COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M men’s golf’s Sam Bennett led the way for the 16th-ranked Aggies on Monday as he is tied for eighth at even-par after the first round of play at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational at Maridoe Golf Club.
Bennett was steady throughout the day, parring the first five holes before carding a birdie on No. 6. The Madisonville, Texas, native bogeyed the par-5 No. 7 to finish the front 9 at even par. He started off the back nine with six consecutive pars before a birdie on No. 16, but bogeyed No. 18 to close out the round.
As a team, the Aggies are tied for seventh at 10-over with Ohio State. No. 7 Oklahoma leads the tournament at 2-over with No. 25 Liberty (+3), No. 5 Texas (+6), No. 3 Arizona State (+6) and Baylor (+7) rounding out the top five.
“We did a good job finishing. We were nine to 11-over in the last half of that round and really hung in there on a golf course that really challenges you every shot,” head coach Brian Kortan said. “Guys did a good job sticking to the game plan and trying to execute the shots. Overall, it wasn’t a clean round of golf. The silver lining is we have 36 holes left. It really a difficult golf course as you can tell by the scores. There are some of the best players and teams in the country here this week.
“Sam did a great job. I know he wanted to finish the round off and make par on the 18th hole, but the young guys hung in there pretty well. They were all over-par early, and they hung in there pretty well, didn’t give up and fought until the end. That’s all I can ask for, and all we can do. Hopefully we can player a cleaner round of golf tomorrow.”
Michael Heidelbaugh is tied for 20th at 2-over, and Walker Lee and Vishnu Sadagopan are tied for 34th at 4-over. Phichaksn Maichon shot 6-over and is tied for 55th.
The Aggies return to action Tuesday at 10 a.m., and are paired with the Arizona State and Texas. Live scoring for the Marquette Intercollegiate can be found online via Golfstat here.
Television coverage of the tournament can be seen nationally on the Golf Channel from 3-6 p.m.
