UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – The championship month of April could not have commenced much better for the UT Arlington men's golf team as the Mavericks went to the site of the 2015 U.S. Open and picked apart Chambers Bay Golf Course Monday and Tuesday as part of Seattle University's Redhawk Invitational.
 
Tanner Gore shot a career-low 65 in Tuesday's final round to tie for the 4th-best round in the nearly 60-year history of the UTA men's golf program. Meanwhile, UTA posted an 841 (-11) three-round total for the tournament – representing the 3rd-best score in program history.
 
The 6-under round for Gore featured six birdies and an eagle, including a pair of birdies on his final two holes – the par-4 2nd and par-3 3rd. All told, the senior signed for a 202 (-11) three-round total to tie for 2nd place in the field of 102, finishing just two strokes behind medalist Hidetoshi Yoshihara from UCLA.
 
That 202 total – which included an opening-round 70 and second-round 67 – is the 2nd-lowest 54-hole score in program history, bested only by a 201 recorded by Zack Reeves at the 2007 Turtle Bay Intercollegiate in Hawai'i.
 
Gore helped UTA orchestrate one of its greatest overall scoring performances in program history as the Mavericks posted a final-round 282 (-2) to conclude the tournament in 5th place with the 841. Only an 823 posted by the Mavs in the aforementioned 2007 Turtle Bay Intercollegiate and an 835 secured a week earlier in that same season at Oral Roberts' Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate were better performances than what UTA put forth in the Pacific Northwest this week.
 
#41 UCLA won the 18-team event littered with top-100 nationally-ranked teams behind a gaudy 815 (-37) total, 12 shots clear of Fresno State (827, -25). UTA was just one stroke behind Drexel (840, -12) for 4th place, and only four back of #53 Oregon State (837, -15) for 3rd. The Mavs – who shot a 10-under 274 second round, the 4th-best 18 in program history (record: 270) –finished ahead of top-100 ranked Utah, Indiana and Little Rock.
 
Sophomore Paul Gonzalez secured the best 54-hole score of his career with a 3-under 210 showing following a final-round 72 to tie for 21st overall. Gonzalez's previous-best performance was a 215 in the Sun Belt Conference Championship last year.
 
Senior Camilo Avila signed for a career-low even-par 71 in the final round, besting his previous low of 72 done twice before – once last year and once in UTA's most recent outing in California. He posted a 221 (+8) total for the week.
 
Meanwhile, freshman Kyle Cox had a final-round 74 and classmate Caleb Hicks had a 76 to round out the UTA lineup scoring for Tuesday. Cox secured a 215 (+2) total – his second-straight season-low showing – while Hicks turned in a 219 (+6) card – four strokes better than his previous 54-hole low set back in September at New Mexico's William H. Tucker Intercollegiate.
 
Gore's final round on the par-71, 6,998-yard links-style layout didn't get off to a fast start; in fact, through his first 10 holes he was even par before assaulting the course over his final eight holes. It started on the par-4 14th with a birdie, and another followed on the par-4 16th before recording an eagle on the par-5 18th. After making par on the par-5 1st, Gore rolled in the closing two birdies on the 2nd and 3rd to conclude a stretch in which he played 6-under over eight holes.
 
The links-style Chambers Bay close to Tacoma hosted the 2015 U.S. Open won by Dallas native Jordan Spieth (-5) amidst green and overall course layout controversy. One of the top public courses in the nation, Chambers Bay's greens have been revamped since then, and the towering sand dunes, massive fairways and breathtaking views of the Puget Sound brings the traditions of Scottish links golf with a modern twist.
 
UTA's stretch of four tournaments in four weeks – which will conclude with the SBC Championship – continues next in Chandler, Ariz., as part of the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club Monday and Tuesday, Apr. 8-9.
 
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