April 16, 2009
BRYAN - The No. 20-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team plays host to a strong 12-team field in the Aggie Invitational on Saturday and Sunday at Traditions Golf Club.
In addition to A&M, the field includes No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 16 TCU, Ohio State, New Mexico, Kansas, Kent State, San Diego State, Wichita State, Lamar and Baylor.
The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday and a final 18 on Sunday with play beginning at 7:30 a.m. each day. Admission is free and live scoring is available online at golfstat.com.
The tournament was last played in 2006, when Texas Tech edged A&M for the title. Oklahoma State won the inaugural crown in 2005 while Oklahoma's Anthony Kim and New Mexico's Spencer Levin shared individual honors. Prior to that, the men's golf program had not played host to a regular-season event since the mid-1970s.
The A&M lineup will consist of senior Bronson Burgoon, junior Andrea Pavan, sophomore Nacho Elvira, freshman Matt Van Zandt and sophomore Clay Hodge, freshman Austin Schauer and sophomore Conrad Shindler will compete as individuals.
Seventeen players in the field are ranked among the top 100 nationally by Golfweek, including Burgoon (22) and Pavan (59). The highest-rated player is Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffman at No. 5.
"We are really excited to being playing at home in front of our friends and families," A&M Head Coach J.T. Higgins said. "The course is in great shape, we have an outstanding field and it should be a fantastic weekend. Anytime you bring in this many quality teams and players, it is exciting and I always like to see how Traditions stands up to some of the best amateur players in the world."
The Aggies are coming off a tie for fifth at the U.S. Collegiate Championship last week in Georgia, where they defeated eight nationally-ranked teams, including six top-10 squads.
"We have been playing pretty well," Higgins said. "This tournament will be great preparation for our team, course and community as we hope to play host NCAA regional and national championships in the future."
The tournament is the final tuneup for the Big 12 Championship April 27-29 in Hutchinson, Kan.