May 21, 2005
Freshman Robert Gates fired a bogey-free three-under-par 67 on Saturday to lead Texas A&M to a third-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional at Notre Dame's Warren Golf Course.
The top 10 teams advance to the NCAA Championships June 1-4 in Owings Mill, Md. A&M is making consecutive appearances at the national tournament for the first time since 1996 and 1997. The Aggies finished 14th at nationals last year in Hot Springs, Va.
"I'm really proud of the way we played today," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "I can't say I'm surprised because we expected to do it, but to play that well under pressure was fantastic. We're thrilled to be going back to nationals. We came ready to play today and just played smart golf. Our guys did a great job of executing our game plan."
Augusta State won the 27-team regional with an 849 total, followed by top-ranked Oklahoma State at 858 and A&M at 863. Also finishing in the top 10 and advancing are Tulsa (866), Kentucky (866), Arkansas (870), Missouri (870), SMU (873) and Texas (874) and Purdue (875).
Big 12 teams not advancing through the regional are Kansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
Augusta State's Kalle Edberg captured the individual crown by one shot with a 70-68-67=205 total, edging Oklahoma's State's Pablo Martin (65-70-71=206).
Gates, who played his final 30 holes in five-under with no bogeys, tied for fifth individually with a 73-69-67=209 total, the highest finish and best score by a freshman at regionals in school history.
"Bobby hit the ball so well this week," Higgins said. "He's been capable of that all year and has worked incredibly hard. We knew it was a matter of time. He's was just phenomenal."
As a team, A&M played its final seven holes in three-under for a two-over 282, another school record for a final round at regionals.
The Aggies' lone senior, David Schultz, also had a big day, closing fast for a one-under 69. Schultz was one-over through 14 holes, but posted consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th. Schultz tied for 20th at 71-75-69=215.
"David told the team last night that he didn't want this to be his last tournament," Higgins said. "He took on a leadership role and backed up his talk by producing. This was huge for us and it was huge for him, too. Like Bobby, he just hit the ball great all week."
Junior Jerad Harklau closed with a 71 and played his last eight holes in two-under, while junior Andrew Parr birdied his last two holes for a 75. Freshman Martin Piller added a 76.
Harklau tied for 50th (76-73-71=220), Piller tied for 66th (72-74-76=222) and Parr tied for 108th (74-81-75=230).
"This was a total team effort," Higgins said. "Everyone played well today. To play so well under so much pressure should help our confidence. I still don't think we've peaked yet. I think our best golf is ahead of us. If it is, we could have a great national tournament."