brandon Smith (75-78-70=223, +7) concluded the event in 43rd and 56th, respectively.
"Great round today from Viraj," Higgins added. "He birdied two of his last three holes as did Kavan. And for Brandon, in the first tournament he's ever played for us to shoot a final round 70 was just a terrific effort."
Overall, the solid showing against the stacked field in the Peach State served to validate an already impressive fall campaign for the Aggies, who finished near the top of the leaderboard in each of their first four events of the 2016-17 campaign. Additionally, in three of the four fall tournaments an Aggie stood atop the player leaderboard with Eubanks, Champ and Phillips all claiming medalist honors.
"I thought we had a really successful fall season," Higgins reflected. "In all four tournaments we played in the final grouping with a great chance to win. We were really competitive and a lot of guys played for us and were able to get some great experience. I think we're going to just get better and better. I'm excited about this team and what this season holds in store for us. We're going to go to work and get better before the spring season and see if we can't compete for an SEC and national championship."
Texas A&M men's golf will return to the links to resume the season Jan. 23-24 when the Aggies tee off at the Arizona Intercollegiate Jan. 23-24.
In an extremely competitive event that featured 14 squads in the 17-team field ranked in the top 33 of the GolfStat national rankings, the Aggies (291-285-282=858, -6) finished just two shots behind co-champions Texas (-8) and Virginia (-8) and one shot behind USC (-7) and Stanford (-7), who shared third place.
"What a great tournament," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "This is why kids come to Texas A&M, to play in events like this. It was like a national championship field and I feel like we proved we can play with anybody in the country. Our guys did a great job and I'm so proud of them. They battled from start to finish even after we got off to a really rough start. We put ourselves in a hole but came all the way back and just fell a little short."
Notching his third top-five finish in four fall tournaments, sophomore Chandler Phillips (71-69-70=210, -6) carded his third consecutive round under par at the event to earn a share of fourth place on the 90-player leaderboard.
"Another great tournament for Chandler with a top-five showing against some of the best players in the country," Higgins said of the Huntsville, Texas, native. "He just gets better and better every week and has been so solid for us all year. I can't say enough about him and the job he's doing for us."
Freshman Viraj Madappa (75-71-69=215, -1) fired the lowest round of his young collegiate career on Sunday, shooting three-under par to surge 13 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 16th.
Meanwhile, junior Cameron Champ (72-70-78=220, +4) ended the tournament with a share of 39th place while junior Kavan Eubank (73-75-73=221, +5) and sophomore Brandon Smith (75-78-70=223, +7) concluded the event in 43rd and 56th, respectively.
"Great round today from Viraj," Higgins added. "He birdied two of his last three holes as did Kavan. And for Brandon, in the first tournament he's ever played for us to shoot a final round 70 was just a terrific effort."
Overall, the solid showing against the stacked field in the Peach State served to validate an already impressive fall campaign for the Aggies, who finished near the top of the leaderboard in each of their first four events of the 2016-17 campaign. Additionally, in three of the four fall tournaments an Aggie stood atop the player leaderboard with Eubanks, Champ and Phillips all claiming medalist honors.
"I thought we had a really successful fall season," Higgins reflected. "In all four tournaments we played in the final grouping with a great chance to win. We were really competitive and a lot of guys played for us and were able to get some great experience. I think we're going to just get better and better. I'm excited about this team and what this season holds in store for us. We're going to go to work and get better before the spring season and see if we can't compete for an SEC and national championship."
Texas A&M men's golf will return to the links to resume the season Jan. 23-24 when the Aggies tee off at the Arizona Intercollegiate Jan. 23-24.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Burgess Banquet Induction: Duke Butler III
Saturday, September 07
Aggie Invitational Preview: Brian Kortan
Wednesday, April 03
Playing Through w/Brian Kortan Ep. 1
Sunday, September 24
In Their Words: NCAA Regional Comeback
Wednesday, May 24
