Aggies Finish 14th at NCAA Men's Golf Championships
Jun 04, 2004 | Men's Golf
June 04, 2004
Although he was disappointed in his team's final-round performance on Friday at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships, Texas A&M coach J.T. Higgins likes how far his program has come in just two years.
The Aggies struggled to a score of 300 and finished 14th at the 107th NCAA Men's Golf Championships at The Homestead's Cascades Golf Course, the ninth-highest finish in school history. Through nine holes on Friday, A&M was in position for its first top-10 performance since 1984. but the Aggies played the final nine in 16-over-par.
"We played 63 good holes of golf in this tournament but let it slip away," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "But compared to where we were one month ago, or even two years ago when we didn't even make regionals, I'm pretty happy with where we are. We just wish we could have finished stronger today."
California closed with a one-under-par 279 to capture the national championship with an 1,134 total, finishing six shots ahead of runner-up UCLA (1,140). Arizona placed third (1,148), followed by Texas (1,149), Georgia Tech (1,151), Florida (1,152), Washington (1,152), Kentucky (1,155), Brigham Young (1,156), Pepperdine (1,160), Georgia (1,161), Georgia State (1,161), Oklahoma State (1,164), A&M (291-292-284-300=1,167) and Penn State (1,170).
UNLV's Ryan Moore captured the individual title with a 13-under-par total of 67-70-64-66=267. Wake Forest's Bill Haas (70-68-67-68=273) and Arizona's Chris Nallen (69-67-67-70=273) tied for second.
Last month, A&M was coming off a dismal 10th-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, but the Aggies turned their season around with a fourth-place effort at the NCAA Central Regional two weeks ago to qualify for nationals for the first time since 1997.
On Thursday, A&M rallied to make the 54-hole cut, finishing the day in 11th place. Powers such as No. 2-ranked Clemson, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 10 TCU, No. 11 Southern California, No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 15 New Mexico failed to advance to the final round.
"For our returning players next season, they know now that they can compete at this level," Higgins said. "Some great teams didn't make the cut and many others didn't even make it to nationals. This was a great team experience and was a huge step forward for our program."
A&M seniors Stephen Reed and David Tasker closed their college careers in solid fashion, with Reed posting a 72 and Tasker a 73. Junior David Schultz contributed a 76, while sophomores Andrew Parr and Rand Arbuckle each had a 79. Reed tied for 36th overall with a 291 total, while Tasker tied for 40th (292), Schultz tied for 44th (294), Parr tied for 60th (298) and Arbuckle placed 75th (305).
"I was pleased that Stephen and David finished their careers on a high note," Higgins said. "They were thrilled to be part of a team that competed for all four rounds at nationals. This team has set a standard for all our future teams."
Reed birdied his first hole, the par-4 10th, but followed with a bogey on the 11th and a double-bogey on the 12th. From there, he played the last 15 holes in even-par. Tasker was at even-par through 12 holes, but suffered a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 4th. He added a bogey on the 6th, birdied the par-3 8th, then closed with a bogey on the final hole. Schultz had six bogeys and no birdies in his round.
Parr bogeyed five of his first seven holes, then took a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 17th and made the turn at eight-over. He rallied with birdies on the 1st and 3rd holes, but closed with a bogey on the 6th and a double bogey on the 7th.
Arbuckle was at even-par through eight holes, but bogeyed the 18th to make the turn at one-over. He bogeyed the par-4 2nd, then doubled the par-3 4th. From there, he bogeyed the final five holes.
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