North Texas Daily

Austin Jackson | Staff Writer

@a_jack17

North Texas men’s golf took the Aggie Invitational by storm this weekend, outplaying five nationally ranked teams to claim fourth place. The result was thanks in part to a special second round performance by freshman Ian Snyman.

After a hot-start on Saturday, the Mean Green entered the final round in second place, five strokes back of eventual winner No. 12 Oklahoma State University. North Texas gained on the Cowboys early, closing the gap to within two strokes early in their final round. But Rickie Fowler’s alma mater found another gear, extending their lead to 12 strokes to claim their third win of the season.

North Texas went seven-over par through the final nine holes, opening the door for No. 18 Louisiana State University and No. 23 University of Arkansas to overtake the Mean Green.

Head coach Brad Stracke said he was pleased with team’s performance.

“We had an opportunity to win early during the last round against a stacked field, but unfortunately we came up short,” Stracke said.

The loaded field boasted eight of the nation’s top 50 ranked teams, but the Mean Green never backed down, finishing ahead of Aggie invite host No. 27 Texas A&M University, No. 15 Univeristy of Oklahoma, No. 28 Baylor University, No. 35 Texas Tech University, and No. 49 Kent State University.

Snyman led the charge against the talented field, posting a first round 70. In the second round, he was blazing to an immaculate five-under 67 before play was postponed due to darkness.

Snyman brought the Jack Nicklaus-designed Traditions Golf Club to it’s knees in his second round, matching his first round tally of six birdies but keeping his scorecard clean with just one bogey to post his career best round. Snyman had 12 total birdies on the day.

The five-under performance brought Snyman to seven-under with a four stroke lead atop the leaderboard.

But on Sunday, Snyman struggled to recaputre the previous round’s magic, posting six bogeys and one double bogey before breaking through with his first birdie on the 17th hole. Snyman closed out his final round at seven-over to bring his cumulative tournament score to an even-par 216.

Despite the finish, Snyman still held his own amongst the nation’s best players, finishing the Aggie Invitational tied for eighth place, his third top 10 of his freshman year and second of the spring.

Sophomore Michael Cotton finished just two strokes behind Snyman to tie for 12th place. Cotton posted a team-best three-under 69 in the first round, his best performance since his final round 68 at the Quail Valley Invitational.

Cotton followed up his spring-best 69, going 74-75 to finish tied for 12th place. The performance brought Cotton his fifth career finish within top 15 and his 10th in the top 25.

The two upperclassmen on the team, junior Cory Churchman and junior Alejandro Villasana, finished tied for 32nd. Meanwhile, freshman Thomas Rosenmuller recovered from a first round 80 to to finish up 73-74 to finish tied for 43rd.

“Overall, I am happy with how we placed in the Aggie,” Stracke said.

North Texas will get it’s final postseason tune-up on April 11th and 12th in Austin at the Jim West Intercollegiate.

Featured Image: Courtesy | North Texas Athletics