The Texas Longhorns men’s golf program has much to look forward to as they prime for their inaugural spring season in the competitive Southeastern Conference.
The Longhorns finished all four of their tournament appearances in the top five. Texas came close to earning the tournament’s top spot in both the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational and came just a half a point short of New Mexico State in the NB3 Matchplay.
“It was pretty disappointing that we didn’t win because we definitely have a high-caliber team,” junior Christiaan Maas said. “We played pretty good this fall, but the fall really doesn’t matter.”
With a handful of transfers departing from the program, many of the younger players on the roster had to step up into a greater role in the starting five.
Blasting onto the collegiate golf scene in the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, freshman Daniel Bennett delivered as he was advertised, being the top-ranked junior amateur in South Africa before coming to Texas.
Bennett held the tournament’s top spot for the first two rounds, tapering off in the third for a fifth-place finish in his debut. In the NB3 matchplay, he won two out of his three matches with both of his wins coming dominantly.
“He is an unbelievable golfer,” Maas said. “Any time of the week he can play number one for us and produce the numbers we need.”
Seeing limited action in his freshman campaign, sophomore Jack Gilbert stepped up for a more advanced role, showing improvement throughout his four tournament appearances this fall. His best finish of the season was during the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, tying for 19th place.
After getting a fresh start and transferring to Texas this past spring, junior Luke Potter has acclimated to his new surroundings after spending his first two seasons with Arizona State. Potter found success in his first four tournaments for the Longhorns.
Potter’s best finish came in OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational where he placed sixth. He ended the fall with a commanding round three performance in the NB3 Matchplay, beating Stanford freshman Logan Kim for a 4&3 win.
Maas and junior Tommy Morrison proved why they are two of the world’s best and highest-ranked amateur golfers.
Morrison came in as the runner-up in the Folds of Honor Collegiate tournament, shooting eight under par. He tied for 11th place in both the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Ben Hogan Tournament. Dropping his first match in the NB3 Matchplay, Morrison would beat his New Mexico and Stanford competitors for a 2–1 record.
Maas, the No. 1 golfer for the Longhorns, was supreme in his four appearances this fall for Texas. To kick off the season, Maas finished within the top 10 in his first two tournament appearances.
Even in his lowest finish of the season, Maas still came in the top 15, placing in 14th place. To end the fall, Maas was the only Longhorn, between the men’s and women’s teams, to win all three of their individual matches in the NB3 Matchplay.
“Everything looks good for the spring season coming up,” Maas said. “Hopefully everyone can come together and we can finish on top in a couple of games.”
