Behind three freshmen, Texas widens lead at Southwestern Invitational

January 31, 2023 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Christiaan Maas (Texas Athletics photo)

Jacob Sosa takes a three-shot lead into final round over Texas teammates Keaton Vo, Christiaan Maas and Wake's Michael Brennan

The Texas Longhorns have seen their future and it just might blow your mind.

Led by the freshmen trio of Jacob Sosa, Keaton Vo and Christiaan Maas, Texas sits at a staggering 16-under 560 after two rounds of the Southwestern Invitational and enjoys a 17-shot lead over second-place Oregon heading into Wednesday's final round at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.

After riding Sosa's school-record 11-under 61 to an 18-under score of 270 in the opening round, the defending NCAA champions carded a more pedestrian 2-over 290 on Tuesday but still managed to increase its lead by 12 shots on the weather-beaten field.

As Sosa found out on Tuesday, there's usually only one way to go after shooting a 61 and that's up.

After an opening round that saw the Austin native make three eagles and five birdies en route to setting a Texas school and tournament record, Sosa returned to earth on Wednesday by shooting a 2-over 74 in cool conditions at North Ranch. However, he still maintains a three-stroke lead over his freshmen teammates Vo and Maas, along with Michael Brennan of Wake Forest, who carded the lowest round of the day with a 4-under 68 to jet eight spots up the leaderboard into a tie for second.

Brennan is looking for his second win of the season after capturing the Colonial Collegiate in October.

Teddy Lin of Washington is within striking distance at 5-under after he followed a 4-under 68 on Monday with a 1-under 71 in round two.

After losing three mainstays off last year's NCAA Championship team in Pierceson and Parker Coody along with Cole Hammer, Longhorn head coach John Fields knew patience would be a virtue heading into the new season. The fall results were reflective of a team in serious transition, but the Longhorn's performance after two rounds at North Ranch shines a bright light on their future.

GOLF Channel will provide live final-round coverage of the Southwestern Invitational beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT from North Ranch Country Club.

Results: Southwestern Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Michael Brennan	Leesburg, VA	700	70-68-69=207
2	Keaton Vo	Austin, TX	500	67-71-70=208
3	Jacob Sosa	Austin, TX	400	61-74-74=209
4	Luke Potter	Encinitas, CA	400	65-75-71=211
T5	Owen Avrit	Arroyo Grande, CA	400	71-72-69=212

View full results for Southwestern Invitational

About the Southwestern Invitational

Behind three freshmen, Texas widens lead at Southwestern Invitational

54-hole men's college tournament with team (best four scores of five players) and individual competitions. The Southwestern Invitational is the combination of two previously existing tournaments: the Southwestern Intercollegiate (started by USC in 19...