October 27, 2001
The Texas A&M men's golf team will close its fall season at the Henry Griffitts/Baylor Invitational Monday and Tuesday at Ridgewood Country Club.
In addition to A&M, the competitive 18-team field includes host Baylor, Louisiana Lafayette, Rice, Southwest Texas, Arkansas-Little Rock, North Texas, Nebraska, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, Texas-Arlington, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas State, Wichita State, Sam Houston State, Belmont and New Mexico.
The tournament will consist of 54 holes with 36 holes on Monday beginning at 8 a.m., and a final 18 holes on Tuesday beginning at 8:15 a.m. Ridgewood is a 6,500-yard, par 70 course situated near Lake Waco.
The Aggies will be represented by sophomore Stephen Reed, freshmen Rand Arbuckle and Tyler Garrett, and seniors Shaun Helmle and Sean Gilliland.
"The fall schedule has been a learning experience for our team," first-year coach J.T. Higgins said. "Our young players have gained some valuable experience, which will help them tremendously as we head into our spring schedule. As a team, we haven't played as well as we'd like this fall, but we know what areas need improvement. We'd like to have a strong tournament in Waco and gain a little momentum going into the spring."
Southeastern Louisiana won the Baylor Invitational last year, edging out Louisiana-Lafayette by two strokes. Baylor senior Jimmy Walker was the individual medalist after shooting a 4-under 206. Baylor won the tournament by 12 strokes in 1999 and Iowa State won the inaugural tournament in 1998.