KINGSBURG, Calif. – A pair of under-par rounds from
Caleb Hicks and a trio of eagles from UT Arlington in the 2nd round highlighted the men's golf team's season-opening performance on Monday in the first day of Fresno State's Nick Watney Invitational from Kings River Golf & Country Club.
Hicks led UTA with rounds of 69 and 70 on the par-71 layout and is in a tie for 11th place on the individual leaderboard at -3. Close behind Hicks was
Hiroki Miya signing for a 72 and a 70, respectively, to sit at even par and in a T-22 position.
The Mavericks posted scores of 292 and 289 for a +13 total (581) to reside in a tie for 13th place entering Tuesday's final round. Long Beach State leads the 16-team field after two of three rounds at -21 (547), six shots ahead of 2nd-place Cal State Fullerton (-15, 553) and nine strokes clear of host and 3rd place Fresno State (-12, 556).
UTA SCORES
Team
T-13) UT Arlington: 292-289: 581 (+13)
Lineup
T-11) Caleb Hicks: 69-70: 139 (-3)
T-22) Hiroki Miya: 72-70: 142 (E)
T-63) Alberto Menacho: 75-73: 148 (+6)
T-84) Daniel Cronje: 77-76: 153 (+11)
T-88) Zak Jones: 76-79: 155 (+13)
INSIDE THE SCORES
- HICKS
Opening his morning on the par-5 3rd hole in the shotgun format, Hicks started with a birdie – his first of four during the 1st round. Aside from back-to-back bogeys on the 5th and 6th holes, Hicks posted 12 pars and closed with three birdies over the final five holes to move from +1 to -2 before signing for the 69.
- Hicks' 2nd round got off to a 3-over start after just two holes, and he remained at +3 with only five holes remaining. However, the fifth year recorded an eagle on the par-5 16th to get to -1, and after a pair of pars on 17 and 18, the Arlington native rolled in another eagle on the 1st to incredibly get his card to 1-under.
- MIYA
The No. 1 player in the lineup, Miya jumped out to a quick start with birdies on the 1st and 4th holes to get to -2, which is where he remained after 13 holes. However, the New Zealander played the last five holes in +3 to post an opening-round 72.
In the 2nd round, Miya again birdied the 1st. He was level par entering the 8th hole where he started a stretch of three-straight birdies to move his card to -3 before taking on a couple of bogeys coming in, but still posted a 1-under round.
- MENACHO
An up-and-down 1st round featured a team-high-tying four birdies along with six bogeys, a double bogey and seven pars. Competing as part of the team lineup for just the second time in his career, the senior closed his morning round with birdies on two of his last three holes to get in with the 75.
Menacho's 2nd-round scorecard was much calmer as he made nothing worse than a bogey. The Peru native made four of those, but rolled in a pair of birdies on his way to a 2-over showing.
- CRONJE
The South African couldn't get much going in his 1st round as he posted nothing higher than a bogey, but carded just one birdie en route to a 77.
His 2nd round got off to a blistering start with an eagle on the 1st hole. However, that momentum quickly stalled with a series of bogeys before carding consecutive birdies on 16 and 17 to get in with a 76.
- JONES
Jones birdied his opening hole of the season – the 360-yard, par-4 2nd – but a pair of big numbers on the 5th and 6th holes moved his card to +4 after five. The grad student settled down and played the closing 13 holes in +1 to register the 76.
In the 2nd round, Jones tied for the team lead with four birdies. However, a trio of double bogeys or worse curtailed what otherwise was a great round, which got off to a 3-under start through seven holes but ended up at 8-over.
THIS AND THAT
UTA capitalized on the par 5s as the Mavs tied with Gonzaga for the best performance in the field through 36 holes at 4.53 (-14) … the three eagles for the Mavs were the most by any team on Monday … Hicks is tied for 2nd in the field in par-5 scoring average (-5, 4.17) … Menacho played the par 5s in 4-under (4.33) to tie for 7th among all players … this was the latest start to a season for UTA since the 2016-17 campaign … it is the first time in the 58-year history of Fresno State hosting a home tournament that the event is contested at Kings River Golf & Country Club.
NEXT UP
The final round is scheduled for Tuesday, with another shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Pacific (10:30 Central).
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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 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.
