The No. 19 Texas A&M men’s golf team split into two squads on Monday and Tuesday, competing at both the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational in Fort Worth and the Bayou City Collegiate Classic in Houston. The Aggies finished tied for 10th with Georgia in the Hogan Collegiate while the Bayou City Collegiate Classic was scored individually.
To start off Monday at the Hogan Collegiate, senior Phichaksn Maichon and sophomore Aaron Pounds continued to strive for the Aggies, tied at 24th individually with a 3-over 143. Maichon started his two rounds with scores of 2-over 72 and 1-over 71 while Pounds had rounds of an even 70 and 3-over 73. Junior Jaime Montojo followed that up with a score of 4-over 144, tied for 34th.
Freshman Wheaton Ennis continued his hot start to his collegiate career with a score of 5-over 145, with splits of a 5-over 75 and an even 70. Senior Michael Heidelbaugh ended Day 1 for the Aggies with scores of 1-over 71 and 5-over 75, tied for 47th.
“We still have to take care of the golf ball better when we’re playing championship golf courses,” coach Brian Kortan said Monday in a press release. “Which is why we’re playing them. It shows you who you are, and you can’t hide out there. It shows you your strengths and your weaknesses. And our strength is clearly that we have a group of guys who will fight their tails off to the end. And some of the things we need to work on is getting more efficient around the greens and putting a little better. We can all do that a little better.”
Tuesday saw the Aggies continue to fight with efforts from the quintet in the final round after finishing 11- over 571 on Monday. Maichon and Pounds continued their strong performances in the final round. Pounds finished on a final round of 2-over 72, finalizing his total of 5-over 215 and tying for the 28th spot. He racked up 11 total birdies. Maichon finished with a score of 7-over 217, tying for 35th place.
Heidelbaugh and Ennis ended the tournament with scores of 9-over 219 and tying for 46th spot. Heidelbaugh finished the tournament with eight birdies while Ennis had six birdies. Montojo finished at 10-over 220, tied at the 53rd spot.
The Aggies finished tied for 10th with Georgia, scoring a 13-over 864. SEC programs Oklahoma, Texas and Auburn led the top three, respectively, while Vanderbilt came in sixth and Alabama tied for eighth.
Meanwhile, in the Bayou City Collegiate Classic, four different Aggies showcased their own individual performances in Houston. Sophomore Jake Maggert led the Aggies on Monday, tying for the 14th spot. Maggert scored a 3-under 69 and a 1-under 71 to round out his total of 4-under 140 in two rounds.
Behind Maggert was sophomore Jack Usner, scoring a 1-under 143 with five birdies. Freshman Alex Long debuted by tying for the 36th spot, with splits of 1-under 71 and 1-over 73.
On Tuesday, Maggert continued to impress for the Aggies, coming in the 23rd spot with a score of 2-under 214.
Usner followed up by finishing at the 31st spot with a final round of 1-over 73, good enough for an even 216. Long ended his first collegiate start at 49th, with a final score of 5-over 221. Hankamer finished at the 79th spot with a score of 21-over 237.
The Aggies will head to Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina to compete in the Qubein Cup on Oct. 14-15.
