Solid fall play sets up highly anticipated spring for No. 11 Texas men’s golf – The Daily Texan

The Texas Longhorns men’s golf program can look forward to opening its spring season in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference.

The Longhorns finished in the top five in all four of their tournament appearances. Texas could have secured a top spot in both the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational and the NB3 Match Play by just half a point over New Mexico State.

“It was pretty disappointing that we didn’t win because we definitely have a quality team,” junior Christiaan Maas said. “We played pretty well this fall, but the fall doesn’t really matter.”

With a handful of transfers leaving the program, many of the younger players on the roster were forced to take on larger roles in the starting lineup.

At the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, freshman Daniel Bennett burst onto the collegiate golf scene and delivered exactly what he said he would. He was the top-ranked junior amateur in South Africa before coming to Texas.

Bennett held the tournament’s top spot through the first two rounds, faded in importance in the third round, and finished fifth in his debut. In the NB3 Matchplay he won two of his three matches, with both wins being clear.

“He’s an incredible golfer,” Maas said. “Any time of the week he can play number one for us and produce the numbers we need.”

Since he saw limited action in his freshman season, sophomore Jack Gilbert stepped up for a more advanced role and showed improvement in his four tournament appearances this fall. He achieved his best result of the season at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational with 19th place.

After a new beginning and the change to Texas last springJunior Luke Potter has adjusted to his new surroundings after spending his first two seasons at Arizona State. Potter was successful in his first four tournaments for the Longhorns.

Potter’s best result came at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, where he finished sixth. He ended the fall with a commanding performance in round three of the NB3 Match Play, beating Stanford freshman Logan Kim for a 4&3 win.

Maas and junior Tommy Morrison have proven why they are among the best and highest ranked in the world amateur Golfer.

Morrison placed second at the Folds of Honor Collegiate Tournament, shooting eight points under par. He placed 11th at both the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Ben Hogan Tournament. Morrison lost his first match in NB3 Match Play, beating his opponents from New Mexico and Stanford with a 2-1 record.

Maas, the Longhorns’ No. 1 golfer, was confident in his four appearances for Texas this fall. At the start of the season, Maas finished in the top 10 in his first two tournament appearances.

Even with his worst result of the season, Maas still finished in the top 15 with 14th place. At the end of the fall, Maas was the only Longhorn between the men’s and women’s teams to win all three singles games in the NB3 match play.

“Everything looks good for the upcoming spring season,” said Maas. “Hopefully everyone can stick together and we can finish as winners in a few games.”