ALPHARETTA, Ga.- The No. 9 Texas A&M men's golf team shot a 2-under 286 and is tied for fifth place after the first round at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational. Three Aggies carded a par-or-better score Friday.
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"We had a really nice round going and a chance for a great one, and just really let it slip through our fingers," head coach JT Higgins said. "The greens were soft and at a pretty makeable speed, and there wasn't really much wind, so you could really attack the golf course. The teams leading the golf tournament are double-digits under par, and we were right there to do it but let it slip through our fingers."
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Host school No. 3 Georgia Tech leads the tournament with an 18-under 270 Friday. The Aggies are tied with No. 2 Duke, No. 5 Alabama and Florida State for fifth place. The Yellow Jackets' Noah Norton leads the individual competition with a 7-under 65.
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The Aggies were led by Sam Bennett, who shot a 3-under 69, his second score in the 60s in his seven-round career. Bennett was bogey-free at the par 72 / 7,017-yard Golf Club of Georgia and is tied for 11th. Chandler Phillips returned to the lineup and is tied for 15th with a 2-under 70, powered by bogey-free front nine that included an eagle on the 542-yard par 5 1st then a birdie on the 339-yard par 4 2nd.
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"It's good to have Chandler Phillips back, he had a nice round, and Sam Bennett keeps on playing great. I love what he's doing for us," Higgins added.
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Brandon Smith carded an even-par 72, his 31st career par-or-better round, and is tied for 30th. Walker Lee shot a 3-over 75 to tie for 48th and Reese Ramsey tied for 59th after shooting a 5-over 77. Playing as an individual, Max Miller shot a 3-over 75 to tie for 48th.
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"I think the guys are playing really well," Higgins said. "We made a lot of birdies and did a lot of things really well, but just really got careless on some holes, and just didn't take care of the ball very well coming in. I feel like we can put a really low score on the board tomorrow, and see if that puts us in contention."
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The Aggies return to the course at 8:25 a.m. CT on Saturday for the second of three rounds. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com, and live updates are available on twitter at @AggieMensGolf.
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"We had a really nice round going and a chance for a great one, and just really let it slip through our fingers," head coach JT Higgins said. "The greens were soft and at a pretty makeable speed, and there wasn't really much wind, so you could really attack the golf course. The teams leading the golf tournament are double-digits under par, and we were right there to do it but let it slip through our fingers."
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Host school No. 3 Georgia Tech leads the tournament with an 18-under 270 Friday. The Aggies are tied with No. 2 Duke, No. 5 Alabama and Florida State for fifth place. The Yellow Jackets' Noah Norton leads the individual competition with a 7-under 65.
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The Aggies were led by Sam Bennett, who shot a 3-under 69, his second score in the 60s in his seven-round career. Bennett was bogey-free at the par 72 / 7,017-yard Golf Club of Georgia and is tied for 11th. Chandler Phillips returned to the lineup and is tied for 15th with a 2-under 70, powered by bogey-free front nine that included an eagle on the 542-yard par 5 1st then a birdie on the 339-yard par 4 2nd.
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"It's good to have Chandler Phillips back, he had a nice round, and Sam Bennett keeps on playing great. I love what he's doing for us," Higgins added.
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Brandon Smith carded an even-par 72, his 31st career par-or-better round, and is tied for 30th. Walker Lee shot a 3-over 75 to tie for 48th and Reese Ramsey tied for 59th after shooting a 5-over 77. Playing as an individual, Max Miller shot a 3-over 75 to tie for 48th.
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"I think the guys are playing really well," Higgins said. "We made a lot of birdies and did a lot of things really well, but just really got careless on some holes, and just didn't take care of the ball very well coming in. I feel like we can put a really low score on the board tomorrow, and see if that puts us in contention."
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The Aggies return to the course at 8:25 a.m. CT on Saturday for the second of three rounds. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com, and live updates are available on twitter at @AggieMensGolf.