April 16, 2011
First Day Results/Round 3 Tee Times (PDF)
BRYAN, Texas - The sixth-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team turned in the only sub-par round of the day late Saturday afternoon, pushing the Aggies into first place after two rounds of the 2011 Aggie Invitational at Traditions Club.
Battling windy conditions through early afternoon, no team in the field shot below 10-over in the first round. A&M, which held the lead at 10-over after the first 18, carded a 1-under in round two and sits at 9-over 729 (370-359) with 18 holes to play.
The Aggies hold an 8-shot lead over No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State (371-366=737), which is at 17-over. No. 16 Texas Tech (+28) is in third, followed by Baylor (+33), SMU (+34) and Tulsa (+34). No. 24 Oklahoma (+36) is in seventh, with No. 8 Texas (+39), Kent State (+44), New Mexico (+57) and UTSA (+75) rounding out the field.
"Anytime you see the same pin twice you should play better," head coach J.T. Higgins said, "and that's one of the things we try to pride ourselves on is to be better in the afternoon than in the morning. The wind laying down was really the key. That back nine in the morning was really severe--between the greens being really fast and the wind blowing hard and the pins being tucked, it was just tough to score. Once the wind died down we started making a few more birdies and we were able to attack better."
The Aggies' round of the day was turned in by senior Conrad Shindler, who rebounded from an opening-round 78 to card a 5-under 67 in the afternoon, the second best round by any player on the day. Shindler sits in a tie for fifth place at 1-over 145 (78-67).
"I was really proud of Conrad," Higgins said. "I spoke to him between 18s and he plays a lot better golf when he's enjoying himself and not beating himself up. That's what he was doing in the morning round. He just settled down and had fun. I think he had fun first and the 67 followed."
Sophomore Cameron Peck is tied with Shindler and three other golfers after also carding a 1-over 145 (71-74). They both sit six shots back of leader and U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State, who is at 5-under (72-67=139).
Senior John Hurley (73-73) is in a tie with teammate and junior Jordan Russell (75-71) in 10th place at 2-over 146. Senior Nacho Elvira is one shot back in 14th at 3-over 147 (73-74), while sophomore Case Cochran (+23) is in 68th place. Aggie individuals on the day included sophomore Drew Evans (+13, 51st), senior Bryant Lach (+18, 65th) and redshirt freshman Ryan Kelley (+18, 65th).
"Nacho did a great job as well," Higgins said. "He really wasn't hitting the ball well all day and he just scrambled. Really, I'm proud of everyone--I think we were 20-over at one point and got it back to 9. I think that's pretty good."
The third and final round of the Aggie Invitational will tee off at Traditions early Sunday morning. Admission and parking are free. A&M is paired with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech and will tee off between 8:24 a.m. to 9:09 a.m. from the first hole.
"We've been in this position a lot of times at the Aggie Invitational, and I know those teams are going to come charging at us tomorrow," Higgins said. "We need to be ready to go because they're good and are capable of shooting a great score."