HOUSTON, Texas | After the opening round of the TSU Tiger Fall Classic, AJ Gardner was 5 over par and Kourey Patterson was 4 over. One round later, both were back to even, tied for the individual lead and at the center of the lowest round to par in Alabama A&M men's golf history.
 
Gardner shot 5 under and Patterson shot 4 under in the second round at Clear Creek Golf Club. Parker Sawatzky added a 1-under round of his own. As a team, the Bulldogs went from 10 over in the opener to 9 under in the second round, a 19-stroke swing that gave them control of the tournament.
 
"Kourey and I both had ground to make up after the first round," Gardner said. "He shot 4 under, I shot 5 under, and we ended up right next to each other on the leaderboard. It was fun to have a teammate there with me going into the last round and know we both had a chance to win."
 
Gardner broke the tie with a 1-under final round, his second straight round below par. He finished at 1 under, the only player in the field to break par over 54 holes. Patterson took second at 5 over.
 
Samuel Boddie and Griffin Burns kept the next two spots in Alabama A&M's hands. Boddie opened with back-to-back 1-over rounds and finished third at 6 over. Burns opened with an even-par round and took fourth at 7 over. Sawatzky tied for 13th at 17 over, giving the Bulldogs five players in the top 13.
 
"When I look back at Houston, I'll remember how many guys had a hand in that win," Alabama A&M head coach Devins Jackson said. "Parker broke par in the second round, Sam and Griffin finished third and fourth, and AJ and Kourey were tied for the lead going into the final round. Seeing that many Bulldogs near the top of the board is something our whole team can take into the spring."
 
The Bulldogs finished at 13 over par, 34 strokes clear of host Texas Southern. Gardner took home medalist honors, and Alabama A&M closed its fall schedule with a team title and a program record.
 
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