PALM DESERT, Calif. – Kyle Cox posted his third-straight par-or-better round with a 2-under 70 on Friday in the opening round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate to lead the UT Arlington men's golf team at the Classic Club Course.
 
Cox resides in a tie for 14th overall in the field of 119 players as he again paced the Mavericks, who are tied for 14th as a team in the field of 21 following a 1st-round 295 (+7) showing.
 
UTA is just six shots back of 6th place on the tightly-compact leaderboard, which currently has Oregon (278, -10) sitting atop it with still two rounds to go over the weekend. The Ducks hold a one-shot lead on Charlotte (279, -9) as just five teams recorded under-par rounds on the opening day. The Mavs are tied with the nation's #5 team Colorado State.
 
Caleb Hicks signed for a 1-over 73, while Paul Gonzalez recorded a 2-over 74. Daniel Cronje and Zach Cole rounded out the UTA scoring for the day with identical rounds of 78 on the par-72, 7305-yard layout.
 
Cox got off to a blistering start as the sophomore was 5-under through 11 holes after starting on the back 9 along with his teammates. However, he bogeyed three of his final five holes of the day coming in on the front side. Still, those five birdies were tied for the 12th-most in the field on the first day. Cox also played the par-3 holes brilliantly at 2-under – tied for the best score in the field on those holes.
 
Gonzalez took advantage of the par 5s as he birdied three of the four on the course, with that 3-under average ranking tied for the 6th-best in the field.
 
Hicks went out in 1-under 35 on the back side, but couldn't convert any birdies on the front side, and consecutive bogeys on the 3rd and 4th holes pushed his round over par for the day.
 
The Mavs will look to separate from the pack during the 2nd round on Saturday. Split-tee starts are expected to commence again at 9 a.m. Central (7 a.m. local Pacific). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat by clicking here.
 
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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.