UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – After another uncharacteristic 1st round, the UT Arlington men's golf team finally caught its rhythm in the 2nd round of the day behind Daniel Cronje as the Mavericks wrapped up the first 36 holes of Seattle University's Redhawk Invitational from Chambers Bay.
 
Cronje shot a 2nd-round 2-under 69, while Zakary Jones came within one shot of matching his career low with a 1-under 70 as those two helped fuel a 20-shot turnaround from UTA's 1st round on Monday.
 
The Mavericks registered a 305 (+21) in the 1st round, but bounced back with a 285 (+1) in the 2nd round – their 3rd-best round of the year, which in the process snapped a streak of four-straight rounds of 300 or higher. UTA resides in 11th place with that 590 (+22) total entering Tuesday's final round.
 
UTA LINEUP SCORES
T-35) Daniel Cronje: 76-69: 145 (+3)
T-45) Caleb Hicks: 74-73: 147 (+5)
T-54) Paul Gonzalez: 75-74: 149 (+7)
T-68) Zakary Jones: 82-70: 152 (+10)
T-70) Kyle Cox: 80-73: 153 (+11)
 
INSIDE THE SCORES

• Cronje didn't record anything worse than a single square in the opening round and converted two birdies – tied for the most on the team in the first 18 of the day. He began his 2nd round on the 10th hole and had a clean card with three birdies until an unfortunate bogey on the par-3 9th. Still, the 69 represented a seven-shot turnaround from his opening round.
   
• Hicks rolled in a pair of birdies and did not have anything higher than a bogey on his card for the 1st round as he led UTA. His 2nd round began with back-to-back bogeys, but he settled down after that and only made two more bogeys the rest of the round along with a trio of birdies.
   
• Gonzalez alternated bogeys and birdies his first four holes of the day and then played the next 11 holes in 1-over before finishing +3 on his final three holes. His 2nd round was relatively uneventful with 14 pars, a closing birdie, two bogeys and a double.
   
• Jones – making his spring debut – began his day with four-straight pars, but only made four the rest of the 1st round. He then commenced his 2nd round with six-consecutive pars, offset a bogey on 17 with a birdie on 18 and played the front side (his back) in 1-under 35 with eight pars and a birdie as he improved off his 1st-round score by 12 strokes.
   
• Cox couldn't get anything going in his 1st round, making just one birdie. His 2nd round featured three birdies and five bogeys as he also bettered his performance by seven shots.

THIS AND THAT

• As a team, UTA's 113 pars through the first two rounds are tied for the 2nd-most in the field; however, the Mavs' 19 birdies are tied for the 2nd-fewest.
   
• Cronje has played the par 4s at 3.95 (-1) – tied for the 7th-best in the field. His 25 pars through two rounds are tied for the 4th-most in the field, along with Gonzalez.
   
• Site of the 2015 U.S. Open won by Jordan Spieth, Chambers Bay played significantly easier for all teams the last time the event was held in 2019, including for the Mavs who picked the links-style layout apart en route to a 54-hole 841 (-11) team total – the 4th-best in program history.
   
• Cox, Hicks and Gonzalez all competed in this event at Chambers Bay two years ago.

FINAL ROUND TEE TIMES (Times Central; 8 AM Local Pacific)
10 AM: Daniel Cronje – Hole 9A
10 AM: Caleb Hicks – Hole 10B
10 AM: Paul Gonzalez – Hole 10A
10 AM: Zakary Jones – Hole 11
10 AM: Kyle Cox – Hole 12
 
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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.