Oct. 22, 2010
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - The Texas A&M men's golf team returns to action this weekend when the Aggies compete in the fifth United States Collegiate Championship at the Golf Club of Georgia, located just outside Atlanta.
Hosted by ACC champion Georgia Tech and often called "the Masters of college golf," the USCC begins Sunday at 8 a.m. (CT) with 15 of the nation's finest college teams playing the first of three tournament rounds. Subsequent rounds are slated for Monday (8 a.m. CT) and Tuesday (8 a.m. CT).
"The U.S. Collegiate is one of the best events in all of college golf, and is my personal favorite," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "The Golf Club of Georgia is an outstanding facility, everything about the tournament is like a PGA Tour event and we get the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the nation."
The strong 15-team field includes the ninth-ranked Aggies and three other top-10 teams, No. 6 Washington, No. 7 UCLA and the host and 10th-ranked Yellow Jackets. Also in the field are No. 13 USC, No. 13 Florida State, No. 17 Clemson, No. 19 Duke, No. 20 Virginia, No. 24 South Carolina, Cal, East Tennessee State, Georgia State, Kent State and Wake Forest.
The Aggies have started the season strong, finishing fourth or better in all three of their tournaments. The USCC will mark A&M's first action since finishing fourth at the PING/Golfweek Preview at the end of September.
"We haven't played in about a month, so I am anxious to see how well we handle the layoff," Higgins said. "We've had some great rounds in qualifying and practice has gone well, so I think the boys are ready to go."
Sophomore Cameron Peck headlines the Aggie lineup for the USCC with a 72.11 stroke average and two sub-70 rounds. Also competing this weekend are junior Jordan Russell (72.33 average), senior Conrad Shindler (74.17), sophomore Case Cochran (74.33) and junior Geoff Shaw (76.00).
The team will be playing without senior Nacho Elvira (72.00), who will be representing Spain next week at the World Amateur Championships in Argentina.
Fans can follow the action through live scoring at Golfstat.com and aggieathletics.com. Updates will also be available on twitter at @aggie_m_golf. Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS), a network which serves more than six million households in 13 states, is scheduled to televise the event.
October 24-26 - Golf Club of Georgia, Lakeside Course (par 72/7,017 yards), Alpharetta, Georgia
The Field (15 teams): No. 6 Washington, No. 7 UCLA, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 10 Georgia Tech, No. 13 USC, No. 13 Florida State, No. 17 Clemson, No. 19 Duke, No. 20 Virginia, No. 24 South Carolina, Cal, East Tennessee State, Georgia State, Kent State, Wake Forest
Format: team stroke play, 54 holes
Round 1: Sunday, 8 a.m. CT
Round 2: Monday, 8 a.m. CT
Round 3: Tuesday, 8 a.m. CT
Host Institution: Georgia Tech
Defending Champions: Clemson (876, +12); Bud Cauley, Alabama/Erik Flores, UCLA (212, -4)
A&M Lineup: Case Cochran (So., 74.33 average); Cameron Peck (So., 72.11); Jordan Russell (Jr., 72.33); Geoff Shaw (Jr., 76.00); Conrad Shindler (Sr., 74.17)
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
Updates: via twitter at @aggie_m_golf
Up Next: Nov. 1-2 at Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, Dallas, Texas