AUSTIN – Kyle Cox posted his second-straight par-or-better round to lead the UT Arlington men's golf team's final-round performance on Tuesday at UT's George Hannon Invitational from the University of Texas Golf Club.
 
After capping the opening day on Monday with a 1-under 70 in the 2nd round, Cox carried that momentum over into Tuesday's final round with an even-par 71 as he finished tied for 31st overall in the field with a 54-hole total of 219 (+6).
 
As a team, the Mavericks settled down after an uncharacteristic 325 in the 1st round with a 300 in the 2nd round before closing with a 301 in the final round on the par-71, 7,372-yard layout. The 926 total (+74) left the Mavs in 13th place against an extremely-challenging field which featured eight of the top-50 ranked teams in the nation and four of the top 20.
 
UTA LINEUP SCORES
T-31) Kyle Cox: 78-70-71: 219 (+6)
T-59) Caleb Hicks: 79-70-76: 225 (+12)
72) Zach Cole: 80-82-77: 239 (+26)
74) Paul Gonzalez: 88-80-77: 245 (+32)
75) Daniel Cronje: 89-80-77: 246 (+33)
 
INSIDE THE SCORES

• Cox – who like all his teammates began his round on the par-4 10th – and went out in even-par 36, capped by one of just 10 birdies made by the 75-player field on the 517-yard, par-4 18th. He rolled in a pair of birdies on the par-4 1st and par-4 4th holes to move his card to -2, but consecutive bogeys on holes 7 and 8 forced him to settle for an inward 35.
• The other four Mavs posted nearly identical rounds from a scoring standpoint, but got there in a myriad of ways.
• Hicks rolled in a team-high-tying three birdies, but also made a trio of doubles.
• Cole made just one birdie and one double bogey, but nothing higher.
• Gonzalez did not convert a birdie, registering 13 pars instead amidst four bogeys and a double.
• Cronje birdied two of the most difficult holes on the course – the par-3, 190-yard 12th and par-3, 248-yard 16th. He was responsible for one of the 10 birdies by the field on the 12th and one of only seven on the 16th. However, he was also undone by a trio of doubles.

THIS AND THAT

• Cox was the lone Mav to avoid a double bogey on the day. He tied for 8th in the field in par-5 scoring for the week at 4.67 (-3).
• Cronje was right behind that par-5 scoring average of Cox at 4.78 (-2).
• #12 Texas won the 13-team event with an 835 (-17) total, eight shots ahead of both #2 Oklahoma and #19 Texas Tech (843, -9).

NEXT ON THE TEE
The Mavs will head to the Pacific Northwest to tee it up in Seattle University's Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay Mar. 29-30.
 
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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.