CANCUN, Mexico – The UT Arlington men's golf team began the spring portion of its 2023-24 season on Monday in Mexico as part of the Los Vaqueros Intercollegiate from Playa Paraiso Golf Club with the Mavericks residing in 7th place after a 1st round in which weather played a major role.
 
On a day with winds sitting at 25 mph and gusting upward of 50 mph, UTA posted a 315 (+27) total as every single team in the field was double figures over par on day one, and not a single player was under par. Despite the +27 mark, the Mavericks are only four shots out of 3rd place and just 15 back of 1st-place VCU (+12) with still two rounds remaining.
 
Between the brutal winds and undulating greens, the field scoring average was exactly 79 on Monday. Daniel Cronje came in four shots under that average in leading UTA with a 75 (+3) and is in a tie for 10th place overall, and Shoichiro Kato – competing as an individual – matched that total. Kato and Cronje are both just three shots off the individual lead, which is held by UTEP's Dylan Teeter (E); he was the only one in the 53-player field to not shoot over par on Monday.
 
UTA SCORES
T-10) Daniel Cronje: 75 (+3)
T-16) Hiroki Miya: 77 (+5)
T-31) Ethan Miller: 80 (+8)
T-41) Arran Kanth: 83 (+11)
T-46) Diego Nuno: 84 (+12)
7) UTA: 315 (+27)
T-10) Shoichiro Kato*: 75 (+3)
* Individual
 
INSIDE THE SCORES
CRONJE
Like the rest of his teammates, Cronje began his morning on the 10th hole and went out in +2 after a pair of bogeys. His card eventually rose as high as +5 before rolling in back-to-back birdies on the par-3 6th and par-5 7th holes to post the +3 round.
 
MIYA
Miya was the only Mav to not have a double bogey or worse on his card. He did have six bogeys, but like Cronje took advantage of the 7th hole to record his lone birdie of the round en route to the 77.
 
MILLER
A relatively clean front side, the course's back, resulted in Miller going out in 2-over 38, but his closing nine holes featured two double bogeys, three bogeys and a birdie – on the 144-yard 6th – to result in the 80.
 
KANTH
The Englishman began his round with four-straight pars before making birdies on the par-5 14th and par-4 15th holes to quickly get to -2 – the lowest any Mav would get on the round. However, Kanth wasn't able to maintain that hot start as several big numbers derailed his round coming in on the way to an 83.
 
NUNO
Competing in his first collegiate tournament, true freshman Nuno – who arrived at UTA in advance of the spring semester – birdied his first-ever hole as he was the lone UTA competitor to put a circle on the par-4, 424-yard 10th. Unfortunately that would be his only birdie of the day as he posted an 84.
 
KATO
Kato registered four birdies to lead all Mavs. After double bogeying the 11th hole, he got back to level for the day with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes. His scorecard got to +3 with six holes to play, but rolled in birdies on the par-4 4th and 7th holes to get back to +1 before dropping a couple of shots over the closing two holes to record a 75.
 
THIS AND THAT
UTA's 315 total was a season worst … Cronje's scoring average of exactly 4.00 on the par 4s in the 1st round was tied for the best in the field, and his 12 total pars were tied for the 2nd most … Kato's 4.50 par-5 scoring average tied for 4th, and his four birdies tied for the 5th most … the aforementioned 7th hole was the only one to play under par for the day at -.38 to par.
 
NEXT UP
UTA will again tee off on the 10th hole for Tuesday's 2nd round. Kato will get things started at 7 a.m. CT (8 local ET), and continue in nine-minute increments before concluding with Cronje at 7:45.
 
FOLLOW THE MAVS SOCIALLY
For up-to-date news, photos and videos of the UTA men's golf program, follow us on X: @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 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.