The No. 4 Texas men’s golf team had a statement weekend at the Hayt Collegiate Tournament as it captured its second tournament win of the season while junior Luke Potter took home his first individual collegiate title.
The Longhorns shot 18-under par over three rounds, winning by seven shots over Duke, whilst Potter shot 10-under over the three days, winning by three over North Carolina’s David Ford. Texas beat 14 teams, including four ranked in the top 25 en route to the title.
Texas stumbled out of the gates, shooting two-over in the opening round on Saturday. The Longhorns rebounded on Sunday with the help of a six-under 66 from Potter and a five-under 67 from junior Christiaan Maas, shooting a tournament-low 14-under par and moving up to fourth place in the standings the same day.
On Monday, Texas entered the final round 10 shots back of first-place Alabama. However, on a windy day that proved to be difficult for the rest of the field, the Longhorns stood above the rest. Of the 14 players that shot even par or better in the final round, four of them represented Texas. In total, the Longhorns shot six under as a team, propelling them to victory.
The Longhorns were the only team to shoot under par in the final round.
“We knew we needed a little help from the teams in front of us because we were 10 shots back. We also were hoping for some significant wind, which we got … We play in that from time to time in Austin and our guys just performed really well. It was a great day,” said Texas head coach John Fields.
On the individual side, Potter entered Monday at seven under par, trailing by three shots to Ford. Potter stayed calm under pressure and tied for the low round of the day shooting a three-under 69, getting him to 10 under and in the winner’s circle. This marked his first individual win in five years.
Potter burst onto the collegiate scene as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022, according to Golf Channel. After an underwhelming two seasons at Arizona State, Potter transferred to Texas looking for a fresh start.
“It’s just a winning environment here in Austin,” Potter said. “It’s kind of like an iron sharpens iron situation on this team because we’re all trying to grind it out and get better and win tournaments.”
Potter wasn’t the only Longhorn to have a great week, as Maas also recorded a top-five finish. Maas started slow on Saturday with a one-over 73 but rebounded the next two days, shooting a combined six under par. This is Maas’s third top-five finish of the season.
This tournament kicked off a five-tournament stretch in just over a month’s span leading up to their maiden SEC Championship, and Texas has some momentum.
Texas returns to the links next week at the Pauma Valley Invitational in San Diego, California from March 17 to 18.
