No. 2 Texas men’s golf delivered a dominant and record-breaking performance at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, claiming a 13-stroke victory for its third tournament win of the season.
Texas maintained control from start to finish at the Floridian National Golf Club, shooting rounds of 271–272–273. The Longhorns set a tournament record with a 54-hole team score of 36-under 816, breaking Pepperdine’s previous event record of 818 set in 2022.
Despite the record-breaking performance, head coach John Fields believes the Longhorns can still improve.
“There’ll be guys that think they need to put in work on their golf swing,” Fields said to The Back of the Range. “There’ll be guys that need to work on their mental game, and there’ll be guys that need to work on their short game.”
The 17-team field featured elite competition, including 11 of the top 25 teams in the nation. The rest of the podium included No. 3 Arizona State, finishing second at 23-under 829, and No. 14 Florida State, finishing at 22-under 830 to secure third.
Freshman Daniel Bennett led the Longhorns with a stellar showing, tying for second individually at 16-under 197 (64–67–66).
Bennett’s runner-up finish marked his third top-five performance of the season. The freshman opened his final round with birdies on holes three, four and eight before adding an eagle on the par-five 15th hole.
Despite a bogey on hole 16, Bennett bounced back with a birdie on hole 17 to close out his round. His 16-under total left him just two shots behind individual champion David Ford of North Carolina, who finished 18-under 195.
Texas put the tournament out of reach with a final round 11-under 273, fueled by Bennett and junior Christiaan Maas, who both carded 5-under 66. Sophomore Jack Gilbert added a 1-under 70, and junior Luke Potter posted an even-par 71 to complete the scoring.
“I love the pressure and the competitiveness of playing college golf,” Potter said before the tournament on March 12. “And I’m really looking forward to those April, May months.”
Maas, 70–69–66, and Gilbert, 67–68–70, tied for eighth at 8-under 205, with Gilbert securing his best collegiate finish. Maas continued his consistent season, notching his sixth top-10 finish in eight stroke-play events. His final round featured six birdies and an eagle on 15.
Maas has his sights set on a National Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, on May 23-28.
“Kind of everything you’ve worked towards is getting the team a national championship for the team,” Maas said to The Back of the Range. “I think all the pressure kind of just goes into your work throughout the year. Put in enough work and make sure everything’s in place, hopefully for that weekend.”
Junior Tommy Morrison, scoring 70–68–72, tied for 25th at 3-under 210, while Potter’s 73–70–71 finished tied for 44th at 1-over 214. Morrison’s final round was highlighted by a birdie on 13 and an eagle on 15.
After the final round concluded, Morrison had another highlight-worthy moment off the green. Morrison was responsible for taking a team celebratory selfie with the trophy. However, his 6-foot-9-inch self didn’t know how to use the “.5” feature. His roommate and best friend, Christiaan Maas, stepped up to help him.
With selfies and momentum on their side, the Longhorns now turn their attention to the Haskins Award Invitational, set for April 5-6 in Augusta, Georgia.
“Bottom line, we’ve got a lot to work on over the next few weeks to try to arrive and give ourselves an opportunity to arrive at La Costa,” Fields said to The Back of the Range. “You got to earn your way there, as you know, and these kinds of events help that along.”
