Paton paces Jags to lead on opening day of RRAC tournament
Will Paton got off to a fast start on the opening day of the Red River Athletic Conference men's golf tournament on Monday at Victoria Country Club.
The Portsmouth, England, native shot rounds of 6- and 3-under (66-69) to hold a nine-shot lead over Texas A&M-San Antonio's Jacob Pena.
His performance helped the Jaguars (294-284), who are seeking a third consecutive conference title, to a 29-stroke lead over Our Lady of the Lake heading into the final round on Tuesday.
"This is what we're capable of," said head coach Garrett Adair. "This isn't a surprise or anything. Hopefully, tomorrow, we can come out and fire another round like the second. The goal for me is to finish this tournament under par."
Paton closed his opening round with a bogey-free back nine which saw him card five birdies to close the round. He opened the back nine with consecutive birdies on the Par 4 10th and 11th holes.
"It's great. It's definitely been a long time coming," Paton said. "I'm really happy with how I performed today."
The senior led the field in birdies made with 13.
Paton wanted to play aggressively after the course softened up following Sunday's heavy rains.
"The rain yesterday definitely helped soften the greens up," Paton said. "They're notoriously firm. I think knowing the rain was out kind of gave me that bit of a boost on those first few holes knowing I could attack some more pins and try to get it a little bit closer."
Jacob Flores (74-71) and Jaxon Langford (73-72), who won the RRAC individual championship in 2022, each finished T-3. Langford carded seven birdies while Flores had six.
Flores, a senior from Pharr, only had one bogey to shoot 1-under in the second round.
"The second round was good to see," Adair said. "Hopefully we'll continue that strong play. Jacob continued his play we saw in Las Vegas."
