Adrià Arnaus
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M in Fourth after General Hackler Day #1
Mar 12, 2016 | Men's Golf
Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The Texas A&M men's golf team posted a strong opening day at the General Hackler Championship on Saturday, sitting in fourth place with four Aggies at or below par after two rounds on the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
The tournament's second round was suspended due to darkness Saturday evening with a handful of golfers still on the course, however, the entire A&M contingency had completed their second round.
The Aggies (283-288=571, -5) got off to a quick start in the opening round of play with a first-round five-under 283, just three shots off the leader North Florida, one of the eight ranked teams in the fifteen-team field. Seniors Ben Crancer and Adria Arnaus along with sophomore Cameron Champ made up the trio of Aggies sitting at two-under after the morning round.
"I thought we did some really good things today," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We weren't hitting the ball well but still fought hard, especially that first round where we made a bunch of birdies coming down the stretch. I felt really good about that first round, because even though things weren't going great for us we battled."
It was South Carolina (281-279=560, -16) and Virginia (287-276=563, -13) who shot up the leaderboard during the second round, distancing themselves from the rest of the field. A&M dropped a spot in the standings, posting one-over par during the evening session. The Aggies sit two stokes in front of both North Carolina (-3) and Kent State (-3) and three behind third place North Carolina State (-8).
"We really got off to a rough start in the afternoon round," Higgins added. "We didn't have any putts drop and had trouble keeping the ball in play off the tee. We put ourselves behind the eight-ball all afternoon, but we finished well again and were able to put together an even-par round."
Champ (70-72=142, -2) and Arnaus (70-72=142, -2) sit in a tie for 14th place with identical round scores and are within striking distance of the leader Jimmy Stranger of Virginia (-8). Champ sat at one-over with seven holes to play but birdied three near finish to bring him back to two-under.
Freshman Chandler Phillips (73-70=143, -1) used a fine second round to climb 15 spots into a tie for 19th. Crancer (70-74-144, E) sits just one back of Phillips at even par, earning a share of 24th place. Senior Andrew Lister (77-75=152, +8) rounded out the A&M lineup in a tie for 61st.
"I thought today was a pretty solid team effort, especially from the top four guys," Higgins said. "It was a good day, but it could have been a little bit better if we'd kept the ball in play better, especially on the par-fives. We're in good position and if we can put together a good final round, we'll have ourselves a nice tournament."
The tournament wraps up Sunday morning with the resumption of the second round before a final 18 holes. Live scoring and results for the Aggies can be found on golfstat.com as well as live updates via twitter at @AggieMensGolf.
The tournament's second round was suspended due to darkness Saturday evening with a handful of golfers still on the course, however, the entire A&M contingency had completed their second round.
The Aggies (283-288=571, -5) got off to a quick start in the opening round of play with a first-round five-under 283, just three shots off the leader North Florida, one of the eight ranked teams in the fifteen-team field. Seniors Ben Crancer and Adria Arnaus along with sophomore Cameron Champ made up the trio of Aggies sitting at two-under after the morning round.
"I thought we did some really good things today," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We weren't hitting the ball well but still fought hard, especially that first round where we made a bunch of birdies coming down the stretch. I felt really good about that first round, because even though things weren't going great for us we battled."
It was South Carolina (281-279=560, -16) and Virginia (287-276=563, -13) who shot up the leaderboard during the second round, distancing themselves from the rest of the field. A&M dropped a spot in the standings, posting one-over par during the evening session. The Aggies sit two stokes in front of both North Carolina (-3) and Kent State (-3) and three behind third place North Carolina State (-8).
"We really got off to a rough start in the afternoon round," Higgins added. "We didn't have any putts drop and had trouble keeping the ball in play off the tee. We put ourselves behind the eight-ball all afternoon, but we finished well again and were able to put together an even-par round."
Champ (70-72=142, -2) and Arnaus (70-72=142, -2) sit in a tie for 14th place with identical round scores and are within striking distance of the leader Jimmy Stranger of Virginia (-8). Champ sat at one-over with seven holes to play but birdied three near finish to bring him back to two-under.
Freshman Chandler Phillips (73-70=143, -1) used a fine second round to climb 15 spots into a tie for 19th. Crancer (70-74-144, E) sits just one back of Phillips at even par, earning a share of 24th place. Senior Andrew Lister (77-75=152, +8) rounded out the A&M lineup in a tie for 61st.
"I thought today was a pretty solid team effort, especially from the top four guys," Higgins said. "It was a good day, but it could have been a little bit better if we'd kept the ball in play better, especially on the par-fives. We're in good position and if we can put together a good final round, we'll have ourselves a nice tournament."
The tournament wraps up Sunday morning with the resumption of the second round before a final 18 holes. Live scoring and results for the Aggies can be found on golfstat.com as well as live updates via twitter at @AggieMensGolf.
Players Mentioned
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