JONESBORO, Ark. – Led by a career-best performance Daniel Cronje, the UT Arlington men's golf team wrapped up its first two rounds of the season on Monday in sole possession of 4th place at Arkansas State's Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate from RidgePointe Country Club.
 
Cronje led the Mavericks with a 1st-round 5-under 67 before carding a 2nd-round 74. The sophomore resides in a tie for 8th place in the field of 63 at -3 entering Tuesday's final round. Close behind Cronje was Paul Gonzalez, who signed for consecutive even-par rounds of 72 and sits in a tie for 13th overall.
 
With all six UTA team members playing together in groups of three due to COVID-19, the Mavericks four-lowest counting scores of each round resulted in them posting totals of 291 and 293 in the 1st and 2nd round, respectively, for a 584 (+8) score. As a comparison, UTA shot a 580 (+4) through the first two rounds at this same event last season – which was its seventh and eighth rounds of the year, not the initial two.
 
Host Arkansas State tore up its home course and leads the 10-team field after day one with a 542 (-34), 23 shots clear of 2nd-place Texas State (565, -11). UTA is only six shots back of 3rd-place Abilene Christian (578, +2), and the Mavs have a comfortable cushion over 5th-place Oklahoma Christian (593, +17). View the complete results at the top of this release for the full team and player standings.
 
Below is a breakdown of each of UTA's six members who teed it up for the first time this year on the 6,565-yard layout.
 
T-8 – Daniel Cronje: -3 (67-74: 141)
Cronje's 1st-round 67 was two shots better than his previous collegiate low of 69 set this past March at the end of his freshman season. Starting his day on the 10th hole, Cronje blitzed his opening nine holes with a 5-under 31 thanks to a quintet of birdies before carding a bogey and a birdie as part of a font-side 36.
 
He began his 2nd round with another birdie on the par-5 10th en route to a 1-under 35 on the backside. However, he stumbled over the final nine holes, coming in with a 3-over 39 and signing for a 2nd-round 74.
 
The sophomore's best 54-hole score and finish both came at this event last year with a 219 (+3) total and a tie for 15th – a target he will be looking to surpass during Tuesday's final round.
 
T-13 – Paul Gonzalez: E (72-72: 144)
Gonzalez began his final season in the blue and orange with an opening-round 72. That included three birdies in his first six holes which resulted in a 2-under 34 on his first nine before a pair of bogeys on the front resulted in the even-par score.
 
Sitting at +3 after 12 holes of his 2nd round, Gonzalez closed in impressive form. He converted the team's first eagle of the year on the par-5 5th and capped his day with a birdie on the par-4 9th to come home in 2-under 34 and close out his second-straight level-par round.
 
T-43 – Zakary Jones: +11 (83-72: 155)
After opening with an 83 in the 1st round, Jones settled down in his 2nd round. He made the turn to the front in 1-under 35 before settling for a solid level-par 72 which featured four birdies and four bogeys.
 
T-49 – Jacob Massengale: +12 (77-79: 156)
Massengale's 1st round didn't feature anything higher than a bogey with the exception of a double on the par-5 6th, but he rebounded from that with his only birdie of the opening 18 on the par-3 7th.
 
However, a pair of double bogeys over his first seven holes of the 2nd round led to a front-nine 41 before finishing with a 38 on the back and the 79 total.
 
T-52 – Caleb Hicks: +13 (82-75: 157)
Hicks carded an uncharacteristic 82 in the 1st round – just the junior's sixth round in the 80s in his career; he only had one such round (80) all of last season. He bounced back with a 74 in the 2nd round, but had his scorecard at -1 through 10 holes before dropping a few shots coming into the clubhouse.
 
T-52 – Zach Cole: +13 (75-82: 157)
Cole opened with a 75 which included three birdies, four bogeys and a double before he signed for an 82 in the 2nd round.
 
As a team, UTA collectively recorded the 3rd-most pars on Monday with 122 (leader: Central Arkansas, 127). The Mavs also registered 31 birdies to represent the 4th-most in the field (leader: Arkansas State, 64). Individually, Gonzalez's 25 pars are tied for the 2nd-most among all players.
 
Final-round action is set to commence on Tuesday with tee times beginning at 7:46 a.m. for the Mavs. Cole, Hicks and Massengale will go off the 1st hole at that time, with Jones, Gonzalez and Cronje right behind them at 7:54. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat by clicking the link at the top of this release.


 
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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.