LITTLE ROCK – Paul Gonzalez led a resurgent UT Arlington men's golf team on the opening day of the Little Rock Invitational from the Founder's Course at Chenal Country Club on Monday.
 
After posting a 13-over 301 total in the 1st round, UTA – spearheaded by Gonzalez's 5-under 67 – used a strong 2nd-round performance of 5-under 283 to wrap up the first 36 holes of action in sole possession of 11th place.
 
UTA entered the week on a tear, having collectively played its previous six rounds in 27-under par, registering two different top-5 all-time program records. However, the Mavs got off to a slow start on Monday morning before fighting back in the afternoon and sit at 584 (+8) entering Tuesday's final round.
 
Every single member of the Mavericks either bettered, or equaled, their score from the 1st round in the 2nd round as UTA improved 18 shots, led by a 10-stroke improvement from Gonzalez. The graduate student rebounded from an opening-round 77 with a brilliant, bogey-free 2nd round.
 
Host Little Rock leads the 14-team field at 564. The Mavs are just three shots back of a trio of teams at 581 and only six back of 5th place.
 
UTA SCORES
Team
11) UT Arlington: 301-283: 584 (+8)
 
Lineup
T-20) Paul Gonzalez: 77-67: 144 (E)
T-25) Daniel Steinarsson: 73-72: 145 (+1)
T-42) Kyle Cox: 76-71: 147 (+3)
T-54) Caleb Hicks: 75-75: 150 (+6)
T-80) Daniel Cronje: 82-73: 155 (+11)
 
INSIDE THE SCORES
Gonzalez

• Opening his day on the par-3 4th, Gonzalez started with a bogey but got that shot back with a birdie on the par-4 7th. However, that would be his only birdie of the 1st round as he had his streak of six-straight under-par rounds snapped. The Waxahachie product wasted little time in starting what he hopes is another similar streak with the 2nd-round 67. Gonzalez birdied four of his first 10 holes before rolling in seven-straight pars and closing with a birdie on the par-4 3rd.

Hicks

• Made nothing higher than a bogey in his 1st round, but couldn't get much momentum going as he carded five bogeys and two birdies – coming on the par-5 1st and short par-4 8th holes. Hicks' 2nd round featured a pair of double bogeys and two birdies with just a single other bogey mixed in as he was sitting at +1 heading to his final hole – also the 3rd – but unfortunately carding one of the doubles there to end his day.

Steinarsson

• An up-and-down opening 18 featured three bogeys, two birdies, an eagle and a double bogey as the Icelander led the Mavs in the 1st round with a 73. Steinarsson started on the 5th hole, and he played holes 2 thru 8 collectively in +5 and holes 9 thru 1 in -4. In the 2nd round, Steinarsson battled back from three bogeys in his opening four holes and finished the closing 14 holes with three birdies and 11 pars to get all the way back to even.

Cronje

• Cronje rolled in a team-best three birdies in the 1st round, but several big numbers erased those as part of a challenging opening 18. The South African was poised for a season-best round as he got off to a fast start in the 2nd round and resided at -3 after 12 holes, but a triple bogey on the 18th put a halt on that surge.

Cox

• Arguably UTA's most consistent 1st round came from Cox, who recorded 14 pars and four bogeys as part of his 76. His 2nd round was much improved as Cox delivered his sixth under-par round of the fall. He opened with a birdie on the 6th before a triple on the 7th and a bounce-back birdie on the 8th. His card resided at +2 heading to the 12th, but Cox closed with four birdies and a bogey to come in at -1.

THIS AND THAT
With his six birdies on the day, Gonzalez moved into sole possession of 2nd place on the program's all-time career birdies list with now 379, surpassing Zack Reeves' 377 … Bobby Massa is the program's leader with 387 … UTA's 112 pars as a team are tied for the 2nd-most in the field … Cox is tied for 5th in the field in par-3 scoring at 2.88 (-1) … Gonzalez is tied for the field lead in par-4 scoring at 3.85 (-3).
 
FINAL ROUND
The closing 18 will get underway on Tuesday with another shotgun start at 8 a.m.
 
FOLLOW THE MAVS SOCIALLY
For up-to-date news, photos and videos of the UTA men's golf program, follow us on Twitter: @UTAMavsMGolf, Instagram: @UTAMensMGolf and Facebook: /UTAMavsMGolf.
 
ABOUT TEXAS RANGERS GOLF CLUB
Opened in February of 2019, the state-of-the-art Texas Rangers Golf Club is the new home of UTA'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.
 
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 – which just opened in March of 2021 – features 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.