OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill.- Junior Brandon Smith sits in a tie for fifth place, after leading the No. 4 Texas A&M men's golf team with a 2-under 68 in the first round of the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club.
"We got off to a rough start early, and the rest of the day was a grind," said Texas A&M head coach JT Higgins. "The guys hung in there and battled hard, and we're still in a pretty good position. It's going to take some really good play the next few days, but we got that in us. I'm looking forward to that challenge."
As a team, the Aggies shot a 6-over 286 on the par 70 / 7,353-yard North Course, a circuit that hosted the 2003 U.S. Open. No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Cal co-lead the tournament at 7-under 273, but the Aggies are just three strokes off of the tie for third place.
"I think everybody learned a little bit today, playing a championship golf course with U.S. Open pins," added Higgins. "I'm really excited about a lot of things I saw, but it's the first round of a really long season. I think the next couple of days we'll do a better job of managing the course and taking care of the golf ball."
Smith, an All-American in 2018, is three strokes behind tournament leader Matthew Wolff of Oklahoma State, who shot a 5-under 65. Chandler Phillips, also an All-American a year ago, is tied for 13th after shooting an even-par 70. Smith and Phillips had four birdies apiece in the opening round.
"Brandon Smith was amazing," said Higgins. "He was rock-solid, with two bogeys and four birdies, just a really solid round of golf."
Dan Erickson and Walker Lee each shot a 4-over 74, and are tied for 49th in the tournament. Josh Gliege had four birdies on the day, but shot a 10-over 80 to sit in 72nd place.
The Aggies return to action for the second of three rounds at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at 8:30 a.m., off of Hole No. 10 on Saturday. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com and updates are available on twitter at @AggieMensGolf.
"We got off to a rough start early, and the rest of the day was a grind," said Texas A&M head coach JT Higgins. "The guys hung in there and battled hard, and we're still in a pretty good position. It's going to take some really good play the next few days, but we got that in us. I'm looking forward to that challenge."
As a team, the Aggies shot a 6-over 286 on the par 70 / 7,353-yard North Course, a circuit that hosted the 2003 U.S. Open. No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Cal co-lead the tournament at 7-under 273, but the Aggies are just three strokes off of the tie for third place.
"I think everybody learned a little bit today, playing a championship golf course with U.S. Open pins," added Higgins. "I'm really excited about a lot of things I saw, but it's the first round of a really long season. I think the next couple of days we'll do a better job of managing the course and taking care of the golf ball."
Smith, an All-American in 2018, is three strokes behind tournament leader Matthew Wolff of Oklahoma State, who shot a 5-under 65. Chandler Phillips, also an All-American a year ago, is tied for 13th after shooting an even-par 70. Smith and Phillips had four birdies apiece in the opening round.
"Brandon Smith was amazing," said Higgins. "He was rock-solid, with two bogeys and four birdies, just a really solid round of golf."
Dan Erickson and Walker Lee each shot a 4-over 74, and are tied for 49th in the tournament. Josh Gliege had four birdies on the day, but shot a 10-over 80 to sit in 72nd place.
The Aggies return to action for the second of three rounds at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational at 8:30 a.m., off of Hole No. 10 on Saturday. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com and updates are available on twitter at @AggieMensGolf.