PALM CITY, Fla. –The second-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team sits in second place following Sunday's opening round of the Valspar Collegiate at the Floridian National Club.
"I'm really happy with the effort," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "It was a really bad start but to our guys' credit they kept on fighting back, battling. Slowly and steadily climbed back up the leaderboard and put us back in contention. We played really hard and tough and put us in a good position heading into tomorrow. We need to stay within striking distance because the weather is supposed to be really tough for that final round on Tuesday. We don't want to play your way out of this."
In a loaded field that includes 10 top-25 teams, the Aggies (281, -3) stand four shots shy of first place and the top-ranked team in the country, Oklahoma State (277, -7). Texas A&M holds a two-stroke cushion over third-place Wake Forest, the only other team under par in the 16-team field.
Sophomore Dan Erickson (67, -4) shot the low round for an Aggie on the day with his scorecard of four-under, good for a share of second place one back of leader Parker Gillam (66, -5) from Wake Forest. The Whittier, Calif., native was able to pick up where he left off after top-two finishes in his last two appearances.
In a tie for tenth, junior Chandler Phillips (70, -1) birdied the last to bring him to an under-par day. The All-American has carded par or better in 19 of 25 rounds on the season. Sophomore Josh Gliege (71, E) eagled on the back nine in his even par-performance that has him in a tie for 15th. Two strokes back, sophomore Brandon Smith (73, +2) holds a share of 36th in an up-and-down day that included four birdies and three doubles. Rounding out the A&M lineup, senior Andrew Paysse (77, +6) finished the day in a share of 68th.
Competing as an individual, freshman Walker Lee (71, E) shot even par for a share of 15th. Fellow first-year competitor Reese Ramsey (76, +5) holds a share of 62nd.
"Dan Erickson had another really great round of golf for us," Higgins said. "He went from two-over to four-under and led the way. Chandler birdied the final hole to shoot under par and keep us hanging around the lead. Great job by everybody and we'll comeback out tomorrow and see if we can keep this up."
The Valspar Collegiate Intercollegiate resumes Monday with Texas A&M scheduled to begin its second round at 7:30 paired again with golfers from Wake Forest and Oklahoma State. Live scoring and results can be found on golfstat.com and as well as live updates via twitter at @AggieMensGolf.
"I'm really happy with the effort," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "It was a really bad start but to our guys' credit they kept on fighting back, battling. Slowly and steadily climbed back up the leaderboard and put us back in contention. We played really hard and tough and put us in a good position heading into tomorrow. We need to stay within striking distance because the weather is supposed to be really tough for that final round on Tuesday. We don't want to play your way out of this."
In a loaded field that includes 10 top-25 teams, the Aggies (281, -3) stand four shots shy of first place and the top-ranked team in the country, Oklahoma State (277, -7). Texas A&M holds a two-stroke cushion over third-place Wake Forest, the only other team under par in the 16-team field.
Sophomore Dan Erickson (67, -4) shot the low round for an Aggie on the day with his scorecard of four-under, good for a share of second place one back of leader Parker Gillam (66, -5) from Wake Forest. The Whittier, Calif., native was able to pick up where he left off after top-two finishes in his last two appearances.
In a tie for tenth, junior Chandler Phillips (70, -1) birdied the last to bring him to an under-par day. The All-American has carded par or better in 19 of 25 rounds on the season. Sophomore Josh Gliege (71, E) eagled on the back nine in his even par-performance that has him in a tie for 15th. Two strokes back, sophomore Brandon Smith (73, +2) holds a share of 36th in an up-and-down day that included four birdies and three doubles. Rounding out the A&M lineup, senior Andrew Paysse (77, +6) finished the day in a share of 68th.
Competing as an individual, freshman Walker Lee (71, E) shot even par for a share of 15th. Fellow first-year competitor Reese Ramsey (76, +5) holds a share of 62nd.
"Dan Erickson had another really great round of golf for us," Higgins said. "He went from two-over to four-under and led the way. Chandler birdied the final hole to shoot under par and keep us hanging around the lead. Great job by everybody and we'll comeback out tomorrow and see if we can keep this up."
The Valspar Collegiate Intercollegiate resumes Monday with Texas A&M scheduled to begin its second round at 7:30 paired again with golfers from Wake Forest and Oklahoma State. Live scoring and results can be found on golfstat.com and as well as live updates via twitter at @AggieMensGolf.