TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE MEN’S GOLF: Lion men in ninth after 36 holes in the season opener.

EL PASO – In a unique situation to start the 2020-21 season, where all five players were in one group, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team sits in ninth place after 36 holes at the LSC/RMAC Shootout.

The Lions shot a 301 in the first round, then rebounded with a 294 in the second round (595, +19). Western New Mexico leads the tournament at 570.

“It’s great to be back out there playing competitive golf. We had high expectations for our first event of the season and didn’t have our best performance today as a team,” said Lion head coach Lauren Mason. “Today was a unique format playing with all five players together. We couldn’t find our groove and gather momentum. We are looking forward to making a run up the leaderboard tomorrow.”

Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) and Tripp Wallace (Wolfforth Frenship) lead the Lions at 3-over par 147. Burch had three birdies in both the first and second rounds. Wallace – a Kansas State transfer – was a catalyst with three birdies and an eagle in the first round and five birdies in the second round. The duo tied for 27th.

Ryan Palmer (Leander) is in 39th place at 6-over par. He had four birdies in the second round after none in the first. Ole Miss graduate transfer Brody Blackmon (Sulphur Springs) is in 42nd at 7-over par with two birdies, and Eastern Wyoming transfer JoVin Tan (Taiping, Malaysia) is in 57th place at 13-over par with three birdies.

The tournament concludes with 18 holes Tuesday.

Tex. A&M-Commerce	301	294	595	+19	9th
Zach Burch	72	75	147	+3	t-27th
Tripp Wallace	75	72	147	+3	t-27th
Ryan Palmer	79	71	150	+6	t-39th
Brody Blackmon	75	76	151	+7	t-42nd
JoVin Tan	80	77	157	+13	t-57th

Lion women impressive in return to action at DBU Classic

DENTON – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf team started the 2020-21 season of competition for Lion Athletics at the DBU Women’s Classic on Monday, with all four players shooting in the 70s in both rounds. 

The Lions were impressive throughout the day, with one of the top collections of scores in the field. 

“The ladies played extremely well today in some pretty tough conditions,” said Lion assistant coach Lucas McCubbin. “It was unique, playing with your teammates during a competitive round, but the ladies seemed to keep their focus throughout the day. I’m proud of the way they played throughout the day since we have been limited to practice time due to COVID.” 

Competitors were paired with their teammates to limit potential exposure with other teams, meaning the Lions could feed off each other’s momentum. 

Sophie-Charlott Hempel (Pirmasens, Germany) was a 2-over par on the day (146, 75-71) and started the day off with a birdie on the Lions’ first hole in the tournament, which snapped a streak of 195 days without competition for A&M-Commerce. She would eagle the par-5 sixth hole on the way to a 3-over par first 18. In the second round, Sophie went under par with three birdies and two bogeys for a 71. She is in 10th place. 

Inma Ortiz Prieto (Huelva, Spain) was solid in her first action as a Lion, going under par in the first round. She was 2-over par after her first 11 holes, then carded three birdies in her last seven holes for an opening 71. She also carded three birdies in her second round on the way to a 147 (71-76, +3) and 12th place. 

Paige-Lee Garris (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had two birdies in the first round and three birdies in the second round and sat in 20th place with a 9-over par 153 (77-76). 

Lexi Bubenchik (New Concord, Ohio) notched two birdies on the way to 25th place at 11-over par 155 (79-76). 

The third and final round of the event is at 8:30 am Tuesday. 

Sophie-Charlott Hempel	75	71	146	+2	t-9th
Inma Ortiz Prieto	71	76	147	+3	12th
Paige-Lee Garris	77	76	153	+9	t-20th
Lexi Bubenchik	79	76	155	+11	t-25th