Daniel Rodrigues of Portugal shot 71 in the morning
and 32 on his first nine in the afternoon round
There was a time in the Butler Cabin when Sam Bennett appeared poised to leave Augusta, Georgia, and jet back to Bryan, Texas to represent his Texas A&M team at the Aggie Invitational.
After a mentally and physically exhaustive week earning low amateur honors at The Masters, he wanted to be part of the annual collegiate event his team hosts at Traditions Golf Club.
As it turns out, discretion was in fact the better part of valor for Bennett. Whether he decided not to play or his coach decided for him, there is little doubt that he will make an appearance to cheer on his team, after tying for 16th at the Masters, which was the highest finish by an amateur since Ryan Moore tied for 13th in 2005.
While none of the six other amateurs playing alongside him at Augusta National shot par or better in any round, Bennett was in second place at 8-under after 36-holes thanks to a pair of 68s, yet he didn't make any excuses for his struggles over the weekend other than fatigue. Due to the inclement weather, which halted play on Saturday, Bennett had to play 30 holes on Sunday.
"I was tired this weekend," he said. "I think that's what it was. My body wasn't moving
how it should be. That's why I had the driver slotted the first two rounds, and then my legs kind of gave out. It wasn't turning and started missing them left. I think I need to get in a little better shape, get in the gym."
Which brings us to a tournament hosted by his school, which would have required him to play 36 holes on the Monday after the Masters. Knowing Bennett, he would have probably put up a ton of birdies and helped his team. While they are still playing solid golf without Bennett; they trail leader Louisville by 11 shots with one round to play on Tuesday.
Louisville (ranked 34th by
Golfweek compared to No. 15 for Texas A&M) played the first 18 holes at 7-under paced by their number four man Mads Roddick of Denmark, who transferred to Louisville from New Mexico Junior College and just became eligible to play for the Cardinals this spring.
When Roddik lost steam and shot 78 in the afternoon, his teammates were right there with rounds of 65 (No. 3 man Jiri Zuska); 66 (No. 1 Max Kennedy) and 68 (No. 2 Sebastian Moss). Despite having to count a 4-over 76, the Cardinals still posted 13-under in the afternoon, extending their lead to 11 at 20-under.
The host Aggies saw the more consistent play, but only one of their players posted a round in the 60s. Their fifth man Phichaskon Maichon, followed his morning 71 with a 5-under 67 to pace the Aggies, who counted three even-par scores in the afternoon to post 5-under on top of their 4-under showing in the morning.
Max Kennedy of Louisville (a junior from Dublin, Ireland) leads the individual race at 7-under 137, with Maichon of Texas A&M and his teammate Sebastian Moss giving chase just a single shot back.
ABOUT THE The Aggie Invitational
54 hole men's college golf tournament in Texas
hosted by Texas A&M University played at the
very challenging The Traditions Golf Club, a
7142 yard, par 72 layout.
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