Texas A&M
NCAA Regional Championship
Aggies Advance to NCAA Finals Behind Burgoon, Van Zandt
May 16, 2009 | Men's Golf
May 16, 2009
DALY CITY, Calif. - Senior Bronson Burgoon set a Texas A&M record with an eight-under-par 64 on Saturday as the No. 12-ranked Aggies finished third at the NCAA Men's Golf West Regional at Lake Merced Golf Club.
A&M advances to the NCAA Championship May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio. The Aggies have made it to the national finals in six of the last seven years under Head Coach J.T. Higgins.
Senior Matt Van Zandt added a career-best 67 as A&M posted a team score of 15-under (273), the third-best round in school history.
"It was an awesome day," A&M Coach J.T. Higgins said. "Our two seniors didn't want this to be their last college tournament; they wanted a chance to play for a national championship. They played with a lot of heart and determination. We put the ball in the right position all day and after missing putts all week, we knew were due to start making some. We played really solid golf and took advantage of our opportunities."
The five teams advancing from the West Regional were No. 14 Arizona State (828), Oregon (837), A&M (281-286-273=840), San Diego (849) and No. 2 Southern California (853). Not advancing were New Mexico (854), No. 22 San Diego State (857), San Francisco (863), Coilorado (864), Oregon State (868), UC Irvine (870), Kansas State (872) and UC Davis (873).
Burgoon placed second individually with an 11-under total of 69-72-64=205, finishing one stroke behind Arizona State's Jesper Kennegard (66-68-70=204). Van Zandt (73-71-67=211) tied for 12th, sophomore Andrea Pavan (72-71-72=215) tied for 27th and sophomore Nacho Elvira (75-73-70=218) tied for 43rd.
Burgoon's spectacular round included two eagles and six birdies. His only miscues were three-putt bogeys on the fourth and 12th holes.
Burgoon was one-over through five holes but got back to even par with a short birdie putt on the par-5 6th. He drained a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 8th to spark a incredible stretch in which he played 10 holes in eight-under. Burgoon ripped a 326-yard drive on the par-5 9th and made a four-footer for eagle after nailing his approach from 190-yards with a seven-iron.
He added another eagle on the par-5 14th after launching another long drive to set up a 179-yard eight-iron approach that landed three feet from the hole. He birdied the next three holes before closing with par on the par-5 18th.
"The guys I played with started poorly and I was thinking that par would be a good score today," Burgoon said. "The eagle on the ninth really got me jump-started. I was livid after I three-putted the 12th, but after I eagled the 15th I knew I had a good round going. It's great to set the school record at regionals because it helped the team advance and that's all that really mattered."
Van Zandt got the Aggies off to a great start when he holed a lob wedge from 75 yards for eagle on the par-4 second. He added five birdies, including one on the 18th to end his round. Elvira was three-under through six holes and had six birdies. He also birdied the final hole.
Other Big 12 teams advancing from the six regionals were No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 24 Texas.
