March 16, 2003
The Texas A&M men's golf team will compete in the 37th annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate Monday and Tuesday at Austin Country Club.
The 18-team field will play 36 holes on Monday and a final 18 on Tuesday for a total of 54 holes on the par 72, 6,906-yard course.
In addition to the A&M, the field features Arizona State, No. 20 Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Fresno State, No. 14 Georgia Tech, Houston, No. 15 New Mexico, No. 2 UNLV, North Florida, Oklahoma, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Pepperdine, Southern California, No. 5 Texas and Tulsa. Eight of the 18 teams in this year's field are ranked in the Top 25 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Representing A&M will be juniors Stephen Reed, David Tasker and Parker Briley, along with senior Shaun Helmle and freshman Andrew Parr.
"We had a great week of practice after a terrific finish in Louisiana so we are really excited to tee it up this week in Austin," A&M Coach J.T. Higgins said. "The Morris Williams always features an elite field of teams and we will really have our work cut out for us. There are a lot of top-25 teams playing this week. That is where we want to be so it will be an interesting challenge to see how we stack up.
"For us to compete at this level, we are going to have be mentally tough, poised and composed," Higgins added. "Physically, we are close to being a very good golf team, but mentally we will need to stay strong."
Reed set the course record at Blake Tree National Golf Club on Wednesday with a three-under-par 68, breaking the old record of 69. Reed made seven birdies and four bogeys on the par-71, 7,196-yard course.
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