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.
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.