Feb. 15, 2011
KAHUKU, Hawai'i - The eighth-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team starts the spring season off in style this week when the Aggies compete in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate Wednesday through Friday at the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort.
The first round begins Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. HST/12:30 p.m. CST, with rounds two and three scheduled for Thursday and Friday at 7:30 a.m. HST/11:30 a.m. CST, respectively.
Joining the Aggies in the 15-team field are No. 16 Virginia, No. 19 California, Arizona, BYU, Denver, Fresno State, Hawai'i-Hilo, Nevada, New Mexico, SMU, UC Santa Barbara, Utah, UTEP and host Hawai'i.
"This is a great trip, one of the highlights of the year for us," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "One of the things I love about it is players always come back from break ready to go, because everyone wants to be a part of this trip. We get challenged by a good field on a great course, but we're also able to have about as good a time out there as anyone."
The Burns Intercollegiate had for years been played at Leilehua Golf Course, located north of Honolulu in the central part of O'ahu. This year, the tournament has moved to the famed North Shore and the 7,218-yard Arnold Palmer Course, part of the Turtle Bay Resort. The resort and facility are recognizable as the setting for the popular 2008 film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
"Turtle Bay is a great course and a great facility," Higgins said. "It's going to be real nice being right there on the golf course, where we can roll out of bed, play golf, get practice in and then still have some down time later in the day. It's going to be a great week and should be a lot of fun."
A&M returns to the links after a strong fall season that saw the Aggies finish fourth or better in all five tournaments, including the prestigious U.S. Collegiate Championship and the PING/Golfweek Preview.
Texas A&M's lineup in Hawai'i will be made up of seniors Conrad Shindler and Nacho Elvira, junior Jordan Russell, and sophomores Cameron Peck and Case Cochran. Senior John Hurley will be competing as an individual. The Aggies have finished second or better in each of the last three seasons at the Burns, winning the event in 2009 and falling in a playoff last spring.
"Right now I think this is maybe the best I've ever seen our team look this early in the year," Higgins said. "I don't know if I should be excited about that or not because I don't want to peak at the wrong time, but we look really good right now. I think any one of these six could have a really good chance of winning this golf tournament, so I'm looking for some big things this week."