Borow and Fang Lead Texas Cup Invitational
MCKINNEY – Jacob Borow of Lake Jackson and Ethan Fang of Plano lead the Texas Cup Invitational through two rounds at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club’s Dye Course.
Tuesday brought much different weather than Round 1. The wind never exceeded 10 mph and the temperature hovered around 74 degrees. Many players in the field took advantage of perfect scoring conditions.
The 18-hole co-leader, Fang, carded two double-bogeys and two birdies on his opening nine. He bogeyed the par-4 first hole and was 3-over-par through his first 10 holes. However, the Plano West High School freshman found something with a birdie on the par-4 second hole. Fang played his closing eight holes in 3-under-par to card an even-par 71.
Fang, who won the Winter Classic at Dallas Athletic Club in January, will look to become the first player to win multiple LJT titles this season.
Tied with Fang at the top, Borow sits in a much different position heading into Wednesday’s final round. He seeks his first career LJT victory.
In Round 2, the Lake Jackson native carded a bogey-free 1-under 34 on his opening nine. After a bogey on the par-4 first hole (his 10th of the day), he bounced back with a birdie on the par-4 second. Borow bogeyed hole three, but closed with an 18-foot birdie on the par-4 ninth to finish 1-under on the day.
“I’m pretty confident with my putter right now,” Borow said. “With scores so close it’s kind of like a match play format toward the end.”
Borow and Fang will tee it up on Wednesday with Houston’s Byungho Lee. Lee sits two-shots back and tied for third with Nicholas Hance of Irving. Hance, who won the 2020 North Four-Ball with Matthew Griggs at Stonebridge Ranch CC’s Dye Course in February, fired a 2-under-par 69 and lowest round of the day.
The 2017 Texas Cup Invitational Champion Brandon Massey of Fort Worth matched Hance for the low round. The 2020 Texas Christian University commit jumped 21 spots on moving day. Massey is tied fifth and just three shots off the lead. He will look to become the first two-time winner of the Texas Cup Invitational.
“I’ll just remain patient,” Massey said. “Birdies will come if you’re playing well, so just go out there and stay patient.”
Songge Jiang of Frisco, Garrett Endicott of San Antonio, Shivam Patel of Frisco and Trevor Mierl of Austin are all tied fifth with Massey.
The Texas Cup Invitational plays Stonebridge Ranch CC’s Dye Course as a par 71. The normal par-5 13th hole is played as a long par-4 for the championship. The second round was played at 6,842 yards.
The final round will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11. To view the Full Leaderboard, click here. For more information on the Texas Cup Invitational, click here.