OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The No. 19 Texas A&M men's golf team carded a 6-over 286 for Friday's opening round of the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational.
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Maichon opened action at the par-70, 7,353-yard Olympia Fields North Course with a 1-under 69, registering three birdies. Jaime Montojo had a team-high four birdies and found himself tied with teammate Wheaton Ennis and seven others in 37th place at 2-over 72. The Aggie fivesome was rounded out by Michael Heidelbaugh (+3) and Aaron Pounds (+6).
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The Aggies are in 11th place, two strokes behind 10th-place Oklahoma State and trailing ninth-place Northwestern by three strokes, Arizona State leads at 7-under 273 followed by three teams tied at 1-under 279, including Florida, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
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Arizona State's Jose Luis Ballester and Georgia Tech's Benjamin Reuter are tied atop the individual leaderboard at 6-under 64. Eight golfers are tied for third at 2-under 68 followed by Maichon and 10 others in 11th place at 1-under 69.
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The Aggies' start Saturday's round at hole No. 10 with tee times beginning at 8:15 a.m. Texas A&M is paired with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech for the second round.
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For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M men's golf, follow the Aggies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On the course and weather conditions...
"There was a short delay for some rain, but nothing that affected anybody. It's a really good golf course that tests you every step of the way. The guys really like playing that kind of course."
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On Phichaksn Maichon's round...
"P is playing some really steady unspectacular golf which kind of his calling card. He does that a lot. He puts himself in a good spot for a great round. He hits a couple more putts or hits a few more good shots and it's a 65 instead of 69. It's really steady and he's playing with a lot of confidence. He enjoys playing these challenging golf courses because he knows that the style he plays will serve him well.
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On what is needed from the rest of the lineup to get in contention...
"We just need guys to be a little more efficient. We gave up a few shots on the greens and we needed to get a few more shots off the tee onto the fairway. That's all part of being more efficient and taking care of the golf ball. We need to execute a little better and that puts us in a position to shoot those rounds we're looking for. Today we did a really good job for the most part. We were close to having the kind of round you would like to have on that kind of golf course, but you have to do it for all 18 holes. If we take care of those things I talked about, we'll see better results the tomorrow."
TEAM STANDINGS
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TEXAS A&M SCORES
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Maichon opened action at the par-70, 7,353-yard Olympia Fields North Course with a 1-under 69, registering three birdies. Jaime Montojo had a team-high four birdies and found himself tied with teammate Wheaton Ennis and seven others in 37th place at 2-over 72. The Aggie fivesome was rounded out by Michael Heidelbaugh (+3) and Aaron Pounds (+6).
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The Aggies are in 11th place, two strokes behind 10th-place Oklahoma State and trailing ninth-place Northwestern by three strokes, Arizona State leads at 7-under 273 followed by three teams tied at 1-under 279, including Florida, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
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Arizona State's Jose Luis Ballester and Georgia Tech's Benjamin Reuter are tied atop the individual leaderboard at 6-under 64. Eight golfers are tied for third at 2-under 68 followed by Maichon and 10 others in 11th place at 1-under 69.
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The Aggies' start Saturday's round at hole No. 10 with tee times beginning at 8:15 a.m. Texas A&M is paired with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech for the second round.
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For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M men's golf, follow the Aggies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On the course and weather conditions...
"There was a short delay for some rain, but nothing that affected anybody. It's a really good golf course that tests you every step of the way. The guys really like playing that kind of course."
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On Phichaksn Maichon's round...
"P is playing some really steady unspectacular golf which kind of his calling card. He does that a lot. He puts himself in a good spot for a great round. He hits a couple more putts or hits a few more good shots and it's a 65 instead of 69. It's really steady and he's playing with a lot of confidence. He enjoys playing these challenging golf courses because he knows that the style he plays will serve him well.
Â
On what is needed from the rest of the lineup to get in contention...
"We just need guys to be a little more efficient. We gave up a few shots on the greens and we needed to get a few more shots off the tee onto the fairway. That's all part of being more efficient and taking care of the golf ball. We need to execute a little better and that puts us in a position to shoot those rounds we're looking for. Today we did a really good job for the most part. We were close to having the kind of round you would like to have on that kind of golf course, but you have to do it for all 18 holes. If we take care of those things I talked about, we'll see better results the tomorrow."
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1 | Arizona State | -7 | 273 |
| t-2 | Florida | -1 | 279 |
| t-2 | Georgia Tech | -1 | 279 |
| t-2 | North Carolina | -1 | 279 |
| t-5 | Florida State | E | 280 |
| t-5 | Illinois | E | 280 |
| t-5 | Stanford | E | 280 |
| 8 | Texas | +1 | 281 |
| 9 | Northwestern | +3 | 283 |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | +4 | 284 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | +6 | 286 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | +7 | 287 |
| 13 | Alabama | +11 | 291 |
| 14 | Baylor | +15 | 295 |
| 15 | Michigan | +20 | 300 |
TEXAS A&M SCORES
| t-11 | Phichaksn Maichon | -1 | 69 |
| t-37 | Jaime Montojo | +2 | 72 |
| t-37 | Wheaton Ennis | +2 | 72 |
| t-46 | Michael Heidelbaugh | +3 | 73 |
| t-67 | Aaron Pounds | +6 | 76 |