May 15, 2006
The No. 6-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team will be looking for its third straight berth in the NCAA Championships when it competes in the NCAA Central Regional Thursday through Saturday at Sand Ridge Golf Club.
A total of 27 teams and six individuals will play in each of the three
regionals. The East Regional will be in Orlando, Fla., and the West Regional will be in Tucson, Ariz.
The top 10 teams and two individuals in each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships May 31-June 3 in Sunriver,Ore.
The Central Regional will consist of 18 holes each day for a total of 54
holes. The No. 3-seeded Aggies will tee off at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and at 7 a.m. On both Friday and Saturday. Live scoring is available online at www.Golfstat.com.
A&M will be represented by seniors Andrew Parr and Jerad Harklau,
sophomores Bobby Gates and Martin Piller, and freshman Bronson Burgoon.
Sand Ridge, ranked among the top 55 golf courses in the country by Golf Digest, measures 7,173 yards and plays to a par of 71.
"We have been working all season with an eye toward the NCAA Tournament and we are very excited that it is finally here," A&M coach J.T. Higgins said. "This course has an outstanding reputation and I think that if we can go out and stick to our style of play, and be really patient, it should set up well for us to advance to the finals."
Joining A&M in the Central Regional in order of seed will be (1) Oklahoma State, (2) Georgia Tech, (4) Clemson, (5) Duke, (6) Texas, (7), Kentucky, (8) Tulsa, (9) Northwestern, (10) Minnesota, (11) Lamar, (12) Kent State, (13) Oklahoma, (14) TCU, (15) Purdue, (16) SMU, (17) Xavier, (18) Texas-Arlington, (19) Colorado, (20) Missouri, (21) Nebraska, (22) Kansas State, (23) Eastern Kentucky, (24) Cleveland State, (25) Siena, (26) Princeton, and (27) St. Francis (Pa.).
Eight Central Regional teams are ranked in Golfweek's top 25 and 37 of the top 100 individuals are competing.
A&M is one of just three teams in the nation with all five starters ranked in the top 100. Joining top-ranged Georgia and No. 2 Oklahoma State. Gates is ranked No. 52 and leads the Aggies with a 73.12 scoring average. Burgoon is ranked 62nd, Parr is 64th, Piller is 71st and Harklau is 83rd.
At total of 10 Big 12 teams made the NCAA regional field. In addition to the eight conference schools represented in the Central Regional, Texas Tech will play in the East Regional and Baylor will play in the West Regional.
The last time the Aggies appeared in three straight NCAA Championships was in 1985-87, prior to the start of the regional qualifying format in 1989.
A&M has won two tournaments this season and has placed in the top three six times, including a third-place effort at the Big 12 Championship.
"It will be key for us to not force anything and take what the golf course is willing to give," Higgins said. "It has worked for us all year and this really isn't the time to do anything different."