Men’s Golf Heads To Chambers Bay For Redhawk Invite - University of Texas Arlington Athletics

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – With just two regular-season tournaments remaining to prepare for the Sun Belt Conference Championship, the UT Arlington men's golf team heads to the Pacific Northwest to compete in Seattle University's Redhawk Invitational from Chambers Bay Golf Course Monday and Tuesday, Apr. 4-5.

UTA LINEUP
1) Kyle Cox
2) Caleb Hicks
3) Zak Jones
4) Daniel Cronje
5) Paul Gonzalez

TOURNAMENT INFO

Format: 54 Holes: 36 Holes Monday | 18 Holes Tuesday
Time: Shotgun Start Both Days | 10 AM CST Start Monday (8 AM PST)
Layout: 7,068 Yards | Par 71
Live Scoring: BirdieFire
Participating Teams (24): Abilene Christian, Boise State, Boston College, Cal Baptist, Cleveland State, Cal State Northridge, Delaware, George Washington, Idaho, Lamar, La Salle, Loyola Chicago, Oregon State, Pacific, Sacramento State, Seattle, Seton Hall, UC San Diego, UT Arlington, UTEP, UTRGV, Washington (individuals only), Western Carolina, Wichita State.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON SHAPING UP
The 2021-22 campaign is shaping up to be a potentially historic and record-setting season in terms of scoring average for the Mavericks. Currently, UTA has a 291.13 average score over 24 rounds; the current single-season scoring mark in program history is 291.09 by the 2008-09 squad.

Not surprisingly, the Mavs are also closing in on the single-season program record for par-or-better rounds with 11 in the aforementioned two dozen opportunities. The 2008-09 team had 12 for the current all-time mark, but that came in 33 rounds.

UTA has gotten to that point thanks in large part to assaulting par 5s. The team for the year has a 4.72 scoring average on those holes, currently the best in program history (4.73 in 2019-20). Helping spur that par-5 scoring average are 13 eagles on the year, currently the 4th-most in single-season history (record: 15 in 2010-11).

INSIDE THIS WEEK'S LINEUP

Cox
His 72.00 scoring average this year is 2nd to only teammate Gonzalez in terms of the current all-time single-season program record (more info: Gonzalez bullet below) … leads the team with 12 par-or-better rounds in only 18 opportunities, and his finish percentage of 73.5 is also the best … the opening-round 66 he posted last month at the Grand Canyon Invitational was the lowest of his career and the best number by any UTA player this season.
Hicks
72.81 scoring average over 21 rounds … nine par-or-better performances to represent the 3rd-most on the team … has a pair of top-10 finishes, including last month at GCU thanks to rounds of 70-71-69 … best round of the year has been a 4-under 67 at SMU's Trinity Forest Invitational in early October.
Jones
After cracking the team lineup just once in the fall, he will be making his third appearance this spring … coming off the best finish of his season with a T-21 at GCU thanks to rounds of 71-69-72 … the 2nd-round 69 was tied for the best of his career … 72.78 scoring average in just nine rounds this year is the 3rd-best on the team … four par-or-better rounds in those nine opportunities.
Cronje
Cronje will be making his sixth start of the season in the team lineup after leading the Mavs with a tie for 5th last week at The Big Texan – the only UTA player in the top 50. The junior holds a scoring average of 75.47 this year with a season-best round of 71 and four par-or-better performances.
Gonzalez
71.95 scoring average this year is currently on track to be the best in single-season program history (current record: Gonzalez's 72.00 in 2019-20 in 21 rounds which was cut short due to COVID-19) … 4.06 par-4 scoring average this year is currently the 3rd-best in single-season program history (Jordan Krantz: 4.04 in 2004-05) … 4.68 par-5 scoring average is currently 2nd again to only his own 4.61 mark in 2019-20 … seven rounds in the 60s this year are the most on the team in 21 chances.

HISTORY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Site of the 2015 U.S. Open won by Jordan Spieth, Chambers Bay welcomed the Mavs with open arms back in 2019 when UTA picked the course apart en route to a 54-hole 841 (-11) team total – the 5th-best in program history. Included in that performance was a 2nd-round 10-under 274 – tied for the 4th-best total in program lore, and representing UTA's best-ever 2nd round.

UTA also returned to Chambers Bay last year, and the course played entirely different for the field as the Mavs finished with an 887 (+31) score. The same quintet teeing it up this week was identical to last year, and here's how those five fared:

T-30) Cronje: 219 (+5)
T-36) Gonzalez: 220 (+6)
T-38) Hicks: 221 (+7)
T-62) Jones: 230 (+16)
T-68) Cox: 231 (+17)

RECORDS NEARLY FALL IN PHOENIX
Cox claimed medalist honors with a 1st-place, near-program-record finish of 11-under par, and UTA posted a 3rd-place, top-5 all-time program performance as the Mavs shot a 13-under score at the Grand Canyon Invitational from the GCU Championship Golf Course two tournaments ago (the only UTA player in this week's field who competed at The Big Texan last time out was Cronje).

The 202 total for Cox (66-68-68) was just one shot shy of tying the all-time 54-hole program record of 201 set by Zack Reeves at the 2007 Turtle Bay Resort Collegiate Invitational. Cox joined Tanner Gore in a tie for 2nd place on the all-time program list as Gore also recorded a 202 total at the 2019 Redhawk Invitational.

As a team, the 839 total for UTA (279-278-282) represented the 4th-best 54-hole score in program history, bested by only an 823 at the 2007 Turtle Bay Resort Collegiate Invitational, an 835 at the 2007 Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate and an 837 at the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Championship.

INSIDE THE PROGRAM RECORD BOOK
Career Wins (Starts)
1) Paul McConnell: 3 (36)
    Bobby Massa (42)
3) Kyle Cox: 2 (29)
    Michael Douthit (24)
    Harry Singh (41)
    Zack Fischer (45)

Career Scoring Average (Rounds Played)
1) Paul Gonzalez: 73.08 (122)
2) Zack Fischer: 73.10 (129)
3) Paul McConnell: 73.17 (103)
4) Kyle Cox: 73.35 (85)

Career Birdies
1) Paul Gonzalez: 394
2) Bobby Massa: 387
3) Zack Reeves: 377
4) Zack Fischer: 363

Career Eagles
1) Kyle Cox: 14
    Cash Wilkerson
3) Zack Reeves: 12
4) Paul Gonzalez: 11
    Tanner Gore
    Bobby Massa

Career Par-Or-Better Rounds
1) Zack Fischer: 54
2) Paul Gonzalez: 50
   Zack Reeves
4) Tyrone Mordt: 49

Career Counting Scores
1) Zack Reeves: 118
2) Tyrone Mordt: 116
3) Paul Gonzalez: 111
4) Zack Fischer: 110

NEXT ON THE TEE
A busy month of April for UTA continues next week with the Mavs' final regular-season tournament at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic from Walden on Lake Conroe GC in Conroe, Texas. That will be UTA's last tune-up before the Sun Belt Conference Championship Apr. 24-27.

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: @UTAMavsMGolf 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 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.

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Cox

Daniel Cronje

Paul Gonzalez

Caleb Hicks

Zak Jones

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