Sept. 27, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. - A tremendous showing on the 18th hole Monday has the ninth-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team within striking distance of the team title after two rounds of the PING/Golfweek Preview at Karsten Creek.
After carding eight bogeys and five doubles on the back nine, the Aggies scored three eagles and two birdies on No. 18 to shave six strokes off the team total. The effort sent them to the clubhouse with a 6-over 294 on the round.
"That was the best single hole of golf I've ever seen a team play," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "All five guys had putts for eagle, and the two we missed lipped out."
The strong finish brought A&M's two-round total to 591 (+15) and lifted the Aggies into fifth place--seven shots back of leader and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State (584, +8)--heading into Tuesday's final round.
"It was a pretty up-and-down day that took us on a real good roller-coaster ride," Higgins said. "We played well early and were right in the hunt, but then we took a bunch of big numbers that I thought took us right out of it. We then finished like that on 18. All day we had some great shots that kept us right in it."
No. 10 Georgia Tech (+9) and No. 4 Georgia are tied for second, one back of the hosts, with No. 7 UCLA (+11) in fourth. Defending national champion and third-ranked Augusta State (+16) is one shot back of the Aggies, followed by No. 5 Oregon (+23), No. 11 Texas (+24), No. 21 Texas Tech (+27) and No. 20 Virginia (+33). No. 12 Arizona State (+38) is in 11th, with UNLV (+48), No. 17 Clemson (+51), No. 23 TCU (+53) and No. 13 USC (+60) rounding out the field.
Senior Nacho Elvira led the way for A&M on Monday with a 2-under 69, bouncing back from a tough first round to be one of just four players in the field to break 70 on the day.
"Nacho showed just what kind of kid he is today," Higgins said. "He's a fifth-year senior, and this team means everything to him. He has so much heart, and he's never going to give up. What a great round he had today. He double-bogeyed 17, but focused on his tee shot and then hit a great 3-wood to about 8 ft on 18 and drained his putt. It was a fantastic round. I'm really proud of him coming back like that."
For the tournament, senior Conrad Shindler remains atop the team leaderboard and in a tie for 13th overall with a 4-over 148 (72-76). Junior Jordan Russell (75-74) and sophomore Case Cochran (73-76) are tied for 20th at 149 (+5), while sophomore Cameron Peck (77-75=152) is in 36th at 8-over par. Elvira (84-69) is 9-over and in 40th place to round out the Aggie contingent.
"The whole team fought their butts off today," Higgins said. "No matter how bad things got, they fought for every shot. That's what we have to do in order to compete for a national title."
Georgia's Hudson Swafford leads the field and is the only player under par so far with a 1-under 143. Four others, including two from Georgia Tech, are tied for second two strokes back at 1-over par.
The Aggies are in the second grouping for Wednesday's final round and will tee off with UCLA and Augusta State beginning at 8:20 a.m. Fans can follow the action through live scoring at Golfstat.com.
"We're only seven shots back, and we actually gained two strokes on the leader today," Higgins said. "As tough as this golf course is, if we go out and play well tomorrow we can easily get to the top and win this thing."