MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – A seventh under-par round in the last 11 opportunities for the UT Arlington men's golf team has the Mavericks firmly in contention following the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Sunday at Raven Golf Club.
Led by a pair of 2-under 69s from
Paul Gonzalez and
Kyle Cox, UTA shot a 2-under 282 total on the par-71 layout to sit just four shots out of 1st place entering Monday's 2nd round.
The Mavs are tied for 5th place along with three others in the field of 12, and the top-8 teams on the leaderboard are separated by just four shots. Coastal Carolina and Little Rock are tied for 1st following rounds of 278, Georgia Southern is a shot back at 279 and Arkansas State is in 3rd with a 281.
Two rounds of stroke play remain – one each on Monday and Tuesday. Following the 3rd round on Tuesday, the top-4 teams (using their 54-hole score) advance to match play to determine the Sun Belt Champion on Wednesday following semifinal and final matches.
Sophomore Gonzalez and freshman Cox are tied for 7th overall in the field of 60, just three shots off the individual lead. Fellow freshman
Caleb Hicks recorded the third under-par round of the day for the Mavs by turning in a 1-under 70 scorecard as the three underclassmen in UTA's lineup combined to shoot 5-under.
Camilo Avila was on pace to go under par as well, but with his scorecard sitting at 2-under and just three holes to play, the senior unfortunately played the final three holes (7, 8 and 9) 5-over and recorded a 74 (+3).
Fellow senior
Tanner Gore — who entered the SBC Tournament having shot at, or below, par in nine of his previous 11 rounds — also posted a 74 as he and Avila are both tied for 42nd in the tightly-compact individual leaderboard.
UTA was in a great position to go much lower in the opening round as the Mavs sat at 10-under par with each of the five players having completed 14 holes. However, three of the team's nine bogeys and three of its four double bogeys or worse came in the closing four holes (6 through 9).
The Mavs tied for the 3rd-most birdies in the field in the opening round with 19 – just three off the pace set by CCU (22). UTA also played the par-3 holes under par for the day (-1) – tied for the 2nd-best in the field – shot 3-under on the par-5s (tied for the 5th-best) and rolled in 56 pars – just five behind the leader (ULM, 61) in that category.
Individually, Gonzalez shot 2-under on the par-3s to tie for the best in the field, while Cox went 2-under on the par-4s to tie for the 3rd-best. Gonzalez led the Mavs with six birdies on the round – tied for the 3rd-most in the field.
Action is set to resume with the 2nd round on Monday morning. UTA's tee time will be in nine-minute increments off the 10th alongside Louisiana and Texas State beginning with Hicks at 8:15 (Central) and concluding with Gonzalez at 8:51 (5 to 1 in the lineup).
For the first time in history, the championship will be streamed on ESPN+ all four days. Watch all the action
by clicking here or following the link attached to this release. In addition to the video coverage, live scoring will be available
via Golfstat by clicking here or visiting the link accompanying this release. Additionally, updates will be posted on the official Twitter account of the program
@UTAMavsGolf.
ABOUT THE COURSE
This is the fifth-straight year the SBC Championship has been held at Raven Golf Club, home in 2006 and 2007 to the Boeing Championship – a stop on the PGA Champions Tour. Part of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, the Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout will play as a par 71 at approximately 6,800 yards; the exact yardage will differ slightly each round. UTA has finished 2nd twice in the first four years the tournament has been contested along the panhandle shore of the Sunshine State.
FOLLOW THE MAVS SOCIALLY
For up-to-date news, photos, videos and updates you can follow UTA Athletics online at UTAMavs.com or via any of our social media accounts: Twitter @UTAMavs, Instagram: @UTAMavs, Snapchat: @UTAMavs and Facebook: /UTArlingtonAthletics. Follow UTA golf on Twitter: @UTAMavsGolf and Instagram: @UTA_WomensGolf and @UTA_MensGolf.
