Aggies Hang with Best Near Top of the Leaderboard After Day One of the N.I.T.

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Javier Delgadillo tied for 10th to pace the Aggies.

Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michel Navarrette
Photo: Courtesy

TUCSON, Ariz. – After one day and nearly two rounds at the N.I.T., the Aggies find themselves firmly in the mix as they sit in third place among the deep field of 14 teams. Led by Javier Delgadillo and Mateo Payán who each are among the top-12 golfers, the Aggies shot 15-under before play was suspended due to lack of light.

Through 16 holes in Round Two, Delgadillo sits alongside #24 ranked Arizona’s Zach Pollo. Pollo is fresh off an October win at Scotland’s famed St. Andrews Links course. Javier Delgadillo has demonstrated how this season’s Aggies can hang with some of the nation’s best.

In the opening round, four different Aggies shot under par, including Delgadillo (66, -6), Alexandre Bauduin (68, -4) and Ethan Klose (69, -3) who all posted rounds in the 60s in T1, T7 and T11 positions on the leaderboard. At 15-under in the opening round, NM State was just three strokes off the lead and two strokes ahead of host Arizona who entered the tournament ranked No. 11 in the nation.

The Aggies cooled off in the second round as they are currently at even-par through 16 holes. In the afternoon, NM State was guided by true freshman Mateo Payán who sits at 3-under with two holes to play. The strong second round has moved Payán five spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 12^th place.

In total, four Aggies will begin Tuesday inside the top-30 on the 76-man leaderboard as Delgadillo is tied for 10^th (-6), Payán is tied for 13^th (-5) and both Bauduin and Klose are tied for 28^th (-2).

The second day of action will begin at 8:30 a.m. MST as players conclude the second round before immediately beginning the final round of play.

^{Photos: Courtesy Omni Hotels}

THE COURSE

The previous host of the PGA TOUR’s Chrysler Classic and Southern Arizona Open, Omni Tucson National Resort & Spa’s Catalina Golf Course takes center stage with its traditional-style fairways capping a bluff overlooking the beauty of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The PGA pros rank the 18th hole of this Tucson golf course as one of the most challenging finishing holes on the tour.

NOTEWORTHY

Javier Delgadillo logged two eagles in the opening round of action, doing so on the par-5 2^nd and the par-5 8^th. BYU’s Peter Kim and Arizona’s Tianyi Xiong were the only other two players in the field to record a pair of Eagles on Monday. Additionally, Alexandre Bauduin eagled the 10^th.
With sub-70 rounds on Monday, Javier Delgadillo and Alexandre Bauduin each have three rounds in the 60s this year which equals the team lead alongside Aidan Thomas and Mateo Payán.
Ethan Klose posted an average score of 3.74 to finish a combined 5-under on the par 4s. This is good for second-best among the entire field on Monday.

For complete coverage of NM State Men’s Golf, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateMGolf), Instagram (@NMStateMGolf) and Facebook (NM State Men’s Golf). You can also follow along with Aggie Men’s Golf via NMStateSports.com.

Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

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