March 09, 2007
Texas A&M?™s Martin Piller grabbed the individual lead at the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship after firing an opening round 67 on Friday at the Southern Highlands Golf Course.
Piller, a junior from Dallas, Texas, carded the best round of his college career by posting seven birdies and just two bogeys along with nine pars.
"Martin was spectacular today," Aggie head coach J.T. Higgins said. "He put us on his back and kept us in this tournament. It was a tremendous effort on his part. it's nice to see all the hard work he's put in pay off with a round like this."
Piller?™s previous low round was a 68 at the season-opening The International Collegiate. Piller has a one-stroke lead over UCLA?™s Kevin Chappell (68).
As a team, the Aggies shot a five-over 293 and are in a tie for seventh place in the team race. UCLA took the first day lead with a six-under 282 and are trailed by Georgia (285), Georgia Tech (286), Arizona State (290), Florida (291), Minnesota (292) and Arizona (293).
Rounding out A&M?™s scores were Bronson Burgoon (+3, 75), Trey Todd (+3, 75), Chris Massoletti (+4, 76) and Andrea Pavan (+6, 78).