March 08, 1999
The Texas A&M men's golf team is in seventh place after Monday's opening round of the Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club, 11 strokes behind tournament leader and host Southwestern Louisiana. The second round was scheduled for Monday afternoon but could be threatened by inclement weather.
Senior Ryan Palmer, the defending tournament champion, and sophomore Casey Cronin led the Aggies with rounds of one-under-par 71, five strokes behind individual leader Orn Hjartarson of USL, who carded a tournament record 66. As a team, the Aggies fired a six-over-par 294, just one stroke behind fifth-place Oklahoma and Tulsa. USL leads the tournament with a five-under-par 283, followed by Nebraska at 286, Florida at 288 and Rice at 289.
Other A&M scores were freshman Sean Gilliland tied for 41st at 75, senior Matt Welch tied for 54th at 77 and sophomore Ryan Tull in 81st with an 86.
The final round is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., although the schedule could be altered if Monday's second round is postponed.