TUCSON, Ariz. – With play suspended in the second round due to darkness, the Texas A&M men’s golf holds a narrow lead atop the standings in the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7,072-yard Tucson Country Club.
Play was suspended at 5:55 p.m. local time. At the time of the suspension, golfers needed to play between four and eight holes to complete the second of the three rounds.
Texas A&M stands at 26-under-par, with all five golfers completing 12 or 13 holes. The Aggies were paired with host Arizona which sits in second place at 22-under, also with all five golfers completing 12 or 13 holes. Other teams in the fray at the 15-team tournament, include BYU (-15), California (-15) and Long Beach State (-12).
Individually, Jaime Montojo sits in sixth place, two strokes off the lead, at 8-under-par through 12 holes in the second round. Phichaskn Maichon is tied for eighth at 6-under through 12 holes. Vishnu Sadagopan and Sam Bennett are among six players tied for 15th at 4-under through 12 and 13 holes, respectively. Daniel Rodrigues is even-par through 12 holes. Playing as an individual, Michael Heidelbaugh sits in 15th place at 4-under through 12 holes.
When the dust settled after round one, the Aggies held a five-stroke over hard-charging BYU for the top spot. The Maroon & White carded an 18-under, 270 highlighted by Rodrigues and Montojo both posting rounds of 6-under, 66. Montojo eagled No. 10 and added four birdies. Rodrigues notched six birdies in a bogeyless 18. Sadagopan registered a 4-under, 68.
Heidelbaugh eagled back-to-back holes at par-5 No. 5 and par-4 No. 6. He finished the first round at 3-under, 69.
Tuesday action starts 9 a.m. Central with teams completing their second round before starting their final round.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Brian Kortan
On the first round…
“For the first round of the spring it was a really good start. Having Danny (Daniel Rodrigues) and Jaime (Montojo) shoot 6-under was a strong start. Vish (Vishnu Sadagopan) was 4-under. Sammy (Sam Bennett) made a mistake early but he battled back. And P (Phichaksn Maichon) had a solid round at 2-under. It was a great round – I’m very proud.”
On the message to the team after another long day tomorrow…
“It’ll be 23 holes tomorrow, so it’s not too bad. We just need to do what we do – put shots together and stay emotionally involved. We have to try and beat someone on their own golf course which isn’t easy. They (Arizona) are a good team and there are some other really good teams here, so it will be a fun challenge tomorrow. But if we stick to what we do best and take advantage of our opportunities we can play winning golf.”
Story by Thomas Dick, Texas A&M Athletics Communications