Sept. 10, 2010
TANAGURA, Japan - A second-round effort that saw five records fall on Thursday has the No. 8-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team in contention heading into the final round of the 28th Annual Topy Cup at Tanagura Country Club.
The Aggies rebounded from a 1-under-par 287 in the day's first round to set a course and school record with a 19-under-par 269. All five A&M golfers shot under par in the round, led by a school-, course- and tournament-record 63 from junior Jordan Russell (College Station).
Texas A&M (287-269=556, -20) leads the U.S. Collegiate field by three strokes, and trails the overall leader, Tohoku Fukushi University (279-272=551, -25)--who has captured four of the last five team titles--by five shots.
"The second round was outstanding," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We played terrific, executed our game plan extremely well and played with great determination. With that said, we're far from where we need to be to compete with the best in the country. We gave shots away today in the first round, and we cannot afford to do that and be successful. The first round showed us that we always have to be ready to play and stay focused, while the second round was a portrait of what we can be when we are."
Russell's 9-under-par 63 is the lowest in school history, besting the previous mark of an 8-under 64 set by Bronson Burgoon in 2009.
"I kept the ball in play really well off the tee today," Russell said. "I took advantage of the par 5s and putted really well. I was just trying to play well to help the team win, and if that leads to an individual title for me that's great. But I'm more concerned with us pulling out a victory to start the year."
Russell birdied 10 of 18 holes on the day, and recorded just one bogey. His score was the best in Topy Cup history and the lowest ever recorded at Tanagura Country Club.
"Jordan was spectacular from both tee to green and around the greens," Higgins said. "I thought his short game was as good as I have ever seen, which is a tribute to all the hard work he's put in this summer."
The Aggies' 19-under 269 bested the school's single-round record (271, -17) by two strokes, set two years ago at the Barona Collegiate Cup. It is also believed to be the best single-round score in the 28-year history of the Topy Cup.
Seniors Conrad Shindler (Coppell) and Nacho Elvira (Santander, Spain) each shot a 3-under-par 68 in the second round, while senior John Hurley (O'Neill, Neb.) rounded out the team score with a 2-under 70. Sophomore Cameron Peck (Olympia, Wash.) fired a 1-under 71 despite the score not counting toward the Aggies' total.
Russell (68-63=131) paces the field individually at 13-under par, two strokes ahead of Arizona's Tarquin Macmanus. Two-time defending champion Yoshinori Fujimoto of Tohoku Fukushi University is tied for third and four strokes back with a 9-under 135.
Elvira (72-68=140) is in a tie for 14th at 4-under, while Peck (71-71=142) is in a tie for 19th at 2-under. Shindler (77-68) sits at 1-over-par 145 in 29th place, and Hurley (76-70) is one stroke back with a 2-over-par 146.
The final round of the Topy Cup will get underway on Saturday at 7 a.m. (5 p.m. Friday in Texas). Results will be posted upon completion of the round on www.topycup.com.
TOPY CUP RESULTS (through round 2)
Team Scores
1 Tohoku Fukushi Univ 279 272 551 -25
2 Texas A&M Univ 287 269 556 -20
3 Arizona State Univ 279 280 559 -17
4 Fresno State Univ 283 282 565 -11
5 Univ of Arizona 285 283 568 -8
6 Nihon Univ 284 286 570 -6
7 Chuogakuin Univ 289 283 572 -4
8 Nagoya Univ of Commerce 292 285 577 +1
9 Nagasaki Int'l Univ 304 291 595 +19
10 Kwansei Gakuin Univ 317 314 631 +55
Name School Scores
1 Jordan Russell Texas A&M 68 63 131 -13
2 Tarquin Macmanus Arizona 68 65 133 -11
T 3 Yoshinori Fujimoto Tohoku Fukus 68 67 135 -9
T 3 Masahiro Sakurai Chuogakuin 67 68 135 -9
5 Phillip Francis Arizona St 71 65 136 -8
T 6 Shingo Ito Osaka Gakuin 69 68 137 -7
T 6 Scott Pinckney Arizona St 68 69 137 -7
T 6 Bhavik Patel Fresno St 67 70 137 -7
T 14 Nacho Elvira Texas A&M 72 68 140 -4
T 19 Cameron Peck Texas A&M 71 71 142 -2
T 29 Conrad Shindler Texas A&M 77 68 145 +1
T 32 John Hurley Texas A&M 76 70 146 +2