April 29, 2003
David Tasker had a goal going into the Big 12 Men's Golf Championships at storied Southern Hills Country Club: Nothing worse than a bogey.
The Texas A&M junior accomplished that goal and more, tying for third place in the individual standings on Tuesday and leading the Aggies to a fourth-place team finish -- its best in the tournament's seven-year history.
Even Oklahoma State's Hunter Mahan, who cruised to the individual crown by an astounding 13 strokes, had a pair of double bogeys in Monday's first round. Mahan's victory margin was the largest in Big 12 history.
Tasker had only three birdies but completed the 54-hole tournament with a 76-73-74=223 total that included 35 pars and 16 bogeys on a course that has hosted three U.S. Opens, the last in 2001. Southern Hills also will be the site of the 2007 PGA Championship.
"One of my big goals coming in was to avoid the big numbers and make nothing worse than a bogey," Tasker said. "This is definitely the hardest course I've ever played. You can hit great shots and find yourself in bad spots. It was very demanding."
Tasker's four-over-par 74 on Tuesday included five bogeys. His lone birdie of the day came on the par-5 13th, when he hit the green in two after a 330-yard drive, then two putted. Tasker had 34 putts, two putting every hole but the par-3 8th, where he chipped in from 25 feet to save par.
"It was a grind, but I hit the ball well," Tasker said. "Any other day, I might have shot 68 or 69, but I'm happy overall with how I played."
No. 3-ranked Texas won its second consecutive Big 12 title after shooting a 297 in the final round for an 894 total, finishing four shots ahead of No. 8-ranked Oklahoma State (898). Oklahoma, which led by two shots going into the final round, placed third at 899, followed by A&M (918), Texas Tech (923), Kansas State (927), Colorado (927), Kansas (929), Baylor (943), Missouri (944), Nebraska (945) and Iowa State (948).
Mahan, who tied for 28th at The Masters earlier this month, was the only individual to break par with a two-under total of 73-67-68=208, while Texas' Jason Hartwick was second with an 11-over-par 221. Tasker tied for third with Kansas' Chris Marshall and Texas' J.J. Wall.
"This was the best golf David has played all year," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "He did a good job of handling his emotions and the golf course. To not make more than a bogey on this golf course shows the kind of player he is capable of being."
A&M entered the final round in fifth place, trailing fourth-place Kansas State by four strokes and leading Texas Tech by just one shot. Kansas State struggled to a final-round 320, while the Aggies carded a 307 and Tech had a 311.
"We came here obviously wanting to win, but we're pleased to finish fourth in one of the best conferences in college golf," Higgins said. "This says a lot about where our program has come from last year, when we finished ninth."
A&M junior Parker Briley had perhaps the shot of the day, pitching in from 30 yards for a birdie on the par-4 ninth after nearly pulling his approach shot onto the adjacent 18th green. Briley tied for 19th in the final standings with a 79-74-79=232 total, despite taking a triple bogey on the 17th hole when his second shot plugged in a greenside bunker.
Also for A&M, freshman Andrew Parr tied for 23rd at 78-77-78=233, junior Stephen Reed tied for 31st at 79-75-82=236 and Shaun Helmle, the Aggies' lone senior, tied for 44th at 86-78-76=240.
"This might have been the toughest test of golf I've ever seen," Higgins said. "Any mistake was magnified. You couldn't afford to leave the ball above the hole and you had to control the ball like no course I've ever been on."
A&M's performance solidified its claim for a berth in the NCAA Regionals May 15-17. Regional bids will be announced on Monday.
"I believe we will be invited to a regional," Higgins said. "That was our goal at the beginning of the year. We'll prepare for that so we can then advance to nationals (May 28-31 in Stillwater, Okla.)."
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