LOS CABOS, Mexico – Texas A&M junior golfer Walker Lee scorched the Cabo del Sol Ocean Course with a record-tying 7-under 64 on Tuesday on his way to a one-stroke victory at the 2020 Cabo Collegiate.
Already in the midst of a sub-par and bogey-free final round, Lee, from Houston, Texas, closed with a birdie and then an eagle on the final two holes to vault into the lead. It was the first victory of the 2019-20 season for Lee and the third of his career. Lee finished at 8-under for the tournament (71-70-64), just ahead of Stanford's Barclay Brown and Baylor's Johnny Keefer at 7-under.
"That was one of the best rounds of golf that I've been around," Aggie head coach J.T. Higgins said. "He was the best guy by four shots in a final round against a great field filled with All-Americans. It was just a special, special round. I'm really proud of him. He's put in a lot of hard work and he just keeps getting better and better."
Lee's stellar play helped spark the No. 6 Aggies to a second-place finish behind No. 9 Arizona State in the team standings. The Aggies were the day's biggest movers as they used a 6-under par 278 to vault past six teams from eighth place to second. For the tournament, the Aggies were 12-under, which was eight strokes off the pace set by the Sun Devils, who closed with a 10-under round of 274. The Aggies and Sun Devils were the only teams under par in the final round.
To get to 6-under in the final round, the Aggies used scores from Walker Lee (64), senior Dan Erickson (69), sophomore Sam Bennett (72) and freshman Jimmy Lee (73).
"I think when we woke this morning and saw the wind blowing, we knew we had a great opportunity in front of us," Higgins said. "We think we're pretty good in adverse conditions and they guys really stepped up and had a great round. Arizona State played fantastic and a tip of the hat to them. Moving up from eighth to second is pretty incredible and I can't say enough good things about these guys. It was just a great effort by the guys – a strong finish against a strong field of teams."
Rounding out the Aggies on the final player leaderboard, fJimmy Lee tied for 14th at 2-under (70-68-73), Erickson tied for 26th at 1-over (76-69-69), Bennett tied for 29th at 2-over (74-69-72) and freshman William Paysse tied for 42nd at 5-over (71-71-76)
Aggies on the Leaderboard (Final):
Next Up:
The Aggies return to action at the Lamkin San Diego Classic March 9-10 at the San Diego Country Club.
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About Texas A&M Athletics | Home of the 12th Man:
One of the most successful Athletics Departments in the nation, Texas A&M ranked No. 15 in the 2018-19 Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings and is one of eight Division I institutions nationally to finish in the top 20 of the prestigious ranking of athletics success for at least 13 consecutive years. For more information, go to www.12thMan.com.
About Texas A&M University:
Texas A&M University, the flagship university within the Texas A&M University System, is a tier-one research institution with nearly $1 billion in research grants and more than 69,000 students. The President of Texas A&M University has strategic oversight for campuses in College Station and Galveston, TX and Doha, Qatar. We include The Health Science Center with the College of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, as well as The Texas A&M School of Law and Mays Business School. For more information, go to www.tamu.edu.
Already in the midst of a sub-par and bogey-free final round, Lee, from Houston, Texas, closed with a birdie and then an eagle on the final two holes to vault into the lead. It was the first victory of the 2019-20 season for Lee and the third of his career. Lee finished at 8-under for the tournament (71-70-64), just ahead of Stanford's Barclay Brown and Baylor's Johnny Keefer at 7-under.
"That was one of the best rounds of golf that I've been around," Aggie head coach J.T. Higgins said. "He was the best guy by four shots in a final round against a great field filled with All-Americans. It was just a special, special round. I'm really proud of him. He's put in a lot of hard work and he just keeps getting better and better."
Lee's stellar play helped spark the No. 6 Aggies to a second-place finish behind No. 9 Arizona State in the team standings. The Aggies were the day's biggest movers as they used a 6-under par 278 to vault past six teams from eighth place to second. For the tournament, the Aggies were 12-under, which was eight strokes off the pace set by the Sun Devils, who closed with a 10-under round of 274. The Aggies and Sun Devils were the only teams under par in the final round.
To get to 6-under in the final round, the Aggies used scores from Walker Lee (64), senior Dan Erickson (69), sophomore Sam Bennett (72) and freshman Jimmy Lee (73).
"I think when we woke this morning and saw the wind blowing, we knew we had a great opportunity in front of us," Higgins said. "We think we're pretty good in adverse conditions and they guys really stepped up and had a great round. Arizona State played fantastic and a tip of the hat to them. Moving up from eighth to second is pretty incredible and I can't say enough good things about these guys. It was just a great effort by the guys – a strong finish against a strong field of teams."
Rounding out the Aggies on the final player leaderboard, fJimmy Lee tied for 14th at 2-under (70-68-73), Erickson tied for 26th at 1-over (76-69-69), Bennett tied for 29th at 2-over (74-69-72) and freshman William Paysse tied for 42nd at 5-over (71-71-76)
Aggies on the Leaderboard (Final):
| Place | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 2 | Texas A&M | 286 | 276 | 278 | 840 |
| 1 | Walker Lee | 71 | 70 | 64 | 205 |
| T14 | Jimmy Lee | 70 | 68 | 73 | 211 |
| T26 | Dan Erickson | 76 | 69 | 69 | 214 |
| T29 | Sam Bennett | 74 | 69 | 72 | 215 |
| T42 | William Paysse | 71 | 71 | 76 | 218 |
| Pl. | Team | Scores (To Par) |
| 1 | Arizona State | 281 277 274=832 -20 |
| 2 | Texas A&M | 286 276 278=840 -12 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | 282 274 286=842 -10 |
| 4 | Arizona | 278 275 294=847 -5 |
| 5 | Baylor | 278 283 288=849 -3 |
| 6 | Stanford | 289 270 294=853 +1 |
| T7 | Alabama | 288 275 292=855 +3 |
| T7 | Florida State | 282 277 296=855 +3 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | 278 283 295=856 +4 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 283 282 296=861 +9 |
| 11 | California | 297 279 295=871 +19 |
| T12 | Houston | 290 290 296=876 +24 |
| T12 | Ole Miss | 286 290 300=876 +24 |
| 14 | Rice | 291 291 295=877 +25 |
| 15 | LSU | 295 291 305=891 +39 |
Next Up:
The Aggies return to action at the Lamkin San Diego Classic March 9-10 at the San Diego Country Club.
###
About Texas A&M Athletics | Home of the 12th Man:
One of the most successful Athletics Departments in the nation, Texas A&M ranked No. 15 in the 2018-19 Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings and is one of eight Division I institutions nationally to finish in the top 20 of the prestigious ranking of athletics success for at least 13 consecutive years. For more information, go to www.12thMan.com.
About Texas A&M University:
Texas A&M University, the flagship university within the Texas A&M University System, is a tier-one research institution with nearly $1 billion in research grants and more than 69,000 students. The President of Texas A&M University has strategic oversight for campuses in College Station and Galveston, TX and Doha, Qatar. We include The Health Science Center with the College of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, as well as The Texas A&M School of Law and Mays Business School. For more information, go to www.tamu.edu.