Junior Tommy Morrison delivered a career-best performance to capture his first collegiate individual title, leading No. 5 Texas men’s golf to a third-place team finish at the Amer Ari Invitational at Mauna Lani Resort Golf Course.
On Saturday, Morrison’s stellar final round propelled him into a playoff against North Carolina’s sophomore Hampton Roberts. While Roberts settled for par, Morrison calmly sank his 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole to secure the victory.
“He’s very powerful and has another gear, but he hits with so much control,” assistant coach Erik Henson said to Kirk Bohls at Austin American-Statesman in May 2024. “He has such touch and feel for someone his size.”
The 6-foot-9 player entered the final round four shots off the lead but surged up the leaderboard with eight birdies through his first 11 holes. After a bogey on hole 12, Morrison responded with birdies on the 14th and 17th holes to card his collegiate-best round of 63.
Overall, the Longhorns finished with a record-setting 54-hole total of 56-under 808, the lowest in program history in both total score and score under par.
Texas climbed four spots on the leaderboard throughout the tournament, improving from seventh after the first round to third in the final standings. Texas finished behind team champion Oklahoma State and runner-up North Carolina.
Texas opened the tournament with a 16-under 272 in Thursday’s first round, led by freshman Daniel Bennett’s 6-under 66. Morrison followed with a 5-under 67, while junior Luke Potter and freshman Eduardo Derbez Torres added rounds of 69 and 70, respectively. The Longhorns tied UCLA and Texas Tech for seventh after day one, trailing leader Oklahoma State by 10 strokes.
On Friday, Texas jumped up the leaderboard with a 19-under 269, the second-lowest round of the day. Morrison posted a 7-under 65 to move into fourth place individually, while Torres shot a bogey-free 67 in his collegiate debut. Potter and junior Christiaan Maas helped Texas climb to fourth place heading into the final round.
Bennett rebounded from his second-round 71 with a 5-under 67 on Saturday, finishing in a tie for 16th at 12-under 204. Rounding out Texas’ scores, junior Christiaan Maas added an even-par 72, tying 63rd at 4-under 212.
With Morrison’s individual title and the Longhorns’ team performance, Texas leaves Hawaii with plenty of momentum heading into the spring season.
Texas will return to action at the Hayt Collegiate Tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida from March 8-10.
