Jones Shoots 69 to Claim Championship of Texas Cup at 138; Bearcats Place 3rd

PLANO, Texas -- Paxton Jones (Fy., Wellington, NZ/Scots College) from Willamette University shot a 69 in the second round of the Texas Cup in men's golf on Sunday, March 20, to win the individual championship with a score of 138. Jones entered Sunday's final round just one stroke out of the lead after also shooting a 69 in the first round on Saturday. Andrew Kibbee (Sr., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS) of Willamette tied for ninth place at 145 and teammate Austin Davis (Sr., Culver City, CA/Culver City HS) tied for 16th place at 148.

Jones has shot a 69 in three consecutive competitive rounds. He started the streak by carding a 69 at the Spring Trilogy #1 to win the 18-hole tournament at the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) Golf Course on March 5.

A total of 99 golfers competed in the Texas Cup. Both rounds were held at The Courses at Watters Creek.

The Bearcats took third place in a talented and close field that ended with four of the 17 teams within four strokes of each other at the top of the standings. The University of Texas-Dallas, the tournament host, won the event with a score of 580 (293-287). The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) was second at 582 (289-293) and Willamette followed at 583 (286-297). Texas Lutheran University finished in fourth place at 584 (292-292). Trinity University (Texas) registered fifth place at 592 (301-291) and Concordia University (Texas) placed sixth at 594 (295-299). The top six teams were separated by just 14 strokes.

Jones won the tournament at 6-under par with his two 69s. He won by two strokes over Chase Maus of Texas Lutheran and Ryan Kropp from UT-Dallas, who tied for second place at 140. Maus carded a 73 in the first round and a tournament-low 67 in the second round, while Kropp shot 71-69. William Sammons from Mary Hardin-Baylor and Jacob Mason of Trinity tied for fourth place at 142. Sammons earned a 68 in the first round and a 74 in the second round. Mason shot 74 on Saturday before improving to a 68 on Sunday.

Cade Eldridge of UT-Dallas held sixth place at 143 (74-69). Hank Crain of East Texas Baptist University (73-71) and Parker Mitas of Mary Hardin-Baylor (71-73) shared seventh place at 144.

Kibbee of Willamette was one of four golfers tied for ninth place at 145. He shot a 73 on Sunday after carding a 68 in the first round that tied him with Sammons for the lead after 18 holes. Also shooting 145 for the tournament were Andrew Baucum of Mary Hardin-Baylor (73-72), Cameron Carter from Texas Lutheran (71-74), and Ben Constancio from Concordia University (Texas), who shot 73-72).

While tying for 16th place, Davis of Willamette shot 148 with consecutive rounds of 74. Also competing as part of Willamette's team entry were Riley Lankford (Sr., Pilot Rock, OR/Pilot Rock HS) at 153 (75-78) and Alex Weirth (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/Crosspoint Academy) at 158 (81-77).

Three Willamette golfers competed as individuals. They were Aunders Erickson (Grad., Portland, OR/Westview HS/Ohio Wesleyan Univ.) with a score of 164 (82-82), Carlos Cortes Dequidt (Jr., San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines HS), also at 164 (84-80), and Jack McMullin (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) at 166 (83-38).

The Bearcats will be back in action on Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24 when they return to The Courses at Watters Creek for the NWC-Texas Challenge.