ERIE, Colo. – Backed by Paul Gonzalez and Kyle Cox, the #45 UT Arlington men's golf team continued its strong start to the 2019-20 season with rounds of 3-under 285 and 7-under 281 in the opening day of the 10th Annual Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational on Monday from Colorado National Golf Club.
 
Gonzalez backed up an opening-round 2-under 70 with a 5-under 67 in the 2nd round, and the junior resides in a tie for 6th place in the field of 72 at -7 – four shots behind tournament leader Witchayapat Sinsrang (-11) from Omaha.
 
Cox, meanwhile opened with a career-low-tying 4-under 68 in the 1st round before signing for a 1-under 71 in the 2nd round, and the sophomore finds himself in a tie for 8th overall at -5 entering Tuesday's final round.
 
As a team, UTA sits in tie for 6th place in the field of 12 at -10 despite its 566 two-round total equaling the 10th-best 36-hole score in program history. Host Colorado leads the tournament at -20, four shots ahead of Utah State (-16).
 
Final-round action is set for Tuesday with a shotgun start commencing at 9:15 a.m. (8:15 local Mountain). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat by clicking here.
 
While Gonzalez and Cox are positioned in the top 10, Caleb Hicks is in a tie for 22nd following rounds of 73-70 to sit at -1. That 2-under performance in the 2nd round allowed the sophomore to catapult 13 spots up the leaderboard, matching Gonzalez's leap from the 1st to the 2nd round.
 
Rounding out the UTA lineup scoring for the day was Zakary Jones with rounds of 76-73 (+5) and Daniel Cronje with rounds of 74-77 (+7). Playing as an individual, Zach Cole posted back-to-back rounds of 2-over 74 and is in a tie for 46th at +4.
 
Gonzalez led all players with 14 birdies over the two rounds, including eight in the 2nd round as he managed that 67 despite a double bogey and a bogey. Cox tied for the field lead in par-3 scoring (2.75 / -2), and also ended his day with an impressive eagle on the par-5, 555-yard 12th.
 
Cole led all UTA members with 26 pars over the 36 holes – a total which is tied for the 5th-most in the field. Gonzalez impressively played the par-4 holes at -5, and took advantage of the par-5 holes too, playing those in -4.
 
For Gonzalez, the two sub-par rounds extend an impressive season-opening stretch as he has now opened his campaign with scores of 67, 69, 74, 70 and 67 – four of five rounds being multiple shots under par for an average of 69.4.
 
Altitude plays a factor on the course located 12 miles east of Boulder, but Colorado National Golf Club still played to a lengthy 7,703 yards. Despite that, the scoring average hovered around even par for the field at 72.72 for the two rounds on Monday.
 
UTA, checking in at #45 in the Golfweek rankings, is the highest-ranked team in the field – ahead of #91 Cal State Fullerton, #99 Colorado and #108 Wyoming. The Mavs are coming off a tournament championship in its first event of the fall season last month at UTSA's Lone Star Invitational.
 
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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.