Aggies Card Third-Place Showing at Valspar Collegiate

Monday, March 21

Palm City, Fla.

All Day

Texas A&M

Valspar Collegiate Invitational

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Mar 22, 2016 | Men's Golf

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

PALM CITY, FLA. – Freshman Chandler Phillips finished as the runner-up in the loaded Valspar Collegiate Invitational field, helping the Texas A&M men's golf claim a share of third place on the Floridian Golf Course.

"I'm so happy with the way the guys played this week," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "That was a championship golf course that was set up to play like it. The conditions were tough and it was an unbelievable field, 11 top 25 teams. So to place third showed that we can compete with the best teams in the country and how far we've come in the last 6-8 weeks."

Phillips (73+68+70=211, -2) sat in fourth place heading into the final round of competition and confirmed his position on the leaderboard with three straight birdies starting on the fifth green. When regulation play concluded, the freshman sat all square with Zach Wright of LSU. Phillips fell to Wright on the playoff hole, giving him a second-place finish, the best of his young career.

It marked his fourth top 10 in his last six events. Also, Phillips played two of three rounds in the red during a tournament where just ten percent of rounds were below par.

"Chandler Phillips was just a stud this week," Higgins added. "He tied for the championship as a true freshman and held his own in a playoff against a senior. I'm really proud of him, he's shown a lot of heart and is turning into one of our best players."

The Aggies (294+290+287=871, +19) were competing in a field consisting only of top-50 teams. For the tournament, the Maroon & White finished in third, even with Oklahoma State (295+288+288=871, +19), climbing one spot on the leaderboard during the final day.

Texas (283+287+285=855, +3) claimed the team title, winning by a five-stroke margin over LSU (286+295+276=860, +8).

A trio of Aggies finished the tournament in a tie for 36^th. Among those, sophomore Cameron Champ (76+73+73=222, +9) carded a 73 for the final day and senior Ben Crancer (79+73+70=222, +9) jumped 21 spots with a one-under concluding round.

The Kirkwood, Mo., native was one of only three participants to play the par-3s under par for the tournament, the rest of the field combined for +253 on such holes. Also in 36^th, Andrew Paysse (71+77+74=222, +9) led the Aggies through the first round of play sitting in seventh overall, but struggled in the final couple of rounds posting a 74 Tuesday.

Rounding out the A&M lineup, senior Adria Arnaus (74+76+76=226, +13) found himself in a tie for 55^th when play wrapped up.

The event marks the sixth consecutive tourney where the Aggies have finished in the top half of the field.

"I really like where we're at and how we're progressing heading toward the postseason," Higgins said. "I think we're going to be a team to be reckoned with. I'm really proud of the guys, they're working their tails off and it's great to see results for all the work they're putting in."

Next on the slate, A&M will get a chance to host some of the best teams in the country for the Aggie Invitational from the Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas. The event will tee off on April 2^nd and will mark A&M's final test before heading to Georgia for the SEC Championship.