The 54-hole tournament is scheduled Wednesday through Friday at the par-72, 7,218-yard Palmer Course at the Turtle Bay Resort. Action gets underway at 8 a.m. HST/12 p.m. CST each morning.
"It is always an exciting time of year, getting the spring season started and getting to work towards our goals of winning the Big 12 and NCAA Championship," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "Hawai'i is a pretty good place to start the season and the boys always enjoy competing over there. The field this year is pretty strong and the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay is a good test of golf. We have been successful over there in the past and I think we have a pretty good game plan for attacking the course."
The Aggies are part of an 18-team field that includes four other top-25 teams-defending champion and 10th-ranked California, 14th-ranked UNLV, 17th-ranked Duke and 25th-ranked New Mexico. Also competing this week are Arizona, BYU, BYU-Hawai'i, Colorado State, Denver, Fresno State, Hawai'i-Hilo, Missouri, Nevada, SMU, Utah, UTEP and host Hawai'i.
A&M returns to the links off a strong fall campaign that saw the Aggies finish second or better in all but one tournament. Texas A&M, which recorded eight par-or-better rounds this fall, claimed the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate crown and earned runner-up honors at the Lone Star Invitational and the Amelia Island Intercollegiate.
Senior All-American Jordan Russell (71.7 stroke average) and junior All-American Cameron Peck (71.5) will lead the Aggies into competition this week. Joining them on the course will be redshirt freshman Greg Yates, who recorded a team-best 69.7 average this fall, senior Geoff Shaw (73.2) and true freshman Ty Dunlap (74.3). Junior Case Cochran (73.7) will compete as an individual.
"The guys have looked terrific in qualifying and practice and they are chomping at the bit to get back into tournament play," Higgins said. "I think we are all really excited to get going."
A&M has finished second or better at the Burns in each of the last four seasons-winning the event in 2009 and falling in a playoff in 2010. The Aggies finished six shots back of Cal at last spring's tournament, the first time in the event's history that it was hosted at Turtle Bay Resort.
Fans can also follow the action through live scoring at Golfstat.com and aggieathletics.com. Updates will also be available on twitter at @AggieMensGolf. Fans can follow the Aggies' week-long trip to the islands via Facebook at facebook.com/AggieMensGolf.
JOHN A. BURNS INTERCOLLEGIATE BREAKDOWN
Wednesday-Friday, February 15-17, 2012
Turtle Bay Resort-Palmer Course (par 72, 7,218 yards)
Kahuku, O'ahu, Hawai'i
Host: University of Hawai'i
The Field (18 teams): No. 10 California, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 14 UNLV, No. 17 Duke, No. 25 New Mexico, Arizona, BYU, BYU-Hawai'i, Colorado State, Denver, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Hawai'i-Hilo, Missouri, Nevada, SMU, Utah, UTEP
Format: team stroke play, 54 holes
Defending Champions: California (834, -30); Ben Kohles, Virginia (206, -10)
Round 1: Wednesday, 8 a.m. (HST)/12 p.m. (CST) (shotgun start)
Round 2: Thursday, 8 a.m. (HST)/12 p.m. (CST) (shotgun start)
Round 3: Friday, 8 a.m. (HST)/12 p.m. (CST) (shotgun start)
A&M lineup: Jordan Russell (Sr., 71.7); Cameron Peck (Jr., 71.5); Greg Yates (RFr., 69.7); Ty Dunlap (Fr., 74.3) and Geoff Shaw (Sr., 73.2). Case Cochran (Jr., 73.7) will compete as an individual.
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Updates: via twitter at @AggieMensGolf
Up Next: Feb. 25-26 at Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, Palm Desert, California