April 29, 2005
Texas A&M carded a 303 on Friday and is tied for sixth after the first round of the Big 12 Men's Golf Championships at Whispering Pines Golf Club. The tournament continues on Saturday and Sunday.
The Aggies were nine-over-par through 15 holes, but played the last three holes in six-over on the 7,330-yard, par-72 course.
Top-ranked Oklahoma State leads after firing a three-under-par 285, overcoming an early surge by Oklahoma, which is in second at 290. The Sooners were 10-under through 12 holes and led by Cowboys by seven strokes, but played the final six holes in 12-over.
"We had way too many big numbers and made a couple of double bogeys coming in," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "As a team, we finished terrible. A good round was right there for us and we just gave it away."
Missouri is in third at 295, followed by Texas Tech (299), Iowa State (302), A&M (303), Nebraska (303), Baylor (303), Kansas (304), Kansas State (308), Colorado (311) and Texas (311).
Baylor's Jeremy Alcorn leads the individual standings by one stroke after firing a five-under-par 67. Oklahoma's Justin Fraley and Oklahoma State's Tyler Leon are tied for second at 68.
Junior Andrew Parr led the Aggies with a 73 and is tied for 11th. Senior David Schultz posted a 76 and is tied for 22nd, while junior Jerad Harklau and freshmen Martin Piller and Robert Gates each carded 77s and are tied for 28th.
"There's a lot of golf left to play," Higgins said. "The mistakes we made are easily eliminated. We are capable of going out and having a good round, but we've got to be mentally tough."
A&M tees off at 8 a.m. on Saturday and is paired with Texas Tech and Iowa State.
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