Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — Texas A&M freshman William Paysse had a knack for finding the water hazards of the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course in the first round of the Sea Best Invitational on Monday.
A mid-course correction solved the problem and Paysse fired the low round of the first 36 holes of the tournament to help the Aggies vault into the lead by one shot over Florida at 7-under-par 553.
North Carolina is third at even par, Liberty fourth at 2 over, Campbell fifth at 6 over and the University of North Florida sixth at 8 over.
Paysse birdied six of eight holes during one stretch and with a 63, grabbed the second-round lead at 6-under-par 134 by one shot over Reid Bedell (69-66–135) of Campbell College.
Leaderboard: Sea Best Invitational
Three Gator players are tied for third at 3 under: Freshmen Ricky Castillo (70-67) and Fred Biondi (66-71) and junior John Axelsen (68-69). Walker Lee (70-68) is tied for sixth at 2 under and Dan Erickson (69-71) is tied for 14th to provide A&M, No. 20 on the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, the depth it needed to barely finish ahead of the Gators entering Tuesday’s final round.
Paysse made four bogeys in the first round, three thanks to tee shots he hit into lateral water hazards off the tee.
He did a decent enough job at damage control in finding ways to make bogey after that, but admitted to some frustration.
“All the trouble on this course is the left and that’s the way I was missing,” said Paysse.
However, he remembered that in windy and cold conditions at a recent amateur tournament at the Ocean Forest Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, he had moved the ball back in his stance a bit.
In the second round, he began moving the ball up a bit and he said that helped him hit his “dominant cut,” and started hitting green grass instead of water.
Beginning on the fifth hole in a shotgun start, Paysse made two quick birdies in the second round, then kick-started his sprint to the top with a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 15. He made four birdie putts of 12 feet or less and added a chip-in for birdie at No. 17.
Aggies coach J.T. Higgins said Paysse doesn’t usually put together two marginal rounds in a row.
“He’s very steady … has an amazing work ethic,” Higgins said. “But it was pretty amazing that he’s 4-over after 13 holes, and then comes back to play the way he did.”
The Gators are trying to atone for one of the worst fall seasons in six years under coach J.C. Deacon. Florida finished no higher than seventh in four events and had a cumulative team score of 67-over.
Deacon said his team responded with “one of the best off-seasons we’ve had.”
“We got our butts kicked in the fall, no question about it,” Deacon said. “But it’s gotten to the point where they have something to prove. They’ve been closing the [UF course] at night, playing a ton of matches and I haven’t heard anything from their academic advisors so they’re taking care of that. We’re a good team. Sometimes I have to remind them how good they can be.”
The Gators have usually found the Sea Best Invitational to be a nice kick-start to the spring season. Florida is the only team that has won multiple titles in the 12-year history of the tournament, with championships in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017.
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