Texas men’s golf junior duo Christian Maas and Luke Potter had a dominant performance in the final round of NB3 Match Play on Wednesday night, but the No. 11 Longhorns finished runner-up in the final tournament of the fall. , fell short of victory.
Despite defeating No. 22 Stanford 4.5-0.5 in the final round of the two-day tournament, the Longhorns lost the lead and finished just 0.5 points away from defeating champion New Mexico State.
Although they were runners-up in the men’s division, both the Texas men’s and women’s golf teams showed their abilities, winning all three rounds and finishing the tournament with 21.5 points, winning the university overall championship.
Texas men’s golf finished the two-day tournament with 10 points. Texas’ best day yet came on the second day of the final round. Four of the five Longhorns won their matches, giving them the highest point total of the tournament.
Maas has returned to his prolific form, ranking as the 14th best amateur in the world. He was the only Longhorn to remain undefeated on both the boys and girls teams, winning all three rounds against his rivals.
The junior star got off to a fast start in the first round, making three birdies on the front nine and defeating New Mexico State senior Aidan Thomas 2-up. Two bogeys by New Mexico junior Mesa Falleur on the front nine gave Mars a commanding 3-up advantage to start the second round on the back nine.
A birdie on the 12th hole gave Mars a four-point lead, but momentum began to shift when Faroul won three consecutive holes and made a coveted eagle to cut the gap to one point. On the final hole of the second round, Faroul made a fatal bogey and Mars surged to a 2-up victory.
After struggling on the front nine to start the third round, Mars dominated on the back nine, making four straight birdies to give himself a commanding four-point lead over Stanford freshman Jay Len. Mars won for the third and final time after Len bogeyed the 16th hole, with the match ending two holes early for Mars to win 4&2.
Potter, who dropped his first two games against New Mexico State and New Mexico State, had his best performance of the year in the third round. Potter made two birdies on back-to-back holes on the front nine and started the back nine with a 3-up lead.
Potter made three birdies in the final four holes to secure his only victory of the tournament. The match ended three holes early after Kim bogeyed the 15th hole, giving Potter a dominant 4&3 finish.
Texas junior Tommy Morrison and freshman Daniel Bennett finished the tournament with identical records, winning two of their matches and surrendering one.
Sophomore Jack Gilbert played a competitive first round and won the match by a 2&1 margin. Gilbert finished the tournament with a 1-0-2 record, tied in the final two rounds.
Texas men’s golf returns to the course on January 27th at the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., to begin the spring season.