Oct. 25, 2010
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - The Texas A&M men's golf team posted its second straight sub-par round on Monday and sits in third place after two rounds of the United States Collegiate Championship, held outside Atlanta at the Golf Club of Georgia.
The Aggies got off to somewhat of a slow start, but rebounded nicely with seven birdies on the final four holes to hit the clubhouse with a 2-under 286 on the day. For the tournament, A&M is 6-under par with a two-day total of 570.
"I don't know why we came out a little flat and lacking some intensity, but I'm really proud of the kids and the way they finished," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We finished great and I think that's the mark of a championship team. This group never quits until the round is over, and fortunately today they fought all the way through. I think those strokes we picked up at the end are going to prove to be pretty big come the end of the tournament."
Host and 10th-ranked Georgia Tech still has a commanding lead, with a 20-over 556--a tournament record--through two rounds. USC (567, -9) is in second, with the Aggies three strokes back. UCLA is in fourth and the only other team under par at 3-under 573.
Cal (+5) is in fifth, followed by Virginia (+6), Duke (+6), Kent State (+13), Wake Forest (+15) and Washington (+18). Florida State (+20) is in 11th, followed by East Tennessee State (+26), Clemson (+27), South Carolina (+31) and Georgia State (+37).
Individually, junior Jordan Russell and sophomore Cameron Peck posted their second-consecutive sub-par rounds after firing 2-under 70s on Monday. Russell (69-70=139), who birdied two of the final three holes, is 5-under par and in third place. He is seven shots back of the leader, Georgia Tech's James White (-12).
Peck (70-70=140), who birdied three of his final four holes Monday, is one stroke back in a tie for fourth place at 4-under. Senior Conrad Shindler (75-73) and sophomore Case Cochran (70-78) are tied for 33rd with a 4-over 148, while junior Geoff Shaw carded a 73 on Monday and is in 47th place at 6-over.
"Cameron and Jordan are proving to be the leaders of this team," Higgins said. "They are so solid all around and are doing a fantastic job. Geoff and Conrad chipped in good rounds today as well. I hope that our finish today will lead to a good round tomorrow."
The Aggies are paired with USC and Georgia Tech in the final grouping of the day. A&M will begin play at 11:30 a.m. (CT). A link to live scoring is available on aggieathletics.com, and in-round updates will be posted via the team's Twitter page at @AggieMensGolf.