May 26, 2009
Texas A&M Golf Notes and Statistics 
Tuesday's Tee Times and Pairings
TOLEDO, Ohio - The No. 12-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team opens play today in the 112th NCAA Men's Golf Championship at famed Inverness Golf Club.
The Aggies tee off at 12:17 p.m. (CST) and will be paired with Georgia Tech and Illinois. Live scoring is available online at www.golfstat.com.
The NCAA tournament features a new format this season. The 30-team field will play 54 holes of stroke play through Thursday to determine the individual champion. The top eight teams after 54 holes will advance to match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Friday followed by the championship match on Saturday.
In stroke play, teams will drop their highest score. In match play, all five matches will count and a team will need three individual victories to advance.
"We are playing really well right now so we are very excited and optimistic about our chances this week," A&M Coach J.T. Higgins said. "In reality, these next three days are another qualifier and if we play like we are capable, we will advance to the Elite Eight on Friday."
Representing A&M will be seniors Bronson Burgoon and Matt Van Zandt, junior Andrea Pavan and sophomores John Hurley and Conrad Shindler.
Joining the Aggies in the field are No. 10 Alabama, Arizona, No. 14 Arizona State, No. 9 Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Clemson, Duke, No. 8 Florida, No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 15 Illinois, Iowa, Lamar, Michigan, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Ohio State, No. 4 Oklahoma State, Oregon, San Diego, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 2 Southern California, No. 5 Stanford, No. 16 TCU, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 24 Texas, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 23 Central Florida, No. 19 UCLA, Virginia, Wake Forest and No. 6 Washington.
A&M is making its fifth finals appearance in the last six years under Higgins. The Aggies placed 12th last season, their highest finish since 1984. Overall, the Aggies are playing in their 25th NCAA Men's Golf Championship. The best finish in school history was fourth in 1982.
Burgoon leads the team with a 72.00 scoring average and is ranked No. 13 nationally by Golfweek. An All-Big 12 pick, he is competing in his third NCAA Championship and tied for 23rd last season. Burgoon owns school records for career scoring average (72.78) and career rounds of par or better (65).
He has finished in the top 25 in nine of 11 tournaments this season, including six top 10s. Burgoon won the Adams Cup of Newport last fall and was runner-up at the Callaway Match Play Qualifier and the NCAA West Regional, where he closed with a school-record eight-under-par 64.
Ranked No. 59 by Golfweek, Pavan is second on the team in scoring at 73.16 and has had eight top-25 performances. He has placed in the top 10 four times, including a runner-up finish to Burgoon at the Adams Cup. Pavan tied for 29th in last year's NCAA finals.
Van Zandt averages 73.35 and has placed in the top 15 in his last three starts, including a tie for 12th at the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA West Regional. He placed 81st at nationals last season.
Hurley averages 74.17 this season and has had five top-25 finishes, including a tie for fourth at the Aggie Invitational last month. He opened the NCAA West Regional with a five-under 67.
Shindler has a 75.00 average with three top 20 finishes in eight starts. He was added to the lineup after firing 68s in recent qualifying rounds for the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Classic and the U.S. Open. He lost a seven-man playoff for two spots in the Nelson and advanced to the next round of Open qualifying.
A&M has tied a school record with three tournament victories, including the Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii where it shot 16-under-par in the final round. The Aggies have had eight top-five finishes in 11 events and placed third at the NCAA West Regional.
Renowned golf course architect Donald Ross designed Inverness. It has been the site of eight major championships, including four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, one U.S. Amateur and one U.S. Senior Open.
The par-71, 7,255-yard layout played host to the NCAA Championship in 1944.
"Inverness is one of the very best courses in the country and it will provide a demanding and difficult test of golf," Higgins said. "The rough is long and thick and the greens are lightning fast so there will be a premium on keeping the ball in the fairway and on staying below the hole. If we can putt uphill all week, I like our chances of advancing."
UCLA is the defending team champion while the Bruins' Kevin Chappell won the individual title.