May 18, 2006
Senior Andrew Parr and freshman Bronson Burgoon each fired three-under-par 68s on Thursday to lead sixth-ranked Texas A&M into third place after the opening round of the NCAA Men's Golf Central Regional at Sand Ridge Golf Club.
The top 10 teams and two individuals from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 31-June 3 at the Crosswater Golf Club in Sunriver, Ore. A&M tees off in Friday's second round at 7:30 a.m. with the final round scheduled for Saturday. Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.
No. 2 Oklahoma State leads after posting a four-under 280, just one shot ahead of late-charging Northwestern, which went four-under on final hole for a 281. A&M was the only other team to shoot par or better in the 27-team field with an even-par 284 on the par-71, 7,172-yard course.
Northwestern's Chris Wilson leads the individual standings after carding a four-under 67. Burgoon and Parr are tied for second.
A&M sophomores Robert Gates and Martin Piller are tied for 51st with a pair of three-over 74s while senior Jerad Harklau is tied for 63rd after shooting a 75.
"I was really pleased with the way the guys fought hard today, just like they have all season," A&M Coach J.T. Higgins said. "I like where we are with two rounds to go. We're in great position not only to advance, but also to try to win this thing. The guys played great, especially Andrew and Bronson. They took charge and put us on their backs today."
Burgoon and Parr each carded three-under 33s on the back nine. Parr had four birdies and only one bogey on the day, while Burgoon had six birdies, including three in the last five holes.
Gates was five-over through 11 holes, but played the last seven holes in two-under. Piller, who was six-over through 16, had the most spectacular finish with a birdie on the par-3 17th and an eagle on the par-5 18th. On the final hole, he hit his 3-wood second shot from 250 yards to within 10 feet of the flag and drained the putt.
Duke (286) and Lamar (286) are tied for fourth, followed by Kentucky (291), Minnesota (291), Purdue (291), Texas (291), Oklahoma (292), TCU (293), SMU (294), Georgia Tech (295), Kent State (296), Clemson (296), Tulsa (297), Texas-Arlington (298), Siena (302), Colorado (306), Kansas State (306), Missouri (306), Nebraska (306), Xavier (307), Eastern Kentucky (309), Cleveland State (318), Princeton (324) and St. Francis (Pa.) (324).