ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies bolstered their efforts to advance to the eight-team match play bracket with Thursday's SEC Championship second round action on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club.
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The Maroon & White registered a 6-under 274 at the par-70, 7,005-yard course to finish the day in fourth place at 15-under 545. The Aggies dropped two spots on the leaderboard but stretched out their cushion over the top eight cutoff to 14 shots heading into the final round stroke play. LSU and Auburn are tied on top at 26-under 534 with Oklahoma (-18) in third place.
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Michael Heidelbaugh remains deep in the hunt for medalist honors. One day after setting the tournament opening round record with a 9-under 61, he posted a 1-over 71 to sit at 8-under-132. The senior enters the final round of stroke play one shot behind the leader Jay Mendell of LSU who owns a 9-under 131.
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Phichaksn Maichon also pulled within striking distance of first place. He fired a 4-under 66 for Thursday's loop, recording a bogeyless round with four birdies. He starts Friday's circuit four strokes off the lead at 5-under 135.
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Aaron Pounds had the third-largest leap on the leaderboard Thursday with his round of 3-under 67. He moved up 24 spots into a tie for 28th place at 1-under 139. Pounds shut 4-under on the back nine with five birdies, including three in a row from Nos. 13-15.
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Wheaton Ennis is also in the group of five players in 28th place. He shot an even 70 to remain at 1-under with a two-round tally of 139.
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Ninth place is occupied by Alabama and Arkansas at 1-under 559 with 11th place Texas (+1) and 12th-place Ole Miss (+4). Serving as a buffer for the Aggies between the cut-off, from fifth to eighth place, are Georgia (-7), Florida (-6), Mississippi State (-5) and South Carolina (-5).
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UP NEXT...
Texas A&M's is paired with Florida and Georgia for Friday's round with tee times starting at 7 a.m. off No. 10.
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TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On the team sitting in a solid spot to make the match play portion of the championship as they wrap up stroke play Friday…
"The message to the team is the job is still not done. We need to stick to what we do well. We need to be cleaner tomorrow. We were a little bit sloppy today. Ultimately, it might not hurt us in getting into the match play, but if we're in that final eight we'll have to be cleaner to get to where we want to go – which is winning the event. In general, we put ourselves in a great position, but the jobs not done."
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On Phichaksn Maichon and Aaron Pounds shooting rounds in the 60s Thursday...
"They were really steady and kept the golf ball where it needed to be. P (Phichaksn) was bogey-free. It was good to see him have a round like that. He can still strike it really well and gets so many birdie opportunities. Aaron did a great job bringing the round home with some solid golf on down the stretch. He strung together some birdies to put together a really good score."
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On Michael Heidelbaugh's opportunity to chase down the medalist honors Friday...
"If you've seen Michael play, we let him cut it loose. We let him play. He's a mature kid. I'd love to see him chase that down. But there's 18 holes of golf and job one is to make sure we get to play the fourth day of this tournament. If he gets off and gets going we'll work with him and obviously help him in any way he needs. But he's here for us and he knows what his job is. He won't jeopardize our team goal and if it results in him winning the tournament that will be even better."
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TEAM STANDINGS
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TEXAS A&M SCORES
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The Maroon & White registered a 6-under 274 at the par-70, 7,005-yard course to finish the day in fourth place at 15-under 545. The Aggies dropped two spots on the leaderboard but stretched out their cushion over the top eight cutoff to 14 shots heading into the final round stroke play. LSU and Auburn are tied on top at 26-under 534 with Oklahoma (-18) in third place.
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Michael Heidelbaugh remains deep in the hunt for medalist honors. One day after setting the tournament opening round record with a 9-under 61, he posted a 1-over 71 to sit at 8-under-132. The senior enters the final round of stroke play one shot behind the leader Jay Mendell of LSU who owns a 9-under 131.
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Phichaksn Maichon also pulled within striking distance of first place. He fired a 4-under 66 for Thursday's loop, recording a bogeyless round with four birdies. He starts Friday's circuit four strokes off the lead at 5-under 135.
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Aaron Pounds had the third-largest leap on the leaderboard Thursday with his round of 3-under 67. He moved up 24 spots into a tie for 28th place at 1-under 139. Pounds shut 4-under on the back nine with five birdies, including three in a row from Nos. 13-15.
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Wheaton Ennis is also in the group of five players in 28th place. He shot an even 70 to remain at 1-under with a two-round tally of 139.
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Ninth place is occupied by Alabama and Arkansas at 1-under 559 with 11th place Texas (+1) and 12th-place Ole Miss (+4). Serving as a buffer for the Aggies between the cut-off, from fifth to eighth place, are Georgia (-7), Florida (-6), Mississippi State (-5) and South Carolina (-5).
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UP NEXT...
Texas A&M's is paired with Florida and Georgia for Friday's round with tee times starting at 7 a.m. off No. 10.
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TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On the team sitting in a solid spot to make the match play portion of the championship as they wrap up stroke play Friday…
"The message to the team is the job is still not done. We need to stick to what we do well. We need to be cleaner tomorrow. We were a little bit sloppy today. Ultimately, it might not hurt us in getting into the match play, but if we're in that final eight we'll have to be cleaner to get to where we want to go – which is winning the event. In general, we put ourselves in a great position, but the jobs not done."
Â
On Phichaksn Maichon and Aaron Pounds shooting rounds in the 60s Thursday...
"They were really steady and kept the golf ball where it needed to be. P (Phichaksn) was bogey-free. It was good to see him have a round like that. He can still strike it really well and gets so many birdie opportunities. Aaron did a great job bringing the round home with some solid golf on down the stretch. He strung together some birdies to put together a really good score."
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On Michael Heidelbaugh's opportunity to chase down the medalist honors Friday...
"If you've seen Michael play, we let him cut it loose. We let him play. He's a mature kid. I'd love to see him chase that down. But there's 18 holes of golf and job one is to make sure we get to play the fourth day of this tournament. If he gets off and gets going we'll work with him and obviously help him in any way he needs. But he's here for us and he knows what his job is. He won't jeopardize our team goal and if it results in him winning the tournament that will be even better."
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TEAM STANDINGS
| t-1 | #2 Auburn | -26 | 264-270=534 |
| t-1 | #7 LSU | -26 | 271-263=534 |
| 3 | #6 Oklahoma | -18 | 274-268=543 |
| 4 | #15 Texas A&M | -15 | 271-274=545 |
| 5 | #30 Georgia | -7 | 276-277=553 |
| 6 | #8 Florida | -6 | 275-279=554 |
| t-7 | #28 Mississippi State | -5 | 279-276=555 |
| t-7 | #20 South Carolina | -5 | 277-278=555 |
| t-9 | #14 Alabama | -1 | 279-280=559 |
| t-9 | #58 Arkansas | -1 | 281-278=559 |
| 11 | #3 Texas | +1 | 286-275=561 |
| 12 | #1 Ole Miss | +4 | 281-283=564 |
| 13 | #18 Vanderbilt | +7 | 292-275=567 |
| 14 | #25 Tennessee | +11 | 286-285=571 |
| 15 | #89 Missouri | +15 | 283-292=575 |
| 16 | #66 Kentucky | +16 | 281-295=576 |
TEXAS A&M SCORES
| Â | TEAM | Â | Â |
| t-2 | Michael Heidelbaugh | -8 | 61-71=132 |
| t-12 | Phichaksn Maichon | -5 | 69-66=135 |
| t-28 | Wheaton Ennis | -1 | 69-70=139 |
| t-28 | Aaron Pounds | -1 | 72-67=139 |
| t-76 | Jaime Montojo | +7 | 74-73=147 |