April 01, 2004
The Texas A&M men's golf team will defend its title at the 53rd annual Border Olympics Friday and Saturday at Laredo Country Club.
Last season, the Aggies charged from 16 strokes back in the final round and went on to beat Arkansas in a playoff to capture its fourth Border Olympics title.
The tournament will consist of 36 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday for a total of 54 holes on the par 72, 7,125-yard course.
In addition to A&M, the 17-team field includes No. 14-ranked BYU, No. 19 Arkansas, Colorado State, Rice, Southeastern Louisiana, North Texas, SMU, Baylor, San Diego State, Lamar, Texas Tech, Houston, Texas State, Texas-Arlington, Michigan State and Texas-San Antonio.
Representing A&M will be senior David Tasker, sophomore Andrew Parr, senior Stephen Reed and junior David Schultz. The Aggies No. 5 spot will be filled by either sophomore Rand Arbuckle, senior Parker Briley, senior Mark Schultz, sophomore Brook Gerky or freshman Peter Andrews. The remaining four players will compete as individuals.
"The Border Olympics will be a pivotal tournament for us this year," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "This is a very big district event that features eight of the top 10 teams from our district. It will play a large role in determining regional berths as well as seedings and pairings. We've played well in Laredo in the past and are hopeful we can continue that trend."
The Aggies have struggled in their last two tournaments, tying for 13th at The Morris Williams Intercollegiate and finishing 10th at the Hall of Fame Invitational. The top eight teams from the district will advance to the NCAA Central Regional May 20-22 in West Lafayette, La. A&M is ranked fourth in the South Central District, and No. 38 nationally, by Golfweek.
Tasker leads the Aggies in scoring with a 72.74 stroke average, the best by an A&M player since All-American Anthony Rodriguez posted a 72.1 average in 1994-95. Tasker has finished in the top 10 in three of four spring tournaments.
In addition to last year's win in Laredo, A&M also won Border Olympics crowns in 1997, 1981 and 1980. Six A&M players have won the individual title, most recently Ryan Palmer in 1998.
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