GLEN ROSE, Texas –
Preston Holmes tied the Cameron program record with a 65 in the second round of the Lone Star Conference Championships as the Aggie men surged up four spots and are in third heading into the third round.
Just two weeks after setting the school record for low round vs. par, the Aggie men broke that mark against by shooting a 272 (16-under) in the second round of the league tournament on Monday to give them a 557 through 36 holes.
Cameron got off to a hot start in the first round as Holmes,
Hamish Murray and
Trevor Mierl came out and each had three birdies during their first nine holes. However, Holmes was the lone Aggie to have only one bogey on their scorecard, leading the team to finish the round with a score of 285, which had them in seventh place.
Holmes led the way with a 2-under score of 70 with
Tyler Kaman and Murray each shooting 71. Both Mierl and
Joey Kirk rounded out the lineup with a pair of 73s in the first 18 holes. Holmes, Kaman, and Murray were all inside the top-15 individually after Monday's opening round.
The Aggies surged in the second round as Mierl started with four birdies in his first six holes on his way to a 68, finishing with 10 straight pars to give him a 141 through two rounds. Holmes was even better, tying the program record with a 65 to give him a 135 through 36 holes; he sits in sixth place individually.
Kirk also shot a 68 in the second round, making seven birdies to help him card a 141 as well to tie Mierl after the first day of action at the conference tournament. Murray, who had one of two eagles in the round, and Kaman each matched their first round 71s in the second to sit in 23rd with a 142 heading into Tuesday's third round.
As a team, Cameron led the field with a 3-under score on the par-4 holes and totaled 44 pars, 44 birdies, and two eagles during the opening day on the Squaw Valley-Apache Links. Murray led the Aggies with 24 made pars while Kirk had a team-high 10 birdies, with all but three coming in the second round. The team's birdie and eagle numbers eclipsed the program record for each in a season.
Cameron is in striking distance of the top spot, trailing West Texas A&M by five and trailing second place team Midwestern State by three strokes; the Mustangs bested CU by one stroke in the second round. UT Tyler is just one stroke back of the Aggies in fourth with St. Mary's in fifth with a 561 and seventh ranked Oklahoma Christian tied with Texas A&M-Commerce tied for sixth at 566.
Individually, Mauricio Figueroa from Texas A&M International is in first with a 132, two strokes ahead of four other players and three ahead of CU's Holmes.
Cameron head coach
Austin Phillips' squad would love to move up in the third round of action on Monday morning, but the main goal is to stay in the top-4 at the end of 54 holes, as those teams will move on to medal match play on Tuesday afternoon with the finals coming on Wednesday at the Squaw Valley Golf Course.
