May 31, 2005
Texas A&M will compete in its second straight NCAA Men's Golf Championships Wednesday through Saturday at Caves Valley Golf Club.
The Golf Channel will televise the final three rounds on a tape-delayed basis from 2-4 p.m. (Central) each day.
The tournament will consist of 18 holes each day for a total of 72 holes. The 30-team field will be cut to the top 15 teams prior to the final round. The top four individual scores will count toward each day's team score. Each round begins at 6 a.m. (Central).
A&M will be represented by senior David Schultz, juniors Andrew Parr and Jerad Harklau, and freshmen Robert Gates and Martin Piller.
The Aggies finished 14th last year at the 107th NCAA Men's Golf Championships at The Homestead's Cascades Golf Course in Hot Springs, Va., the ninth-best finish in school history. Schultz and Parr are the only returners from that team, although Harklau competed for SMU prior to transferring to A&M last summer.
Schultz tied for 44th and Parr tied for 60th, while Harklau did not place after the Mustangs missed the 54-hole cut.
"We are heading back to the NCAA Championships with a much different outlook this season," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "Last year, I think we were relieved just to get there, but this year we truly expected to advance through the regional. This team believes we can compete for the national championship. These young men have worked so hard and they are very deserving of all the success they are experiencing."
In addition to No. 35-ranked A&M, the field includes No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 UNLV, No. 5 New Mexico, No. 6 Florida, No. 7 Augusta State, No. 9 Duke, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 BYU, No. 14 Wake Forest, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 16 UICLA, No. 17 Georgia Southern, No. 18 Southern California, No. 20 Texas, No. 21 Alabama, No. 23 Arizona, No. 24 Washington, No. 25 Georgia State, No. 26 SMU, No. 30 Tulsa, No. 32 Purdue, No. 36 Coastal Carolina, No. 42 Arkansas, No. 45 San Diego State, No. 47 Stanford and No. 55 Missouri.
California is the defending champion while UNLV's Ryan Moore, the nation's top-ranked collegian, will defend his individual crown. The field features 65 players ranked among the top 100 nationally by Golfweek, including 23 of the top 25. The top four players in the field are Moore, No. 2 Rhys Davies of East Tennessee State, No. 3 Spencer Levin of New Mexico and No. 4 Pablo Martin of Oklahoma State.
In its 14th year, Caves Valley already has distinguished itself as one of the premier venues in the country. The course was the site of the 2002 U.S. Senion Open and also played host to the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur. The course measures 7,012 yards and plays to a par of 71.
"We are playing well, smart and with confidence," Higgins said. "Every time we tee it up we are trying to win and this week will be no exception. To win a national championship, you need to have a deep, talented team with five solid players, you must play patient golf with a lot of confidence and you have to get a little lucky. If the breaks go our way, I think we could have a great week."
Live results will be available on Texas A&M's official website at AggieAthletics.com and at golfstat.com.
A&M advanced after finishing third at the NCAA Central Regional May 19-21 in South Bend, Ind. Gates tied for fifth individually with a 73-69-67=209 total, playing the final 30 holes without a bogey.
In the A&M media guide, Gates lists Caves Valley as his favorite golf course. Gates played in a major American Junior Golf Association event at Caves Valley last summer, helping the East Team to victory at the Canon Cup.
Parr has had an outstanding season, playing in all 13 tournaments despite a nagging back injury that has limited his practice time. He leads the team with a 73.14 stroke average, best by an Aggie since All-American Anthony Rodriguez posted a 72.1 average in 1994-95. Parr has posted seven top-25 finishes and three top 10s.
The Aggies have finished in the top 10 in all 13 tournaments this season, including six top-five efforts. The Aggies tied for second at the Barona Collegiate Cup in the fall and placed fourth at the prestigious Hall of Fame Invitational in Houston in March.
The Aggies posted a 2-2 record en route to a fourth-place showing at the Hooters Match Play Championship last fall, knocking off then-No. 1-ranked Georgia (3 and 2) and Georgia State (4 and 1) before losing to Oklahoma State (4 and 1) and Texas (3 and 2).
A&M is making its 22nd appearance at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships, but only its fourth since regional play began in 1989. A&M has advanced through regional play to nationals three previous times, finishing 21st in 1996, 13th in 1997 and 14th last season.
The Aggies have posted 12 top-15 finishes and six top 10s in the national tournament. A&M's best finish was fourth in 1982 in Pinehurst, N.C.
The top individual finish by an Aggie was also in 1982, when Danny Briggs finished eighth. Steve Veriato, competing as an individual, placed 10th in 1971, while Marcellino Moreno advanced to the final four in 1957 when the tournament had a match-play format. Moreno lost to Houston's Rex Baxter, the eventual national champion.