Aggies Win OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational with Record-Setting Final Round

Friday, September 15

Olympia Fields, Ill.

All Day

Texas A&M

OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational

2017 OFCC-Fighting Illini Invite Champions

Sep 17, 2017 | Men's Golf

Final Results (GolfStat,com)Final Results (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – The Aggies' torrid start to the 2017-18 campaign continued on Sunday as the Texas A&M men's golf team surged up the leaderboard to claim victory at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational.

Texas A&M (281-285-271=837, -3) entered the final round at Olympia Fields Country Club in third place before putting together the best team round and team total score in the 12-year history of the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational to win their second consecutive tournament to begin the season.

"What a great final round," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "The guys came out focused, determined and just played fantastic golf. Every one of the guys was in it until the end. We had four scores of par or better, so it was an amazing team effort but also what a great final round performances from Brandon and Chandler."

The Aggies stood out as the only squad in the impressive field to finish the 36-hole event below par, while Alabama (+6), Oklahoma State (+10), Baylor (+12) and Illinois (+13) rounded out the top five schools in the team standings.

Sophomore Josh Gliege (66-70-70=206, -4), who joined the A&M lineup for the event after All-American Cameron Champ was scratched due to back tightness, came up big over the weekend by turning in the best showing of his collegiate career as he fired even par Sunday to claim a tie for fourth place.

Fueling the Aggies' head-turning final round were Brandon Smith (74-71-65=210, E) and Chandler Phillips (72-73-67=212, +2) as the duo was a combined eight-under par during their last turn on the course to finish with shares of ninth and 15^th place, respectively. The top-10 showing was the first of Smith's career as the Frisco, Texas, native charged 23 spots up the leaderboard Sunday.

"Brandon shot five under today on a U.S. Open golf course and I don't think he missed a shot," Higgins added. "As hard as it is to say, it could have been even lower. He had great birdie looks all day and was really patient. Chandler showed up and gave us a great round, which is what we've come to expect from him."

A&M freshman Reese Ramsey (73-71-69=213, +3) also notched the best showing of his young career with a share of 18^th after a one-under 69 final round while senior Andrew Paysse (70-76-72=218, +8) finished tied for 30^th.

"I'm really proud of the whole team," reflected Higgins on his team's early season success. "What an amazing job to start the season off with two wins in a row, especially this one against the quality of teams and players in this field on a championship golf course."

The Aggies' next action will come Oct. 1-3 when they travel to the site of the 2017 U.S. Open in Erin Hills, Wis., to take part in the Erin Hills Intercollegiate.