October 27, 2006
The No. 12-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team will close its fall schedule at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship Sunday through Tuesday at Colonial Country Club.
All 16 teams in the field finished among the top 20 at the 2006 NCAA Championships. The Aggies are the No. 7 seed and will play No. 10-seeded Arizona State in Sunday's first round match. The Sun Devils are ranked No. 13 in the latest coaches' poll.
Other teams in the field, with seeding in parentheses, are No. 2 Florida (1), No. 3 Oklahoma State (2), No. 4 Georgia (3), No. 5 UCLA (4), No. 6 Clemson (5), No. 8 Coastal Carolina (6), No. 15 Lamar (11), No. 16 UNLV (8), No. 20 Duke (9), No. 25 Minnesota (15), Washington (12), North Carolina State (13), Auburn (14) and Arizona (16).
Representing A&M will be Martin Piller, Bronson Burgoon, Robert Gates, Trey Todd and Matt Van Zandt.
"The match play championship is such a great event and, in my opinion, a more exciting format than we usually play," A&M Coach J.T. Higgins said. "Everybody counts, there is no individual scoring and it is all about the team. We are anxious to play and hopefully show that we have elevated our program."
The last time A&M appeared in a match play event was the 2004 Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship in Florida. The Aggies finished fourth with a 2-2 record, including a victory against top-ranked Georgia.