JONESBORO, Ark. – Led by Kyle Cox and Zakary Jones, the UT Arlington men's golf team resides in sole possession of 3rd place by a wide margin following the opening two rounds of Arkansas State's Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate on Monday from RidgePointe Country Club.
 
Cox is in solo 12th place in the field of 74 after rebounding from a 1st-round 74 with a 2nd-round 2-under 70 to sit at even par (144) entering Tuesday's final round. Right on the sophomore's heels was classmate Jones with rounds of 73-72 (+1, 145) to reside in a tie for 13th with a pair of others.
 
UTA recorded an opening-round 292 (+4) before turning in its fifth par-or-better round in eight opportunities this year with an even-par 288 in the 2nd round. The Mavericks' 580 (+4) total places them 12 shots clear of 4th-place South Dakota (+16, 592) and 12 strokes back of 2nd-place Oral Roberts (-8, 568). Host Arkansas State took advantage of its local knowledge of the short 6,565-yard layout to lead the 13-team invite at -21 (555).
 
Utilizing the same lineup for the third-straight tournament to start the year, Daniel Cronje posted rounds of 73-74 (+3, 147) and is tied for 22nd overall. Caleb Hicks signed for the best 1st round of any UTA member with a 72, but struggled to a 79 in the 2nd round for a +7 (151) total. One shot back of him at +8 (152) is Paul Gonzalez following rounds of 80-72.
 
Cox made nothing worse than a bogey in his 1st round before commencing his 2nd round with a blistering start of four birdies in his first six holes and taking advantage of the consecutive par-5 5th and 6th holes.
 
Cronje faced an up-and-down opening round as the freshman started on the 4th hole and was -3 through his first eight holes, +7 on his next six holes before finishing with three birdies over his final four holes to wrap up the 1-over round with a team-leading seven birdies. He added four more birdies in the 2nd round, and his 11 through the first two rounds are tied for the 4th-most in the field, just three off the leading pace.
 
Gonzalez – who entered with a 69.33 scoring average through his first six rounds this year – signed for that uncharacteristic 8-over in the opening round before settling down for what ultimately what was his sixth par-or-better round of the young season in the second 18 of the day.
 
The final round is set for Tuesday morning, with UTA scheduled to go off hole 1 in nine-minute increments commencing with Gonzalez at 9:30 a.m. and concluding with Cox at 10:06. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat by following the link attached to this release or by clicking here.
 
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THE NEW HOME OF UTA GOLF: Texas Rangers Golf Club
The recently-opened state-of-the-art Texas Rangers Golf Club is the new home of the UT Arlington's men's and women's golf programs. The world's only Major League Baseball-branded golf course, TRGC is the result of a $24 million renovation and updated routing of the former Chester W. Ditto Golf Course at Brown Boulevard and Collins Street, just a few miles north of UTA's campus. The Home of UTA Golf was designed by UTA alumni John Colligan and Trey Kemp of Arlington-based Colligan Golf Design. It features an expansive 23-acre practice area, and a new 33,871-square-foot clubhouse – set to open in early 2020 – will feature a full-service restaurant and bar, covered patio overlooking the golf course, pro shop, locker rooms and numerous rental and event spaces. For more information about TRGC, click here.