HOUSTON – Daniel Cronje and Zak Jones both sit at -6 and are tied for 3rd overall through 36 holes of action on Monday as the duo paced the UT Arlington men's golf team in its spring debut at the Bayou City Collegiate Classic from Westwood Golf Club.
 
As a team, UTA posted consecutive rounds of 4-under 284 and sits in 5th place at -8 (568) entering Tuesday's final round – just one shot out of a two-way tie for 3rd and six ahead of 6th-place ULM and Rice (-2). Sam Houston leads the 16-team field at -18, six shots clear of 2nd-place Oral Roberts (-12).
 
Cronje fired a pair of 3-under 69 rounds as the South African put nothing higher than a 5 on his card all day. Those 69s tied a season low, and also doubled his previous number of rounds in the 60s this year.
 
As for Jones, the Spring, Texas, native playing not far from his hometown signed for a 4-under 68 in the 1st round and a 2-under 70 in the 2nd round – which included a triple bogey 7 and a bogy, but was offset by a team-best six birdies.
 
UTA SCORES
Team
5) UT Arlington: 284-284: 568 (-8)
 
Lineup
T-3) Daniel Cronje: 69-69: 138 (-6)
T-3) Zak Jones: 68-70: 138 (-6)
T-16) Caleb Hicks: 68-74: 142 (-2)
T-58) Hiroki Miya: 79-71: 150 (+6)
91) Alberto Menacho: 79-83: 162 (+18)
 
INSIDE THE SCORES
CRONJE
The South African got his 1st round off to a tremendous start as he sat at -3 through his first 11 holes. Carding five birdies and just two bogeys, Cronje matched his season-best round of 69. In the 2nd round, Cronje continued his strong play, posting another 69 while carding four birdies and just one bogey that came on the par-4, 460-yard 2nd hole.
 
JONES
Jones also co-led the Mavs in round one with a 68, finishing with six birdies and producing a back-nine score of 31. Two bogeys derailed what would've been another season-best round from the senior. In the 2nd round, Jones carded a triple bogey on the par-4, 461 16th hole and was on track to finish over par, but racked in three birdies in his next five holes to pull himself to an incredible -2 (70) considering the early triple.
 
MIYA
A New Zealand native, Miya struggled throughout round 1, posting seven bogeys and a double bogey on the par-3, 183-yard 3rd hole. Miya posted two birdies to help him avoid his first round in the 80s this year, but recorded a season-worst 79. In the 2nd round, Miya carded the lone eagle for the Mavericks on the par-5, 537-yard 1st hole en route to the 1-under 71 as the sophomore carded three birdies and just two bogeys.
 
HICKS
Hicks registered a team-high seven birdies in his 1st round to co-lead the Mavs. With an opening-round 68, Hicks produced his best round of the season as well as first round in the 60s since the opening round of the Nick Watney Invitational to commence the season in September. In the 2nd round, Hicks was +5 through his first eight holes, but turned his round around by notching four birdies in his next six holes to finish his day at a respectable +2.
 
MENACHO
Menacho was having a solid opening round until posting a double and a triple in his last two holes in curtailed a rather strong performance and led to the 79. However, in the 2nd round the Peru native carded a final score of 83 and recorded two birdies.
 
THIS AND THAT
UTA is currently 3rd in the field in birdies with 41 and par-5 scoring average (4.65) … Cronje's consistent play has him 5th in the individual par-4 scoring average, while Miya and Jones rank 5th and 6th, respectively.
 
NEXT UP
Tri-hosted by Rice, Houston and Sam Houston, the 54-hole tournament is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday with the final round. Final-round pairings and live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
 
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.