The top-ranked Texas men’s golf team rallied on Sunday to claim a share of the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational title, firing a final-round 11-under 277 to tie No. 5 Oklahoma State at 20-under par for the 54-hole tournament.
This marks Texas’ fourth team victory of the season and the spring. The Longhorns have competed in six events since January and have posted four wins, one runner-up and one third-place finish.
“I love our schedule because I think it’s the number one, two or three schedule in America,” head coach John Fields said. “So you’re going to be playing against great teams on really good golf courses, against the best players in college golf, against the best coaches in college golf. So the reason I like that is just simply because it puts them in a situation where you can identify your weaknesses.
Texas entered Sunday two shots behind 36-hole leader Illinois and trailed in third, but a strong closing stretch lifted the Longhorns into a tie for first place. Junior Christiaan Maas led the way with a final-round 5-under 67, highlighted by a birdie on hole 17 and a 15-foot eagle on the par-four 18th hole.
Fellow junior Tommy Morrison also had a clutch finish, scoring an eagle on hole 17 and a birdie on hole 18 to shoot 2-under 70 and tie for ninth at 4-under 212. Freshman Daniel Bennett and Maas also finished in a tie for ninth, while sophomore Jack Gilbert tied for 15th after his second straight top-15 performance.
“We knew that golf course pretty well,” Fields said. “We had not played our best golf just yet. So we knew there was reason to believe that we would get out there and play well (on) the final day, we had to be patient. We didn’t get off to a fantastic start, but the guys closed super well, and they ended up shooting 10 under par in the back nine and got the victory.”
North Carolina’s David Ford won the individual title in a playoff over Illinois’ Max Herendeen after both finished at 12-under 204. Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout birdied the final hole to pull the Cowboys even with Texas, capping a 20-under 844 total for both programs. Illinois finished third at 15-under 849.
The Longhorns counted scores from Maas (67), Morrison (70), Luke Potter (69), and Gilbert (71) in the final round.
Maas’s 67 score was his seventh top-10 finish in nine stroke-play appearances. Potter rebounded from a tough start to the weekend, climbing 24 spots with a three-under 69 to tie for 30th.
Bennett remained consistent with his seventh consecutive top-16 finish, carding an even-par 72 on Sunday. Gilbert followed up his career-best finish at the Valspar with another strong showing, shooting one-under 71.
“There’s a little sense of urgency,” Fields said. “You know, you’re coming to the end of the season. You want to be playing your best. So the vibe is that we’ve got quite a bit of momentum, winning four out of six tournaments this spring, but we know we have room to grow. The practice is a little more pointed, a little more intense, the pressure is a higher value. So I love this time of year. I think our kids do, too. This is what you train for all year long.”
Texas will return to action April 14-15 at The Ford Collegiate in Richmond Hill, Georgia, as the team continues its spring slate with championship season on the horizon.
