April 24, 2007
Texas A&M's Bronson Burgoon closed with a three-under-par 67 on Tuesday to lead the 12th-ranked Aggies to a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Men's Golf Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club.
Burgoon's round was the best of the tournament, but it wasn't enough to lift the Aggies past No. 6 Oklahoma State. A&M finished at 33-over (873), seven shots behind the Cowboys (866). The finish was A&M's best in the 11-year history of the Big 12.
The Aggies came into the final round five strokes behind OSU and whittled the lead to just one after 12 holes. But the defending national champion Cowboys shot one-under on the final five holes while A&M was five-over.
"We're disappointed we didn't win, but at the same time I'm so proud of the way our guys played," A&M Coach J.T. Higgins said. "Oklahoma State just played great golf. We played right with them all day but just came up short. It's only a matter of time before we start getting the results that we want."
Three A&M players finished in the top six, led by Burgoon (73-76-67=216) and Bobby Gates (69-73-74=216), who tied for fourth. Martin Piller tied for sixth (72-75-72=219). Gates also finished fourth last year.
Burgoon had only one bogey on the day and eagled the par-5 7th hole to jumpstart A&M's rally.
"Those three guys have played tremendous golf all year," Higgins said. "They deserve ever honor they get. They are the heart and soul of our team and they just played terrific."
A&M's Trey Todd tied for 22nd (71-80-76=227) while Austin Schauer tied for 38th (74-75-82=231).
Texas Tech finished third (893), a whopping 20 strokes behind the Aggies. Texas was fourth (894), followed by Oklahoma (903), Nebraska (909), Missouri (911), Baylor (913), Kansas State (916), Kansas (917), Colorado (922) and Iowa State (924).
Oklahoma State's Pablo Martin Claimed the individual crown by three strokes with a one-over 70-73-68=211 total. OSU's Ryan Posey was second at 73-73-68=214.
By virtue of its 21-stroke win against Texas, A&M also claimed an important point in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown. The Longhorns have an 8 1/2-7 edge with softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, and baseball remaining.
The Aggies are idle until the NCAA Central Regional May 17-19 in Sugar Grove, Ill. The NCAA Championships are May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.