BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M men's golf standout Jaime Montojo made a hard charge on the final seven holes to claim his first career collegiate title, earning co-medalist honors along with Louisiana Tech's Niilo Maki-Petaja at 1-over 217.
Montojo moved up 12 spots the final round of the tournament, shooting the day's lowest round at 3-under 69. On another grueling day at the par-72, 7,227 Traditions Club, where only three golfers cleared even, the sophomore posted a 32 on the back nine. He birdied four of the last seven holes, including the last two to earn the come-from-behind victory.
Aggie teammate Phichaksn Maichon finished third, one stroke back at 2-over 218. He led for much of the final round but was overtaken by Montojo and Maki-Petaja on the back nine.
Texas A&M finished second at the tournament with a 20-over 884. The Maroon & White finished six shots behind tournament champion Baylor. The Aggies trailed the Bears by 12 strokes to start the day and shaved the deficit to six strokes at the midway point. Baylor opened the lead back up to 11 strokes early on the back nine and held off a late A&M charge.
Senior Daniel Rodrigues finished 20th in his final Aggie Invitational. He moved up 14 spots the final round with an even 72 to finish 9-over 225.
Playing as an individual, freshman Aaron Pounds registered the best finish of his season. He logged three rounds of 74 to post a 6-over 222, putting him in 12th place.
Other Aggies in the top 30 included Michael Heidelbaugh, tied for 25th, and Jake Maggert, who recorded his best finish at a team tournament with a 29th place effort.
Texas A&M returns to action at the SEC Championship on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, April 24-28.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M men's golf follow the Aggies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On Jaime's first career win...
"It was awesome. Jaime gets the win and P (Phichaksn Maichon) was battling all the way down to the end. It's great for them to have that experience. Now Jaime has a win, P has a couple wins, Dani (Daniel Rodrigues) a win. We have several guys who can win golf tournaments. So we just need to get them all there together."
On the windy conditions and the test of Traditions Club...
"Traditions has teeth. All the coaches will tell you, there's not a shot where you can take a nap on. There's not a shot you can stare down and say, 'I got this one.' It takes all your golf faculties to perform well out. It's why it's a great home course for us. It's a challenge every step of the way. We're fortunate to we can host a college golf tournament here, because the other coaches want to experience that as well."
Sophomore Jaime Montojo
On how tough Traditions Club was...
"This course is always a challenge. I struggle here sometimes in qualifying. It got firm here yesterday. It was windy and a really long day. It's a test mentally and physically."
On his first collegiate win...
"It feels great – a lot of relief. I got paid back for a lot of hard work. It means a lot to earn it at this course, which is so demanding."
TEAM SCORES
TEXAS A&M SCORES
Montojo moved up 12 spots the final round of the tournament, shooting the day's lowest round at 3-under 69. On another grueling day at the par-72, 7,227 Traditions Club, where only three golfers cleared even, the sophomore posted a 32 on the back nine. He birdied four of the last seven holes, including the last two to earn the come-from-behind victory.
Aggie teammate Phichaksn Maichon finished third, one stroke back at 2-over 218. He led for much of the final round but was overtaken by Montojo and Maki-Petaja on the back nine.
Texas A&M finished second at the tournament with a 20-over 884. The Maroon & White finished six shots behind tournament champion Baylor. The Aggies trailed the Bears by 12 strokes to start the day and shaved the deficit to six strokes at the midway point. Baylor opened the lead back up to 11 strokes early on the back nine and held off a late A&M charge.
Senior Daniel Rodrigues finished 20th in his final Aggie Invitational. He moved up 14 spots the final round with an even 72 to finish 9-over 225.
Playing as an individual, freshman Aaron Pounds registered the best finish of his season. He logged three rounds of 74 to post a 6-over 222, putting him in 12th place.
Other Aggies in the top 30 included Michael Heidelbaugh, tied for 25th, and Jake Maggert, who recorded his best finish at a team tournament with a 29th place effort.
Texas A&M returns to action at the SEC Championship on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, April 24-28.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M men's golf follow the Aggies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On Jaime's first career win...
"It was awesome. Jaime gets the win and P (Phichaksn Maichon) was battling all the way down to the end. It's great for them to have that experience. Now Jaime has a win, P has a couple wins, Dani (Daniel Rodrigues) a win. We have several guys who can win golf tournaments. So we just need to get them all there together."
On the windy conditions and the test of Traditions Club...
"Traditions has teeth. All the coaches will tell you, there's not a shot where you can take a nap on. There's not a shot you can stare down and say, 'I got this one.' It takes all your golf faculties to perform well out. It's why it's a great home course for us. It's a challenge every step of the way. We're fortunate to we can host a college golf tournament here, because the other coaches want to experience that as well."
Sophomore Jaime Montojo
On how tough Traditions Club was...
"This course is always a challenge. I struggle here sometimes in qualifying. It got firm here yesterday. It was windy and a really long day. It's a test mentally and physically."
On his first collegiate win...
"It feels great – a lot of relief. I got paid back for a lot of hard work. It means a lot to earn it at this course, which is so demanding."
TEAM SCORES
| 1 | Baylor | 290-292-296=878 | +14 |
| 2 | Texas A&M | 300-294-290=884 | +20 |
| 3 | Sam Houston | 304-295-297=896 | +32 |
| 4 | LSU | 302-303-294=899 | +35 |
| t-5 | Louisville | 305-295-300=900 | +36 |
| t-5 | UTSA | 292-309-299=900 | +36 |
| 7 | Louisiana | 302-307-297=906 | +42 |
| t-8 | Memphis | 300-304-306=910 | +46 |
| t-8 | Louisiana Tech | 306-292-312=910 | +46 |
| 10 | Florida Gulf Coast | 303-304-304=911 | +47 |
| 11 | Lamar | 309-313-299=921 | +57 |
| 12 | New Mexico State | 320-307-304=931 | +67 |
TEXAS A&M SCORES
| t-1 | Jaime Montojo | 71-77-69=217 | +1 |
| 3 | Phichaksn Maichon | 75-69-74=218 | +2 |
| t-20 | Daniel Rodrigues | 78-75-72=225 | +9 |
| t-25 | Michael Heidelbaugh | 76-76-75=227 | +11 |
| t-66 | Vishnu Sadagopan | 82-74-83=239 | +23 |
| INDIVIDUALS | |||
| t-12 | Aaron Pounds | 74-74-74=222 | +6 |
| t-29 | Jake Maggert | 76-75-77=228 | +12 |
| t-32 | Joe Stover | 77-78-74=229 | +13 |
| t-64 | Jack Usner | 80-70-78=238 | +22 |