February 17, 2004
The Texas A&M men's golf team opens its spring season at the John Burns Intercollegiate Wednesday through Friday at the Leilehua Golf Course.
In addition to A&M, the 20-team field includes No. 9-ranked UNLV, No. 14 California, No. 16 New Mexico, No. 17 Arizona, No. 22 BYU, No. 23 Colorado State, Texas-El Paso, San Francisco, Utah, San Diego State, SMU, Colorado, Denver, Hawaii-Manoa, Hawaii-Hilo, Pacific, UC-Santa Barbara, San Jose State and Nagoya.
The tournament will consist of 18 holes each day for a total of 54 holes on the par-72, 6,916-yard course. Arizona is the defending team champion.
Representing A&M will be senior Stephen Reed, senior David Tasker, sophomore Andrew Parr, junior David Schultz and senior Parker Briley.
The Aggies played four tournaments in the fall and posted three top-five finishes, including a runner-up effort at the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate in Nashville. Reed led the team in scoring with a 73.09 average and won the individual title at the Rudolph, becoming A&M's first tournament winner since 1999.
"We are eager to get started this spring," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "The team has been practicing hard and we are anxious to tee it up against some outside competition. The field in Hawaii is always strong but I think we have come a long way this season and I look for us to be a very competitive team. We are taking three seniors on this trip who have been working hard and want to have a great senior year. It should be a great trip and we are all looking forward to the weather, sunshine and tropical breezes of the islands."