May 20, 2005
Texas A&M salvaged an 11-over-par 291 with a late charge on Friday and moved into a tie for eighth place after two rounds of the NCAA Central Regional at Warren Golf Course.
The final round will be played on Saturday with the top 10 teams and six individuals advancing to the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md. A&M will tee of at 7:57 a.m. and is paired with Tulsa and Wichita State.
Top-ranked Oklahoma State leads the 27-team field with a 282-283=865 total while Augusta State is in second at 568. Rounding out the top 10 are Missouri (578), Purdue (579), Kentucky (580), Wichita State (580), Texas (580), A&M (290-291=581), Tulsa (581) and Kansas (583).
Kent State is in 11th (584), followed by Michigan State (585), TCU (585), Minnesota (586), SMU (587), Lamar (587), Kansas State (590), Arkansas (592), Texas Tech (593), Notre Dame (595), Baylor (596), Oklahoma (601), Xavier (604), Detroit Mercy (611), Loyola College (616), IUPUI (623) and Jackson State (626).
Oklahoma State freshman Pablo Martin leads the individual standings with a five-under-par total of 65-70=135.
The Aggies struggled through the first 13 holes, but played the final five holes in three-under to climb back into the top 10.
"We didn't play very well today but we had a strong finish," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "We hit a lot of approach shots over the greens, which left us with some tough up-and-downs. But we made some birdies coming in and managed to turn what could have been a bad round into a decent round. If we can play a solid round on Saturday, we have a good chance to make it back to nationals."
A&M freshman Robert Gates led the late charge with birdies on two of his last five holes for a one-under 69. Gates hit 16 greens in regulation and his only bogey came when he three-putted the par-4 6th. Gates is tied for 11th with a 73-69=142 total.
"Bobby was phenomenal all day," Higgins said.
Freshman Martin Piller and junior Jerad Harklau both overcame tough starts with late flourishes. Piller was six-over through 13 holes, but birdied two of his last five holes and is tied for 40th at 72-74=146. Harklau was a whopping six-over after six holes, but played the last 13 holes in two-under, including a birdie on the 17th. he is tied for 63rd at 76-73=149.
Senior David Schultz is tied for 40th at 71-75=146 while junior Andrew Parr is tied for 115th at 74-81=155.