October 01, 2002
Texas A&M senior Shaun Helmle battled to a final-round 77 in windy conditions on Tuesday but still claimed second place at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate at Colbert Hills Golf Club.
Helmle's 74-71-77=222 total finished seven strokes behind individual champion Aaron Watkins of Kansas State, who was the only player in the field to break par with a 72-72-71=215 total on the 7,525-yard, par-72 layout. In the best finish of his college career, Helmle finished two strokes ahead of Missouri's Brandon Knaub and Lamar's Chris Stroud, who tied for third.
With a lineup that included three true freshmen, the Aggies finished ninth in the 12-team tournament with rounds of 323-300-313=936. SMU and Lamar tied for the team title at 914, three shots ahead of third-place Kansas State (917). Missouri finished fourth at 924, followed by Nebraska (925), Colorado (925), Toledo (926), Tulsa (928), A&M (936), Texas-San Antonio (947), Louisiana-Lafayette (948) and Rice (950).
Also for A&M, freshman Mike Rim tied for 33rd at 81-78-77=236, junior Stephen Reed tied for 50th at 89-73-79=241, freshman Andrew Parr finished 54th at 79-84-80=243 and freshman Pansing Singhaseni place 64th at 89-78-83=250.
The Aggies return to action for the Adams Cup Oct. 8-9 in Newport, R.I.