HUMBLE, Texas – Kyle Cox birdied his last three holes to post a 2-under 70 in the final round of the All-American Intercollegiate at the Golf Club of Houston on Tuesday, leading the UT Arlington men's golf team to its second-straight round improvement to conclude its spring-opening tournament.
 
The Mavericks posted a final-round 292 (+4) – a four-stroke improvement from Monday's 2nd round (296) and six better than its 1st round (298) as UTA finished in sole possession of 11th place with an 886 three-round total (+22).
 
Sam Houston State (-24) pulled away from a stacked leaderboard to win by four strokes over #8 Wake Forest (-20). Every school in the 13-team event was ranked inside the top 150 of the nation; five of those resided in the top 100 and three were in the top 35.
 
Cox's 70 was the only under-par round of the tournament by a UTA player on the par-72, 7067-yard layout which has played host to the PGA Tour's Houston Open since 2003.
 
The sophomore started on the back side and went out in 2-under. His scorecard remained at -2 heading to the 3rd hole, and he didn't make a single par over the final seven holes – finishing bogey, birdie, bogey, double bogey, birdie, birdie and birdie. The three-hole finishing flurry was good enough to get him in the clubhouse in red numbers for the fifth time this year. Cox finished in a tie for 27th at +1 (217), a move up the leaderboard of 11 positions from his overnight spot.
 
Caleb Hicks signed for a final-round 73 (+1) as part of a +9 three-round total (225) to tie for 59th overall. Hicks started his day with a bogey on the 10th, and then rolled in 15 pars, one birdie and one bogey the rest of the way.
 
Paul Gonzalez posted a 74 (+2) on Tuesday and tied for 50th at +7 (223). The junior was 4-over with six holes to play, but was able to find something coming in with a pair of birdies to hopefully carry momentum into UTA's next event this weekend.
 
Freshman Daniel Cronje closed as UTA's second-lowest finisher for the week in a tie for 45th at +6 (222) following a final-round 76 (+4). Cronje was -1 after seven holes, but unfortunately bogeyed five of the next eight holes; however, the 222 total is his second-best of his young career.
 
Rounding out the UTA scoring for the week and day was Zach Cole with a 75 (+3) as part of a +23 (239) total – with the final round representing a seven-shot improvement from both of his first two rounds.
 
The Mavs will have the opportunity to bounce back quickly as UTA will head to California to tee it up in the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate this Friday-Sunday (Feb. 21-23) in Palm Desert at the Classic Club Course.
 
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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.