LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Tournament leader Zach Cole followed up a then-career-best 68 in the morning with a now-career-best 67 in the afternoon to lead the UT Arlington men's golf team to a 15-under total and 3rd-place showing on Monday at the Little Rock Invitational from the Founders Course at Chenal Country Club.
 
Redshirt senior Cole – who had never broke 70 in 27 collegiate rounds prior to Monday – led UTA in both rounds and will hold the overnight lead at -9 in the 86-player field. He has a one-shot advantage over ULM's Guillaume Fanonnel (-8) and a two-shot edge over Luka Naglic from Arkansas State and Marcel Rauch of Little Rock.
 
UTA (561) posted solid back-to-back under-par rounds of 279 (-9) and 282 (-6) and resides just two shots back of host Little Rock (559). The Mavs and Trojans will be trying to chase down tournament leader Arkansas State (553), which possesses just an eight-shot advantage over the Mavericks entering Tuesday's final round.
 
Cole's 36-hole 9-under 135 total is tied for the 2nd-lowest score in program history, bested only by Tyrone Mordt's 10-under 134 at the 2005 Northwest Collegiate Classic.
 
As a team, UTA's 561 two-round total is tied for the 5th-best performance in program history (record: 551 at the 2007 Turtle Bay Resort Collegiate).
 
As a team, UTA leads the 14-team field with 52 birdies through 36 holes. The Mavs rank 2nd in the field in par-4 scoring at 4.08 and also in par-5 scoring at -23 (4.52).
 
Individually, Cole ranks 2nd in par-3 scoring (-3) and is tied for 4th in par-4 average (-3). Gonzalez and Hicks are both tied for 7th in the field in par-5 scoring at -5. Cole's 14 total birdies are tied for the most in the field.
 
Final-round action is set to commence on Tuesday with UTA going off the 3rd tee at 8 a.m. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat by clicking here or by visiting the link at the top of this release.
 
Below is a full breakdown of UTA's six-player lineup (top-4 scores count).
 
1 – Zach Cole: -9 (68-67: 135)
Cole shattered his previous career low of 71 with the team-best 68 in the 1st round on the strength of eight birdies, including three-straight to conclude the round on holes 11-13.
 
He backed it up with the aforementioned – and career-establishing – 5-under 67 in the 2nd round. That 18 was nearly flawless with six birdies and the lone blemish coming with a bogey on the par-3 11th.
 
T-9 – Caleb Hicks: -4 (70-70: 140)
Hicks got his second tournament of the year off to a much better start than his first with the 2-under 70. After sitting at -2 through six holes, his scorecard moved back to even par with two holes to play before rolling in birdies on 12 and 13 to wrap up his first under-par round of the young season.
 
His 2nd round featured 14 pars, three birdies and just one bogey as the junior enters the final round in search of his third-career top-10 finish.
 
T-18 – Jacob Massengale: -2 (70-72: 142)
Senior Massengale recorded his first collegiate under-par performance in the 1st round with a career-low 70 – four shots better than his previous best. He steadily converted four birdies against just two bogeys.
 
He followed that up with an even-par showing in the 2nd round thanks to a pair of birdies on his final two holes – the 12th and 13th.
 
T-26 – Paul Gonzalez: E (71-73: 144)
A birdie on his penultimate hole had Gonzalez avoid a fourth-straight even-par round to start his senior season with the 1st-round 71. Four birdies out-paced three bogeys, but otherwise Gonzalez – the current career record holder for the program's best scoring average – converted 12 pars.
 
However, through five rounds this year he is exactly at even par after the 2nd-round 73 which featured an eagle, four birdies, one double bogey and five bogeys.
 
T-60 – Zakary Jones: +7 (71-80: 151)
Jones began his day with trouble following a triple bogey on the par-4 14th and resided at 6-over par after his first five holes. He was at +5 through nine holes – despite an eagle on the par-5 1st – but turned in an incredible 6-under performance from holes 5-13 with six birdies to post the 1-under 71.
 
But, he was unable to overcome a similar start in his 2nd round, and despite three birdies on the front 9 of the scorecard he posted an 80.
 
T-69 – Daniel Cronje: +9 (79-74: 153)
Cronje struggled in his 1st round en route to the 79 before rebounding with the 74 in the 2nd round. That 2nd round featured nothing worse than a bogey.
 
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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 later this fall – 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.