LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Hiroki Miya carded a 6-under 66 in his 2nd round of the day to lead the UT Arlington men's golf team on Monday at the suspended Everett Buick GMC Classic from Chenal Country Club.
 
Play was suspended due to darkness with several groups still on the course, but Miya was able to get into the clubhouse in time, delivering a career-low round which is also tied for the 12th-best score in program history. The 6-under score to par is tied for the 8th-lowest in program lore.
 
For his efforts, Miya is tied for 5th on the individual leaderboard at -5 following an opening-round 73 in the morning. He is just three shots out of 1st place, which is what he'll be chasing when play resumes on Tuesday morning with the conclusion of the 2nd round and then beginning of the final round.
 
As a team, UTA resides in 14th place (+16). The Mavericks had polar-opposite performances on Monday as their 1st round was a 17-over 305, but the 2nd round was a 1-under 287. Michigan leads the 15-team field at -9 by one shot over Central Arkansas (-8) and two clear of LSU (-7) at the time of the suspension.
 
UTA SCORES (Placements At The Time Of The Suspension)
Team
14) UT Arlington: 305-287: 592 (+16)
 
Lineup
T5) Hiroki Miya: 73-66: 139 (-5)
T51) Daniel Cronje: 76-72: 148 (+4)
T65) Trent Griessel: 79-73: 152 (+8)
T76) Arran Kanth: 77-77: 154 (+10)
T80) Jamen Parsons: 79-76: 155 (+11)
 
INSIDE THE SCORES
MIYA
The New Zealand native, starting on the 13th hole, got off to a solid start in his 1st round by recording three birdies and two bogeys in his first seven holes. He was able to card another birdie at the par-3 6th hole to drop his score to -2 with just six holes remaining. However, a string of three bogeys spanning from holes 8-11 dropped the redshirt senior to a 73 (+1).
 
In his 2nd round, Miya opened with two birdies and a bogey in his first six holes. After making the turn to the 1st hole – his seventh of the day – Miya proceeded to dominate the rest of his round, recording five birdies in his next 10 holes. The 66 is the lowest round by any Mav this year.
 
CRONJE
In his opening round, the South African was unable to roll in any birdies, and carded four bogeys for a 76 (+4) to start. In his 2nd round, the fifth year was cruising along with two birdies and two bogeys in his first seven holes, but a double on the par-4 3rd hole was too much to overcome. He finished with five birdies, three bogeys and a double en route to a 2nd-round 72 (E).
 
GRIESSEL
The Washington native also struggled in his opening round, carding just one birdie to go along with six bogeys and a double for an opening-round 79 (+7). In his 2nd round, Griessel was able to settle in with two birdies, a bogey and a double for a 73 (+1), which tied a career low for the junior.
 
KANTH
Kanth, starting on the 15th hole, got off to a roller-coaster start with two birdies, a bogey and a double in his first five holes. However, the Englishman couldn't quite get anything going from there as he notched four bogeys and nine pars to open with a 77 (+5). Kanth got off to a horrendous start to his 2nd round, recording a bogey, double and a triple in his first three holes. However, that didn't deter the graduate transfer as he was able to claw back with three birdies in his next nine holes and finished with a decent 77 (+5).
 
PARSONS
The Tulsa native, starting on the 17th hole, struggled to get anything going in his 1st round as a triple, double and four bogeys plagued his morning; he was able to card two birdies to open with a 79 (+7). In his 2nd round, the junior transfer began with two doubles in his first five holes, which proved to be the difference in his round. He was able to record four birdies, two bogeys and a double to finish at 76 (+4), quite respectable considering the three doubles.
 
THIS AND THAT
UTA currently ranks 4th in total pars with 105 … the 1st round represented the first time since the 2nd round of the season-opening Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff in early September that the Mavs recorded a team score over 300 … Miya is tied for 4th in par-4 scoring (3.85, -2) and is one birdie (11) shy of tying for the most in the field (12) … Griessel led UTA in pars with 24, which is tied for the 4th most in the field.
 
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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 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.