CHOUDRANT, La. – The UT Arlington men's golf team opened its 2021-22 season on Sunday with a 1st-round 291 (+4) as the Mavericks reside just seven shots out of 1st place with still two rounds remaining in Louisiana Tech's Jim Rivers Intercollegiate with 36 holes left.
 
The top-10 teams in the 21-team field are separated by only seven shots as Houston leads after an opening-round 284 (-4) by one shot over LSU, Southern Miss and Little Rock.
 
Individually, Daniel Steinarsson carded UTA's under-par round of the day with a 71. Daniel Cronje signed for an even-par 72, while Caleb Hick and Paul Gonzalez both posted 74s and Hiroki Miya registered a 75.

• Steinarsson – like all his teammates – started on the back nine and was +2 through five holes before recording a birdie on the par-3, 205-yard 16th. Another birdie on the par-4 4th brought him back to level par before an 8th-hole bogey in front of a closing eagle on the par-5 9th capped the under-par round.
   
• Cronje began his day with a birdie on the opening 10th and followed it up with nine-straight pars before another birdie on the par-5 2nd moved his card to -2. He remained there until consecutive bogeys on 7 and 8 led him to an even-par round.
   
• Hicks began his morning with five bogeys and two birdies over the first nine before settling down and converting birdies on holes 5 and 7 in advance of a bogey on the 8th to close his day.
   
• Gonzalez opened with a bogey, but a birdie-bogey combo on the 14th and 15th kept him at level through 11 holes before a double bogey on the par-3 3rd. Another bogey on the 4th had him sitting at +4 for the day, but he – like Steinarsson – eagled the 9th to close his day.
   
• Miya went out in only 1-over 37 with eight pars and a single bogey, but his back side was a completely different story with either a bogey or birdie on each of the first eight holes before a closing 5.
   

THIS AND THAT
UTA ranks 5th in the field in par-4 scoring average at 4.14 (+7) … the Mavs' two eagles are tied with Southern Miss for the most in the field … Cronje's 14 pars are tied for the 6th-most in the field … the average score on the par-72, 7,105-yard layout for the opening round was 74.48.
 
2ND-ROUND ACTION
UTA will resume action with the 2nd round on Monday beginning at 10 a.m. off the 1st tee. Live scoring will again be available via Golfstat.
 
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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.