Lesson Learned: Texas A&M falters in first day of Aggie Invitational

Traditions Golf Club is a beast of a course. What happens when you fight with a beast?

You tend to get eaten.

Texas A&M learned that lesson the hard way on Saturday during the Aggie Invitational’s 36-hole opening day.

From the start, things didn't go as planned for the host team. In their first nine holes of competition, the Aggies racked up 10 bogeys and two doubles. From that point, A&M had to press to try and make up ground. On a layout like Traditions, that’s not a good idea. It was also, according to head coach J.T. Higgins, against the day’s plan.

“The strategy today was simple,” He said. “Put the ball in play off the tee and really play to the fat side of all the pins. You want to give yourself birdie looks, but realize that some of these pins are hard to get close to; sometimes a 20-footer is a great look.”

“I don’t think we did a good job of executing (the plan), especially to pins that were tucked over bunkers or just over hazards.”

While the Aggies’ aggressive nature hurt them in the long run, it did create some bright spots on an otherwise dreary day. For example, the way the A&M played the par-5 15th hole. In the combined 10 attempts, Aggies golfers were nine-under.  That’s seven birdies and one eagle, with just two pars thrown in.

As for the rest of the par-fives, A&M’s play was a mixed bag. On the fifth, A&M was even par on the day;  while the eighth treated the Aggies to a score of five over. The most disappointing aspect of that number is the fact that two of the bogeys came from Cameron Champ, one of the longest hitters in college golf.

The final par-five of the group, number ten, was played in one under par.

Following the second round, Higgins was honest in his assessment of the way his team played.

“I don’t think we played very well, but I was very proud of the way we played the last four holes. Things were not going the right way and our guys kept it together,” He said. “I think we ended up one under on our last four holes to stay in it. We’re the first ones done, so we might move up the leaderboard a little bit.”

While A&M’s strong finish to both rounds wasn't enough to overcome the slow starts, it does keep them within range of a strong finish.

At the time A&M finished its rounds, they were in seventh place at 19 over par. While the vast number of shots between A&M and the leaders is not ideal, golf has proven to be a funny game in the past.

You have to figure that as many times as the Aggies have played this course, one of them, if not multiple guys, are due for a low one tomorrow. Whether they pull it off or not is yet to be seen, but make no mistake about it, the result won’t be from a lack of trying.

“Everybody fought hard today,” said Higgins. “During the qualifiers, Andrew Lister (73-72) only made three bogeys all week. He made two during the first two holes today, so I think he got slapped in the face but he hung in there. I think Chandler Phillips (76-74) was a little disappointed by his finish; bogeying two of his last three, but he played well.”

“Then, Cameron Champ (74-74) was way over at one point and fought back. So we hung in there pretty well, but we’d like to have a chance to win this golf tournament.”

In order to do that, Texas A&M will have to face the beast that is Traditions for 18 more holes.

This time, they need to slay it.