March 26, 1998
46th ANNUAL BORDER OLYMPICS
"Nation's Second Oldest College Golf Tournament"
DATES: March 28-29, 1998 (Saturday-Sunday)
SITE: Laredo Country Club (7,125 yards/Par 72), Laredo, Texas
FORMAT: 54 holes, stroke play (36 holes on Saturday, 18 on Sunday).
FIELD (14 Teams): Texas A&M (#34, MasterCard Rankings), Arkansas (#4), Kansas (#41), Texas Tech, Baylor, Wichita State, North Texas, Southwestern Louisiana, Sam Houston State (#45), Rice, Texas- Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Southwest Texas State, Stephen F. Austin.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: Texas A&M senior Miguel del Angel, ranked No. 20 in the MasterCard Individual Rankings, is the highest-ranked player in the field. Kansas Chris Thompson is ranked No. 22 and Arkansas' Jon Whitaker is No. 39.
HISTORY: The Border Olympics was first played in 1952 at Casa Blanca Country Club in Laredo, where it was played until 1984, when the tournament was moved to its current site at Laredo Country Club. Former individual champions include Don January (1953), Phil Rodgers (1958), Charles Coody (1959), Tom Kite (1970), Ben Crenshaw (1971, 1972, 1973), Keith Fergus (1975), Phil Blackmar (1977) and Bob Estes (1988).
LAST YEAR: Host Texas A&M won the tournament last year with rounds of 286-287-282=855 (nine- under-par), 12 strokes ahead of runner-up Sam Houston State. A&M's winning score was the lowest since Houston won in 1982 with an 846 total. A&M's Jeff Brown won the individual title with rounds of 71-70-68=209 (seven-under-par), two strokes ahead of runners-up John Lawrence of Rice and Brandt Keischnick of Sam Houston State.
1997 BORDER OLYMPICS Final Team Standings 1. Texas A&M 286-287-282=855 2. Sam Houston State 283-285-299=867 3. SMU 290-286-292=868 4. Arkansas 285-295-289=869 5. Jackson State 290-293-287=870 6. Rice 290-297-284=871 7. SW Louisiana 296-288-290=874 8. Kansas 294-292-293=879 Baylor 292-291-296=879 10. Southwest Texas 296-299-288=883 11. Kent State 297-290-302=889 12. Texas-Arlington 305-301-291=897 13. SFA 296-303-301=900 14. UT-Pan American 307-299-303=909 15. Texas Tech 303-307-302=912 Top 10 Individuals 1. Jeff Brown, A&M 71-70-68=209 2. John Lawrence, Rice 74-70-67=211 B. Kieschnick, SHSU 66-72-71=211 4. Greg Sonnier, SW La. 76-68-68=212 5. Hank Kuehne, SMU 72-71-70=213 T. O'Neal, Jackson St. 70-73-70=213 Chris Nickens, Baylor 69-70-74=213 8. Tim Carlson, Rice 70-75-70=215 M. del Angel, A&M 74-68-73=215 Ryan Palmer, A&M 72-74-69=215 Other A&M Scores T34. Lee Reed 75-77-72=224 T36. Ty Cox 72-75-78=225 T48. Matt Welch 71-79-77=227