Lihu'e, Kaua'i – The third-ranked Aggie men's golf team maintained its second-place position with an impressive 10-under middle round at the John Burns Intercollegiate on Friday from the Wailua Golf Course.
"Really wasn't a whole lot different than yesterday except we finished a lot better," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We were really solid on the par-fives all day getting to 15-under as a team and 10-under on the day."
The Aggies (283+278=561, -15) came into the day facing a 13-stroke deficit behind tournament leader UNLV (270+280=555, -21). A&M was able to shrink the Rebels' lead by seven strokes with a 10-under round as a team, their second best round of the season. A&M holds a five-stroke advantage over third-place Arizona (288+278=561, -10) and the remainder of the 20-team field heading into the event's final day.
"We did what we needed to today, we cut the lead in half to something that's manageable," added Higgins. "We can overcome a six-shot deficit with 18 holes to go. I'm really proud of the effort today. We'll see if we can't come from behind and get another win."
Junior Chandler Phillips (69+67=136, -8), the defending champion of the Intercollegiate, carded a five-under round, one stroke off his collegiate best. The Huntsville, Texas, native held a share of seventh place heading into the round and jumped five spots on the leaderboard into a tie for second, sitting three strokes back of individual leader Shintaro Ban of UNLV.
Sophomore Josh Gliege (69+71=140, -4) rattled off another under-par round and holds a tie for 11th. One stroke back, freshman Walker Lee (71+71=142, -2) eagled his final hole to sit in a share of 20th while sophomore Dan Erickson (74+69=143, -1) vaulted 20 positions on the leaderboard with a three-under day. Rounding out the A&M five-man lineup, Andrew Paysse (76+73=148, +5) has a share of 64th heading into the event's final round.
Competing as an individual, sophomore Brandon Smith (69+69=138, -6) jumped three spots in to a tie for fourth with his second consecutive round of three-under. Also as an individual, fellow sophomore Reese Ramsey (77+75=152, +8) sits in a tie for 90th.
"Chandler was amazing with an almost flawless round of golf." said Higgins. "Also, Dan Erickson had a nice little comeback today with a three-under, really a terrific round for him. We are in good shape and we look forward to tomorrow and another good day of competition."
The Aggies tee off the concluding round at noon (CT) on Saturday morning seeking their fourth tournament victory of the season. They are paired with golfers from UNLV, Arizona and North Carolina. Live scoring for the final round will be available at GolfStat.com. Stay tuned to 12thMan.com or follow the Aggies on Twitter (@AggieMensGolf).
"Really wasn't a whole lot different than yesterday except we finished a lot better," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We were really solid on the par-fives all day getting to 15-under as a team and 10-under on the day."
The Aggies (283+278=561, -15) came into the day facing a 13-stroke deficit behind tournament leader UNLV (270+280=555, -21). A&M was able to shrink the Rebels' lead by seven strokes with a 10-under round as a team, their second best round of the season. A&M holds a five-stroke advantage over third-place Arizona (288+278=561, -10) and the remainder of the 20-team field heading into the event's final day.
"We did what we needed to today, we cut the lead in half to something that's manageable," added Higgins. "We can overcome a six-shot deficit with 18 holes to go. I'm really proud of the effort today. We'll see if we can't come from behind and get another win."
Junior Chandler Phillips (69+67=136, -8), the defending champion of the Intercollegiate, carded a five-under round, one stroke off his collegiate best. The Huntsville, Texas, native held a share of seventh place heading into the round and jumped five spots on the leaderboard into a tie for second, sitting three strokes back of individual leader Shintaro Ban of UNLV.
Sophomore Josh Gliege (69+71=140, -4) rattled off another under-par round and holds a tie for 11th. One stroke back, freshman Walker Lee (71+71=142, -2) eagled his final hole to sit in a share of 20th while sophomore Dan Erickson (74+69=143, -1) vaulted 20 positions on the leaderboard with a three-under day. Rounding out the A&M five-man lineup, Andrew Paysse (76+73=148, +5) has a share of 64th heading into the event's final round.
Competing as an individual, sophomore Brandon Smith (69+69=138, -6) jumped three spots in to a tie for fourth with his second consecutive round of three-under. Also as an individual, fellow sophomore Reese Ramsey (77+75=152, +8) sits in a tie for 90th.
"Chandler was amazing with an almost flawless round of golf." said Higgins. "Also, Dan Erickson had a nice little comeback today with a three-under, really a terrific round for him. We are in good shape and we look forward to tomorrow and another good day of competition."
The Aggies tee off the concluding round at noon (CT) on Saturday morning seeking their fourth tournament victory of the season. They are paired with golfers from UNLV, Arizona and North Carolina. Live scoring for the final round will be available at GolfStat.com. Stay tuned to 12thMan.com or follow the Aggies on Twitter (@AggieMensGolf).