Mahaffey leads Aggies in Arizona

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (Oct. 5) -  Sophomore Owen Mahaffey shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish seventh individually at the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational at the Estrella Mountain Ranch Golf Club near Phoenix. Mahaffey finished the tournament five strokes off the lead with a four-under total of 212, helping Coach Jerry Hrnciar's Aggies to a seventh-place finish in the 18-team event.

Cameron finished with a three-round team score of 877 (+13), 25 strokes back of tournament winner Cal State-Bakersfield. The Aggies rebounded from an opening round score of 296 to post a team total of 286 in Monday's second round, but turned in a 295 on the final day to slip from fifth place to seventh in the team standings.

Mahaffey was the only Cameron player to crack the Top 20 individually in the event. The Wichita Falls, Texas, sophomore turned in a three-under round of 69 on Monday afternoon to follow an opening-round 71.

The effort gave Mahaffey his third Top 10 finish in as many events this fall. He finished 7th at last month's Oklahoma Intercollegiate at the Lawton Country Club and won the individual medalist title at the West Texas Intercollegiate on Sept. 13-14, in Abilene, Texas. Last season as a freshman, Mahaffey received All-American honors and won the individual title at the 2004 Lone Star Conference championships, becoming the third straight Cameron golfer to win the conference crown.

Ryan King continued his consistent play with a three-round total of 218 (+2) for the tournament. The senior from Duncanville, Texas, shot even-par 72 in each of the first two rounds before carding a 74 on Tuesday. Nic Ware and Travis Lovins both shot 10-over for the tournament and tied for 47th. Brad Aycock finished one stroke back in a tie for 52nd.

Next action for the Cameron varsity squad is scheduled for Oct. 18-19, at the Drury Invitational in Springfield, Mo. Hrnciar will take a junior varsity group to Enid, Okla., next week to participate in the Northwestern Oklahoma Ranger Invitational.

The Aggies will wrap up the fall portion of their schedule on Oct. 23-24, taking part in the Oral Roberts Shangri-La Shootout at the Shangri-La resort on Grand Lake in northeast Oklahoma.

For complete results from the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational, visit www.golfstat.com.