April 24, 2010
The No. 2-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team struggled on Saturday but remain in contention at the 2010 Big 12 Championships at the Whispering Pines Golf Club.
The Aggies posted a third-round score of four-over 292 to fall from a tie for first into fourth place in the team standings. A&M is seven-under through three rounds (280-285-292), and goes into Sunday's final round trailing top-ranked Oklahoma State (-13), No. 7 Texas (-11) and No. 14 Texas Tech (-9). Trailing the under-par pack is Kansas State (+5), Baylor (+12), Colorado (+24), Nebraska (+25), Oklahoma (+33), Iowa State (+41), Missouri (+43) and Kansas (+44).
“We are six down at the end of the third quarter,” Aggie men's coach J.T. Higgins said. “We did not play very well today so I am pretty happy that we have kept it close so we can regroup and catch them on Sunday. We just couldn't get anything going, but this team can make up a lot of shots in a hurry. We are in striking distance so I wouldn't count us out just yet.”
Senior Andrea Pavan, who was recently named to Europe's Palmer Cup team, remained in contention for individual medalist honors after shooting a one-under 71 on Saturday. Pavan is in third place at eight-under (71-66-71=208), and trails Texas Tech's Chris Ward by three shots and Texas' Bobby Hudson by one shot. Sophomore Jordan Russell shot a four-over 76 and is tied for fifth at three-under (68-69-76=213). Junior Conrad Shindler shot an even par 72 and is tied for 14th at one-over (70-75-72=217). Freshman Cameron Peck shot a one-over 73 and is tied for 25th at five-over (73-75-73=221). Junior Nacho Elvira shot a four-over 76 and is tied for 35th at eight-over (71-77-76=224).
The Aggies will be paired with Kansas State and Baylor in the final round, and wil begin teeing off from the first hole at 8 a.m. on Sunday.