Texas men’s golf’s season came to a close in May, as the Longhorns lost in the national quarterfinals to the Florida Gators. However, for some players, the season was just getting started. 

As the summer arrived, top amateur players from all over the world gathered to play in the biggest amateur events of the year — or, as some might say, the majors of amateur golf. Star players sophomore Daniel Bennett and seniors Christiaan Maas and Tommy Morrison walked off the course after losing to Florida, knowing there was no time to rest.

Here’s how the three fared over the summer:

Daniel Bennett

Last season as a freshman, Bennett took the college golf world by storm, winning the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award, which honors the nation’s top male freshman college golfer. This summer provided Bennett with the opportunity to showcase his talent on an even bigger stage, and he did just that. 

In the Amateur Championship and the U.S. Amateur Championship, Bennett made it to the round of 16. To put it into perspective, Bennett, a then-rising sophomore, was one of the final 16 golfers left standing in tournaments where approximately 300 of the best amateurs in the world competed.  

Bennett climbed up to No. 20 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking this summer and is making a case as the top player on the Texas squad.

Christiaan Maas

Maas had another stellar season last year, picking up a victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational and touting a solid 70.4 scoring average per round. Ranked seventh in the WAGR, Maas’ name is already highly regarded in the amateur world, so this summer was an opportunity to boost his resume even further. 

But by his standards, he had an inconsistent summer. Maas opened up his campaign with a great showing at the St. Andrews Links Trophy, tying for sixth, but that was the golf performance peak of his summer. His next-best finish was a T17 finish at the U.S. Amateur after losing in the round of 32. 

Tommy Morrison

Coming off a year in which he won the European Amateur Championship and his first collegiate event, expectations for Morrison were higher than ever this summer. It may not have been the summer he envisioned, but Morrison had a lot of solid showings. 

This summer, Morrison represented Team USA in the Walker Cup, where he went 2-1 as the U.S thrashed Great Britain and Ireland 17-9. In individual tournaments, Morrison was unlucky.

After finishing second in the stroke play portion of the U.S. Amateur, Tommy lost to No. 63-seed Mason Howell, who went on to win the whole tournament. Similarly, at the Western Amateur Championship, Morrison lost in the round of 16 to eventual champion Jase Summy.