September 17, 2000
The Texas A&M men's golf team opens its 2000-01 season Monday and Tuesday at the SMU Stonebridge "Big E" Shootout at Stonebridge Country Club.
Joining A&M in the 17-team field are Texas Tech, Rice, Arkansas-Little Rock, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Jackson State, College of Charleston, McNeese State, North Texas, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, SMU #1 and SMU #2.
The tournament will consist of 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday for a total of 54 holes. Play begins at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday and 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
"Stonebridge is a great golf course and played host to the NCAA Championships in 1995," said A&M coach Bob Ellis, who is retiring after this season, his 27th. "If the wind starts to blow, it will be brutal. If conditions are calm, it won't be too bad. It's important for us to play well, not only because its our first tournament, but because a lot of teams from our district are participating. We need to play well to position ourselves for another regional bid at the end of the season."
Representing A&M will be freshman Stephen Reed, senior Casey Cronin, junior Sean Gilliland, junior Clay Fullick and sophomore Matt Lindholm. Junior Josh McCoy will compete as an individual.
"I'm excited about Stephen playing No. 1 for us in his first college tournament," Ellis said. "He had some great qualifying rounds last week. Casey also played pretty solid in qualifying. I look for us to have a very good season opener."
Reed graduated last spring from St. Thomas High School in Houston, where he won three state championships. An accomplished junior golfer, Reed earned honorable mention All-America honors by the American Junior Golf Association and won the 2000 Taylor Made-Adidas National Junior title. He finished in the top five in seven AJGA events. Reed is familiar with Stonebridge Country Club as he was runner-up at the Stonebridge AJGA event.
Cronin is one of just three seniors on the roster and has appeared in 25 tournaments for A&M.. Last year, he tied for 21st at the SMU Shootout with rounds of 77-75-73=225. Gilliland earned All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore last season after placing fifth at the Big 12 Championships. Fullick redshirted last season but has qualified for the last two U.S. Amateur Championships. Lindholm last year became the first freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring and tied for 10th at the NCAA Central Regional.