September 02, 2004
The Texas A&M men's golf team is ranked No. 24 nationally in Golfweek's Preseason Men's Rankings.
Florida is ranked No. 1, followed by Georgia, Clemson, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Texas, Georgia Tech, New Mexico, Auburn, Arizona, Kentucky, South Carolina, Duke, BYU, Southern California, Pepperdine, Augusta State, Tennessee, Washington, Oklahoma, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, SMU, North Carolina, TCU, Minnesota, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern.
The Aggies return three starters from last year's team that finished 14th at the NCAA Championships. Lost to graduation were David Tasker and Stephen Reed.
Returning starters are senior David Schultz and juniors Andrew Parr and Rand Arbuckle. Fourth-year head coach J.T. Higgins also welcomes a highly-regarded recruiting class led by freshman Bobby Gates of Gainesville, Fla., who is rated among the top 10 recruits in the country.
The Aggies open the season at the Central Regional Preview Sept. 17-19 in South Bend, Ind.
The spring season will be highlighted by the Texas A&M Invitational April 16-17 at Traditions Golf Club in Bryan. The last time A&M hosted a regular season men's tournament on a local course was in 1975, when the Aggies played host to a four-team event at the A&M Golf Course.
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GOLFWEEK MEN'S PRESEASON TOP 30
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Clemson
4. Arizona State
5. Oklahoma State
6. UNLV
7. Texas
8. Georgia Tech
9. New Mexico
10. Auburn
11. Arizona
12. Kentucky
13. South Carolina
14. Duke
15. Brigham Young
16. Southern California
17. Pepperdine
18. Augusta State
19. Tennessee
20. Washington
21. Oklahoma
22. UCLA
23. Vanderbilt
24. Texas A&M
25. Southern Methodist
26. North Carolina
27. TCU
28. Minnesota
29. Wake Forest
30. Georgia Southern