April 14, 2005
The last time Texas A&M played host to a regular-season men's college tournament at a local golf course, no current college player had even been born.
Men's college golf returns to Bryan/College Station on Saturday and Sunday when the Aggies play host to the inaugural Texas A&M Invitational at Traditions Golf Club. Play begins at 8 a.m. each day, with 36 holes scheduled for Saturday and a final 18 on Sunday. Admission is free.
The last regular-season men's event in the area was the 1976 Texas A&M Invitational Quadrangular at the A&M Golf Course. Led by future professional stars Nick Faldo and Keith Fergus, Houston edged the Aggies for the title.
A&M later played host to the 1993 Southwest Conference Championships at Pebble Creek Country Club. The individual title was won by Texas' Justin Leonard, now a standout on the PGA TOUR.
The 14-team field is exceptional, led by No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 5 New Mexico, No. 17 Texas and No. 21 Michigan State. Other teams are Texas A&M "A", Texas A&M "B", SMU, Texas Tech, Kent State, Oklahoma, Baylor, Ohio State, Northwestern and Notre Dame.
Representing the A&M "A" team will be juniors Andrew Parr and Jerad Harklau, and freshmen Robert Gates, Martin Piller and Chris Thompson. Competing for the "B" team are senior David Schultz, junior Rand Arbuckle and freshmen Matt Van Zandt, Trey Todd and Brandon Burgoon.
The field also includes 21 players ranked in the national top 100 by Golfweek, including four of the top 10. New Mexico's Spencer Levin is ranked No. 2, while Oklahoma State's Pablo Martin is No. 4, OSU's Tyler Leon is No. 9 and Texas' Matt Rosenfeld is No. 10.
Other top 100 players in the field are OSU's Zack Robinson (17), OSU's Alex Noren (30), Oklahoma's Anthony Kim (37), SMU's Will Dodson (43), Baylor's Jeremy Alcorn (45), Michigan State's Andrew Ruthkoski (49), SMU's Colt Knost (55), Michigan State's Matt Harmon (56), Oklahoma State's Ryan Posey (58), Texas Tech's Oscar Floren (61), Kent State's Peter Laws (62), Ohio State's Scott Anderson (82), New Mexico's Charlie Beljan (83), A&M's Parr (89), Kent State's Ryan Yip (90), Michigan State's Ryan Brehm (91) and Notre Dame's Cole Isban (95).
Designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II, Traditions opened last summer to rave reviews and played host to the Texas A&M "Mo"morial women's college tournament in early March. Measuring 7,235 yards, the course plays to a par of 72.
The tournament is the final tuneup for the Big 12 Championships, which A&M will host April 29-May 1 at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity.
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